The Advertising Law Blog provides commentary and news on developing legal issues in advertising, promotional marketing, Internet, and privacy law. This blog is sponsored by the Advertising, Marketing & Promotions group at Olshan. The practice is geared to servicing the needs of the advertising, promotional marketing, and digital industries with a commitment to providing personal, efficient and effective legal service.
On November 18, 2024, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) officially published its Final Rule for filing and maintenance fee increases for 2025 (the “Final Rule”). In so doing, the USPTO added new fee categories and increased many of its existing fees. The purpose of the changes and increases, according to the Final Rule outlining the same, is to “provide the agency with sufficient financial resources to facilitate the effective administration of the U.S. trademark system.” It is noted in the Final Rule that many of the fees have not increased for over 20 years. The fees discussed below are the USPTO fees only. Of course, the fees mentioned below are just the government fees, and legal fees are extra.
Andrew Lustigman, Chair of Olshan’s Advertising, Marketing & Promotions Group and Co-Chair of the firm’s Brand Management & Protection Group, and associate Morgan Spina will present a myLawCLE webinar entitled “Sweepstakes, Contests, and Giveaways: Mastering the Legal and Regulatory Landscape” on December 3 from 1:00 – 3:10 P.M. (EST).
On November 15, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) published its amendments to its Negative Option Rule, retitled as the Rule Concerning Recurring Subscriptions and Other Negative Option Programs (the “Final Rule”) in the Federal Register.
Chair of Olshan’s Insurance Coverage Practice Jeremy King was quoted in a Law360 article (subscription required) on the Delaware suit by Meta's insurers to free them from defending numerous lawsuits alleging the company deliberately designed addicting platforms.
Chair of Olshan’s Intellectual Property Law Group and Co-Chair of the firm’s Brand Management & Protection Group Mary Grieco and associate Morgan Spina published a New York Law Journal article entitled “The Long Road To Settling a Trademark Case: Proactive Steps for Success” about the lengthy, and often expensive, legal proceedings surrounding trademark disputes.
Andrew Lustigman, Chair of Olshan's Advertising, Marketing & Promotions Group and Co-Chair of the firm’s Brand Management & Protection Group, and associate Morgan Spina published an article in New York Law Journal entitled “FTC's New 'Click To Cancel' Rule Is Here, But Will It Survive Judicial Challenge?.” In the article, Andy and Morgan discuss how automatic renewals for services—or “negative options”—continue to face amended laws. However, this has resulted in a patchwork of various regulations at the state and federal level, making absolute compliance a difficult proposition for companies.
As online sales take over the retail market, it is essential to show strong trademark use of the marks on retail websites to maintain brand identity and support the trademark filings. There are specific requirements in the way one uses the mark on a website so that the USPTO will accept it as trademark use. For trademark owners that sell products as well as run a retail store, there can be applications for the online retail store services and also for the goods sold, assuming those goods are branded with the trademark owner’s trademark. An online retail store that sells the brands of others and not its own brand would not be able to use the website in support of an application for goods.