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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.

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⚖️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...

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...

A cheese knife rests on a wooden table.

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...

Ground texture featuring dirt, grass, and debris.

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....

Guitars sit in a rack, awaiting performance.

April 13, 2025 TMtelegram Hello Reader, Gibson Guitars just won a big victory—and it’s a lesson in brand protection you don’t want to miss. After years of legal back-and-forth, a federal jury once again ruled in favor of Gibson in its trademark case against Dean Guitars (owned by Armadillo Enterprises). At stake? The rights to iconic guitar body shapes like the Flying V, Explorer, and SG. Here’s what the jury decided, straight from the court decision: 🎸 Yes – Dean infringed on Gibson’s...

Mush Overnight Oats

April 7, 2025 TMtelegram Hello Reader, You may have seen MUSH—the oat-based breakfast cups—on Costco shelves. My wife picked some up recently, and I thought it was a solid product. So I was surprised to learn the company behind it just lost their trademark battle at the USPTO. Mush Mush Foods, Inc. tried to register MUSH as a trademark for “ready-to-eat cereals” made with oats. But the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) ruled that “mush” is generic—meaning it's a common term for a type...

green and white typewriter on black textile

March 31, 2025 TMtelegram Hello Reader, First, don’t worry—this is just helpful information! Your trademark has not been canceled. We’re sharing this because many trademark owners aren’t aware that registered trademarks can be canceled, sometimes without them even realizing it. What is Trademark Cancellation? A trademark cancellation is a legal action where someone challenges a registered trademark and asks the USPTO to remove it from the federal register. This can happen for several reasons,...