On November 17, 1953, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office registered Serta Associates, Inc.’s SERTA trademark (no. 582,463) for their brand of mattresses. In 1931 thirteen independent mattress manufacturers met to discuss their difficulty in competing with national mattress brands and their large advertising budgets. They concluded that, although individually they couldn’t successfully compete with […]

On Tuesday, October 23, 2019, the House of Representatives approved The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (the “CASE Act”) by 410-6 vote. The bill is intended to provide content creators with a less burdensome means to adjudicate copyright infringement claims than exists under the current law which mandates that all copyright infringement claims be […]

Introduction The U.S. Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has recently instituted changes to their policies regarding acceptable specimens of use. The stated aim of these policies is to protect the integrity of the U.S. registry.  As trademark rights in the United States are based on use, the USPTO has become increasingly strict about the goods and services […]

On May 8, 2019, México’s Tequila Regulatory Council (the TRC) and the Agave-Tequila Production Network hosted a special event in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the creation of the TRC, and the 45th anniversary of Tequila’s declaration as an appellation of origin.