Watch Morris' interview on KPLR
Watch Morris on All About Business
The Disturbing Truth about Trademarkia (a/k/a LegalForce) Part of my responsibility as a trademark attorney is to help individuals make informed decisions. My law practice is devoted exclusively to educating people about trademarks, as well as helping them research, register, and defend their marks. That said, I feel compelled to provide some background on a… Continue Reading
If you have ever attempted to register a trademark, you already know that the trademark application form requires you to identify the trademark class into which your product or service falls. Most people look at the portion of the form that asks for the trademark international class and, not surprisingly, have no idea what that… Continue Reading
Most people already know that it is possible to trademark a logo with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. But, applying to register a logo as a trademark is quite different than simply registering a name or a slogan. In my experience, people who file their own trademark applications tend to make the most… Continue Reading
People ask me all the time if it is possible to trademark a product name. The answer is….sometimes. Some categories of product names are eligible for federal trademark registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”), while others are not. In general, the more unique and creative your product name is, the easier… Continue Reading
A final office action is issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) if you did not successfully or properly respond to all of the issues raised in a previous trademark office action. If you fail to take action within six months from the date the final office action is sent, your trademark… Continue Reading
A USPTO trademark search is a search of the United States Patent and Trademark Office records. It will reveal pending trademark applications and existing trademark registrations that are active (live), as well as abandoned applications and canceled registrations that are inactive (dead).… Continue Reading
Last week, a friend of mine emailed me an article about a trademark issue related to the Trayvon Martin story. In the event you haven’t heard about Trayvon Martin because you’ve been doing research in Antarctica for the past month, Trayvon was an African-American teenager who was shot and killed in Florida by a neighborhood… Continue Reading
Last week, I received a telephone call from a guy located in Florida who was on the verge of opening a new business. Apparently, he was thinking about using LegalZoom to assist in the preparation and filing of his trademark application. For those of you who don’t already know, LegalZoom is an online legal document… Continue Reading
This week’s article is about a trademark issue involving two of the biggest names in music and their month-old offspring. On January 7, Rapper Jay-Z and singer Beyonce Knowles became parents of a precious seven pound bundle of joy. Like many celebrity couples who think it’s chic to give their children absurd names, they immediately… Continue Reading
This week’s article is about the recent antics of Norwood Promotional Products, LLC. Norwood is a major supplier of imprinted promotional products. It is probably best known for its line of KOOZIE insulated can and bottle sleeves, but it also offers hundreds of other items on which you can print company names and logos or… Continue Reading