Corporate Practice Series Portfolio No. 18-5th, Trademarks and Related Unfair Competition Law, explains in detail the process of securing and maintaining a federal trademark registration. Beginning with a discussion of the types of trademarks, the emphasis in this portfolio is placed on the trademark selection procedure, including counsel's role in the process, and trademark searching for anticipations. This discussion deals with the preliminary screening of proposed marks and both domestic and international trademark word searches. The portfolio goes on to describe the perfection of legal interests in trademarks, including the federal registration application and follow-up procedures; the protection of legal interests in trademarks, which involves the resolution of disputes through negotiation or court or administrative proceedings; and the necessity of establishing a trademark maintenance program. Also discussed are related unfair competition issues, including §43(a) of the Lanham Act, the transfer of property (trademark) rights, and the impact of the Internet on trademark practice.

Portfolio 18-5th: Trademarks and Related Unfair Competition Law

I. Introduction
    A. The Goals of Trademark Law and of Related Unfair Competition Law
    B. Differences Among Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights
    C. Forms of Competition Regulation
         1. Deceptive practices
         2. Violation of regulations
         3. Personal rights
         4. The Internet
    D. Evolving U.S. and Foreign Law Outlooks as to Protection
    E. National Character of the Protected Rights
    F. Fundamental Tenets, Words of Art, and Types of Trademarks

II. The Regulatory Framework for Protection of Trademarks and Trade Names and Prevention of Related Unfair Competition
    A. The Lanham Act of 1946, as Amended by TLRA-88, and Later Amendments
    B. Related U.S. Laws and Regulations for Perfection and Protection of Trademark Rights
         1. The Judicial Code
         2. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Federal Rules of Evidence
         3. The Tariff Act of 1930
         4. The Federal Trade Commission Act and Trade Regulation Rules
         5. Protection of certain institutional names
         6. Labeling acts
         7. Internet-related legislation
    C. The PTO
    D. State Laws
         1. Registration of trademarks and organizational names
         2. Enforcement of name and mark rights under state law
         3. State laws regarding deception and unfair competition
         4. Franchise regulation
         5. Covenants not-to-compete
    E. Treaty Obligations and Other Harmonization Efforts
    F. Foreign National and Regional Laws Affecting Trademark Rights and Unfair Competition
    G. Private Registries
    H. The Internet

III. Trademark and Trade Name Selection and Clearance
    A. Evaluation of Candidate Marks and/or Names
    B. Distinctiveness and Secondary Meaning
         1. Coined names and images
         2. Arbitrary marks
         3. Suggestive marks
         4. Descriptive marks
         5. Generic words
         6. Secondary meaning
         7. URLs; domain name suitability
    C. Present and Potential Rights
    D. Dilution
    E. Usage Considerations
    F. Ownership
    G. Preliminary Screening of Proposed Marks; Searching
         1. Overview
         2. In-house screening
         3. Online databases and browsers/crawlers
         4. Variants that affect the scope of a search
         5. Federal and state registrations; common law uses
         6. The importance of specifying the goods and services
         7. Additional guidelines
         8. Company names
         9. Titles of books, radio/TV programs, and motion pictures; record labels; and character titles
         10. Marks and symbols specially protected by federal statutes
         11. Danger of inadequate search
         12. Search reports as evidence
    H. Search Analysis
         1. Questions answered by a search report
         2. Assessment of the likelihood of confusion
         3. Assessment of dilution
         4. Determining whether a cited mark is still in use
    I. International Searches
         1. Preliminary screening from the United States
         2. National searches abroad
         3. Where to search for a worldwide program
    J. The Overall Assessment

IV. Perfecting Legal Interests in Trademarks
    A. Right to Use and the Registration of Marks
         1. Use requirement and intent to use
         2. Effect of federal and state registration; term of registration
         3. Limited rights of corporate name registration
         4. Assignments as a source of trademark rights
    B. The Federal Registration Application
         1. Form of the application
         2. Electronic filing
         3. Examination by the PTO
         4. Appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and the courts
         5. Opposition procedures
         6. Supplemental Register
         7. Conversion from intent to use to actual use
         8. The special privilege afforded foreign applicants
         9. Division
         10. Disclaimers
         11. Mutilation and change/amendment
         12. Cancellation by court
         13. Other wrinkles of PTO practice
    C. Follow-Ups to Federal Registration
         1. Affidavit of use
         2. The incontestability affidavit
         3. Cancellation procedure
         4. Renewal
    D. International Registration
    E. The Effect of Assignment, Licensing, and a Nonproprietary Relationship to Marks
         1. Recording assignments and licenses
         2. Abandonment through ‘naked’ licensing
         3. Ambiguity in assignments
    F. State and Other Forms of Registration
         1. State versus federal registration
         2. Recording corporate names
         3. Private registration arrangements
         4. The Internet

V. Protecting Legal Interests in Trademarks
    A. Disputes Over Right to Use or Register; Negotiated Remedies
         1. Resolving disputes through negotiation
         2. Judicial and administrative remedies
              a. State and federal courts
              b. Stopping offending importation
              c. The plaintiff’s case
              d. Affirmative defenses, counterclaims, and declaratory judgments
              e. Actions in the PTO
              f. Seizure orders
              g. Government infringement
              h. Trial procedure
              i. Insurability
              j. Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR)
              k. Damages and costs
              l. Injunctions and other remedies
    B. Gray Markets 46
    C. Criminal Remedies
    D. Dilution and Related Theories
    E. Preemption and Other Constitutional Limitations
    F. International Coordination via ACTA

VI. Related Unfair Competition Issues
    A. Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act as a New Federal Tort Law
    B. The Federal Trade Commission Act and State ‘Baby’ FTC Acts
    C. The Common Law and Codifications
         1. Deception
         2. Trade libel
         3. Right of privacy
         4. Right of publicity
    D. Regulated Industries

VII. Property and Property Transfer Issues
    A. Assignments/Licenses and Mortgages/Security Interests
    B. Bankruptcy and Other Insolvency Situations; Security/Trade Identity Rights
    C. Taxation
    D. Valuation
    E. Opinions
    F. Warranties and Representations; Certifications
    G. Allocation of Trademark Ownership Among Affiliates and Contracting Parties

VIII. Trademark and Fair Competition Maintenance Programs
    . Introductory Material
    A. Vigilance or Watching Systems
         1. In-house and private services
         2. Foreign watching services
    B. Proper Use of the Mark
    C. Keeping Records and Timely Actions
    D. Liability Issues
    E. Defensive Matters
         1. Trademark and trade name rights
         2. Other areas of unfair competition      

Portfolio 18-5th: Trademarks and Related Unfair Competition Law

Wks. 1 Trademark Act of 1946, as amended, 15 U.S.C. §§1051–1127, 1129

Wks. 2 Rules of Practice in Trademark Cases, 37 C.F.R. §§2.1 to 2.209

Wks. 3 Paris Treaty

Wks. 4 Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights

Wks. 5 Madrid Protocol

Wks. 6 Regulations Implementing the Madrid Protocol

Wks. 7 Trademark Law Treaty

Wks. 8 Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

Wks. 9 U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Websites

Wks. 10 Table of Contents, Trademark Manual of Examination Procedures

Wks. 11 USPTO Trademark Fee Schedule

Wks. 12 NAD/CARU/NARB Procedures

Wks. 13 ICANN Uniform Dispute Resolution Procedures

Jerry Cohen
Burns & Levinson, LLP
Boston, Massachusetts