IP cases involving United Trademark Holdings, Inc.

Trademark registration can be viewed as a crucial step towards the market success. This article presents a closer look into the role of trademark registration in the success stories of Jacuzzi, Ping-Pong and Zamboni, for which the trademark has become more renown than the very product these brands describe.

By definition, a trademark needs to display sufficient distinctiveness to identify the origin and ownership of the products and services. That means generic and descriptive words should be avoided at all costs. The landmark case in United States PTO v. Booking.com B.V, however, proves that a generic term combined with “.com” or another top-level domain can be registered as a trademark if there is sufficient evidence of consumer recognition.

Ford joins the ranks of internationally renowned companies that have made an entry into the NFT and Web3.0 space with new trademark registrations. The American car company filed 19 new trademark applications to cover virtual automobiles and online retail services. As more companies are getting involved with NFT projects, unique IP concerns are expected to follow soon.