Apparently in response to a growing number of problems with foreign trademark owners who are ignorant of (or who are ignoring) the details of the US trademark laws, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a proposed rule that would require all trademarks owned by those located outside the United States to be […]
Chinese Trademark Protection: More Important than Ever
New lower trademark fees in China mean you need to protect your trademark, or someone else will Protection of intellectual property in China is problematic. Trademark and domain name squatters may grab your brand. Online copyright infringement is rampant. Enforcement is challenging. But the truth is that the Chinese market is too important to ignore. […]
Canadian Trademark Laws Undergoing Massive Changes
Canada is in the midst of a massive update to its trademark laws. Here are three key changes: Canada is starting to use the Nice Classification system for goods and services. Currently, a Canadian trademark application lists all wares (goods) and services in a single, sometimes lengthy listing. Soon these will be divided into “classes”, as happens […]
Oops. India trashes 166,000 trademark applications
Earlier this month, the Indian Trademark Office abandoned (marked as “dead”) 166,771 pending trademark applications. More recently, they have issued notices that allow applicants to have their trademark applications reinstated if they act quickly. But the whole thing has raised a lot of concerns. And eyebrows. Under Indian law, the Indian Trademark Office will issue […]
Kane on Trademarks–Book Review
UPDATE: PLI has provided a 20% discount for Kane on Trademark Law for readers of my blog. Just use this link: www.pli.edu/WellsTrademark I work in several areas of law—copyright, social media, technology agreements, advertising and promotions—but at the moment, I spend the largest part of my day working on trademark matters. If you’re familiar with […]
Three Reasons Why You Should Be Careful Using Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding can be great. Kickstarter, Indiegogo and dozens of others can get donors signed on to your projects and help you create the Next Big Thing. But before you rush to post your idea and start collecting quarters, consider the risks as well. Seth Quest forgot about that part. He just declared bankruptcy because a […]