Category Archives: Blog

  • United States Supreme Court_

    Trademark Office Actions For Scandalous Subject Matter Will Be Reevaluated Under Recent U.S. Supreme Court Case

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has historically had discretionary authority to issue trademark office actions and refuse federal registration to trademarks that consist of “immoral, deceptive, or scandalous matter; or matter” under Section §2(a) of the Lanham Act (Section 1203.01 of the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure). The rule against the registration […]

  • Confidentiality Agreement Tested As First Amendment Trumps President’s Prior Restraint Effort

    Adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, has been making headlines since she publicly disclosed her past “intimate relationship” with President Donald Trump despite being under an iron clad confidentiality agreement that is now being tested under contract theory and First Amendment law in a Los Angeles district court. Clifford is at […]

  • Is It Legal to Use The Trademark MARCH MADNESS® and FINAL FOUR® In Marketing?

    Entrepreneurs and technology startups may consider using the popular MARCH MADNESS ® Trademark or FINAL FOUR® Trademark in their marketing and promotion, particularly around the time of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament. The term MARCH MADNESS ® is a federally registered trademark on the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) under Registration […]

  • SOFTWARE PATENT STRATEGY FOR TECHNOLOGY STARTUPS

    In the course of startup development, as companies form their corporations or limited liability companies (LLCs), protect their trademark through federal registration(link), and start research and development (R&D) of their product, they begin to consider patent protection. Section 101 of title 35, United States Code, provides: “Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, […]

  • USPTO TRADEMARK APPLICATIONS EXPLAINED – PUBLICATION FOR OPPOSITION

    During the application process for federal trademark registration, applicants may face challenges or issues in the form of United States Patent and Trademark (USPTO) Office Actions that require resolution before federal trademark application may proceed through the registration process. Once these issues are successfully resolved, or if no issues were raised in the first place, […]

  • Trademark Registration Filing Costs for Technology Strartups

    Technology startups who wish to protect their brand name, slogan, or logo often include filing costs as among the primary considerations that drive their federal trademark application drafting and filing strategy. Unlike patents which can costs $5,000 to $15,000 to issue, trademark filing costs are generally more affordable for technology entrepreneurs to manage and budget for. […]

  • Trademark Search and Likelihood of Confusion Considerations for Technology Startups

    During the trademark search and clearance process technology entrepreneurs must evaluate whether a certain trademark, brand, or logo may infringe with an existing trademark in the same industry. For example, if an entrepreneur, tech startup, or mobile application developer was seeking to launch an app in the field of social networking and call it, “FACEBOOX”, […]

  • L.A. Tech and Media Law Firm Copyright Law Practice in Los Angeles

    Software Copyright Protection for Technology Startups

    During the early stages of research and development (R&D) in technology startups and software publishing ventures, entrepreneurs, tech startups, and innovation departments in larger companies design and develop new software that becomes central to the companies website and mobile application publishing strategy and business model.  In other words, this new software is the stock-in-trade of […]

  • Legal Issues for Tech Startups: Terms of Service and EULAs

    Most technology startup product development operations inevitably involve development and publishing of a website and mobile application, and almost instinctually, entrepreneurs, mobile application developers, or inventors, consider how to address legal issues in creating reliable Terms of Use, Terms and Conditions, or other legal disclaimers and disclosures for their digital products and platforms. In some cases, the website or […]

  • Dates of First Use Trademark Filing Strategy For Technology Startups

    During the federal trademark registration process in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), entrepreneurs and technology startups inevitably come across the issue of identifying their bona fide date of first use and date of first use in commerce on the federal trademark record. In the racehorse setting of trademark law, the first to […]

  • Trademark Registration on Principal Register v. Supplemental Register

    Basis for Filing During Federal Trademark Registration Process, whether an application is filed as an intent-to-use or use-in-commerce basis, an option may arise to move the application on to the Supplemental Register as opposed to the preferred Principal Register. What is the Supplemental Register? The Supplemental Register is reserved for certain marks that are not initially eligible for […]

  • Doctor Alert: Legal Due Diligence When Using mHealth Devices

    Protecting Patients and Data When Using mHealth Products and Services “mHealth” generally refers mobile health and includes the practice of medicine or communications involving medical data via mobile devices. California Healthcare entities such as private practices, hospitals, health plans, pharmacies, or medical spas, must consider Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Health Information Technology for […]