For trademark purposes, a “double entendre” is an expression that has a double connotation or significance as applied to the mark’s goods or services, such that it is not merely descriptive. E.g., In re The Place Inc., 76 USPQ2d 1467, 1470 (TTAB 2005) (defining a “double entendre” as an “ambiguity of meaning arising from language […]
Dynamic keyword insertion (“DKI”) is a form of pay-per-click advertising that inserts a purchased keyword into the content of a search engine ad when that keyword happens to be used in someone’s search query. While an effective way to automatically update search engine advertising copy to include a purchased keyword that matches a searcher’s query, […]
The TTAB recently held that consumers were likely to understand the “V” in FLVSH to be an inverted “A” and “read” the mark as FLASH; such that the marks will make the same commercial impression and have the same connotation. In re Uri Charles, Ser. No. 90235507 (TTAB Nov. 10, 2022). Even coined terms can be […]
The Ninth Circuit has ruled that service of process for a lawsuit against a foreign company that affects a U.S. trademark registered to that foreign company, can be made through the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”). Under 15 U.S.C. § 1051(e), a trademark applicant domiciled in a foreign country can designate […]
The issue in trademark infringement is not the alleged misappropriation of creative expression, but rather, the likelihood of confusion in the marketplace as to the source of goods or services. But the First Amendment limits the application of trademark law with respect to an expressive work. See Rogers v. Grimaldi, 875 F.2d 994 (2d Cir. 1989); […]