Up in Smoke: Cannabis TM Rejection Shows Need for Caution

On May 3, the TTAB affirmed the USPTO’s previous decision to reject an application for ‘Bakked’. The filing was intended to cover an essential oil dispenser and was submitted by cannabis company National Concessions Group (NCG). […]

[T]he USPTO examiner, as the TTAB reaffirmed, found that the “primary intended purpose” was to dispense cannabis-based oil to a vaping or smoking device.

Hazy Descriptions

Christiane Schuman Campbell, partner at Duane Morris in Philadelphia, says the word “primary” is significant. Continue reading “Up in Smoke: Cannabis TM Rejection Shows Need for Caution”

“Sort of a Land Grab”: Intellectual Property in the Cannabis Space

Cannabis Wire discussed the Duane Morris webinar, Cannabis 202: IP Issues Facing the Cannabis Industry: Hot Topics in Patent, Trademark and Branding Protection and Enforcement.

The publication writes:

The 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp in the U.S., has triggered an avalanche of applications for cannabis patents and trademarks.

Last Tuesday, Duane Morris, an international law firm headquartered in Philadelphia, hosted a webinar on intellectual property concerns as they relate to the cannabis industry. Early on, the presenters made two things clear: one, there is an unprecedented rush for cannabis patents, and two, how property rights in the industry will be divvied up remains up in the air. The lawyers presented a patent and trademark landscape that the industry needs to understand, but one in which the rules are very much in formation.

For more information, visit the Cannabis Wire website or view a replay of the webinar.

Patent and Trademark Office Issues New Guidelines for Hemp Following 2018 Farm Bill Legalization

On May 2, 2019, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) made available a new examination guide aimed at clarifying the examination procedure for trademarks used in connection with cannabis and cannabis-derived goods and services.

These guidelines are a direct response to the signing of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) into law on December 20, 2018. The 2018 Farm Bill changes certain federal authorities relating to the production and marketing of “hemp,” defined as “the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol [THC] concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.” These changes include removing hemp from the Controlled Substance Act’s (CSA) definition of marijuana, which means that cannabis plants and derivatives such as cannabidiol (CBD) that contain no more than 0.3 percent THC are no longer controlled substances under the CSA.

View the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

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The opinions expressed on this blog are those of the author and are not to be construed as legal advice.

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