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J.J. Lee, Trademark Attorney

Learn something new every Thursday! Join over 4,000 entrepreneurs and business owners for weekly Trademark tips, tricks, and news.

Featured Post

⚖️How I Became a Trademark Attorney (and LEAP YEAR 🦘!)

LEAP YEAR: Feb 29, 2024 Happy Leap Year 2024 Reader! Today's featured video is how I became a Trademark attorney. Here is the video: TM Tips & Tricks: Speaking of videos ... We didn't realize until it was too late that our previous TWO newsletters were missing the videos! Here they are TEQUILA Trademarks: Zippo's Sensory Trademark: BUSINESS TIPS AND TRICKS Let's Do This Together Every Week! I've been wanting to read James Clear's Atomic Habits for a while, and I've been sitting on the audio...

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June 23, 2025 TMtelegram Hello Reader, A recent case before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) highlights a hard truth: you can lose a trademark dispute not because your argument is wrong—but because your paperwork is incomplete. In Superior Brands v. Retrobrands America, Superior tried to cancel a Supplemental Register trademark (KINNEY SHOES) based on a likelihood of confusion with their own intent-to-use application for a similar mark. Their argument? Their application was filed...

Someone is looking at a map of the united states.

June 16, 2025 TMtelegram Hello Reader, Think your trademark is safe because another business with a similar name is far away? Think again. Recent cases confirm that geographical distance no longer guarantees protection from trademark infringement claims. With online commerce bridging physical gaps, consumers can easily be confused—even across great distances. Always do a thorough nationwide trademark search before you settle on a brand name. And remember, federal registration of your...

a woman sitting on a bench holding a cell phone

June 9, 2025 TMtelegram Can you trademark a phrase everyone uses? Hello Reader, In a recent decision, the USPTO rejected Tinder’s applications to register “SWIPE LEFT” for its dating app and services. Why? Because “SWIPE LEFT” was found to be: ✅ Merely descriptive — It directly describes what users do in the app to reject a match.✅ Fails to function as a trademark — It’s a common phrase that conveys a familiar idea: rejection. Tinder submitted two consumer surveys trying to show people...

June 2, 2025 TMtelegram Hello Reader, When you apply for a trademark, one of the things the USPTO checks is whether your drawing matches how you actually use the mark. If it doesn’t—especially if you’ve carved out just a piece of the full brand name—you might get hit with a refusal for “mutilation.” Yes, that’s a real trademark term. And it just tripped up a pharmaceutical company. In In re Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc., the company applied to register a stylized "V" with three dots above it,...

June 2, 2025 TMtelegram Hello Reader, Color trademarks can be powerful brand assets—but they’re not easy to register. A recent case involving dark green medical gloves shows just how high the bar is. Green Gloves In In re PT Medisafe Technologies, the company tried to register the color Pantone 3285 C (dark green) for chloroprene medical examination gloves. They claimed it functioned as a trademark for their brand. The USPTO refused registration, and the Federal Circuit agreed, calling the...

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May 19, 2025 TMtelegram Hello Reader, Here’s a recent reminder from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB): sometimes, the name you pick for your product is just too on the nose to protect. That was the case in In re Jacobs Corporation, where the company tried to register the word BLADE as a trademark for a “hammer sold as an integral component of hammer mill machines.” The USPTO said no—and the TTAB backed them up. Why? Let’s break it down: 🔍 Jacobs argued: Their product is a hammer,...

Cannabis plant growing inside a greenhouse.

May 12, 2025 TMtelegram Hello Reader, The USPTO rolled out a new trademark fee structure in January 2025. On the surface, it looks like a simple pricing adjustment—but if you work with hemp or CBD products, the reality is much more costly. Here’s what changed: 🚨 New Trademark Fee Structure (Effective Jan. 18, 2025): Base Application Fee: $350 per class Custom Descriptions: +$200 per class if you don’t use pre-approved ID Manual language Extra Length Fee: +$200 per 1,000 characters over the...

Here is a close-up photo of a chicken.

May 5, 2025 TMtelegram Hello Reader, In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit reminded everyone that even if your product seems far removed from a restaurant, a similar name could still cause trademark problems. The case? A brewery tried to register the mark CHICKEN SCRATCH for beer. But they were blocked by a restaurant that already had a trademark registration for the same name—CHICKEN SCRATCH—for restaurant services. The Trademark Office refused registration, and the Federal Circuit...

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April 28, 2025 TMtelegram Hello Reader, Most brand owners know they can’t use misleading trademarks. But did you know a trademark can be refused just for sounding misleading—even if it’s technically true? That’s exactly what happened in the recent case of In re Twisted X, Inc., where the USPTO refused to register the mark ECOTWEED for “footwear made of a tweed-like material.” What’s the issue? The Trademark Office said the mark ECOTWEED was deceptive under Section 2(a) of the Trademark Act....

Person reading a book, captured in black and white.

April 21, 2025 TMtelegram Hello Reader, Here’s another real-world lesson from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) that highlights two common pitfalls brand owners face: 🔁 Choosing a name that’s too close to an existing mark🔁 Using a last name without understanding the trademark limits The case involved Wyse London, a fashion brand that applied to register its name for clothing and retail store services. But the USPTO refused registration on two separate grounds—and the TTAB agreed....