Every business thrives on brand differentiation. One of the most effective ways to promote public identification and recognition is to enhance and protect your brand. Your brand is of course your name but it is also your logo. Beyond that, really, it’s everything about you. As far as “formal” branding elements, logos are right there
Copyright is an aspect of intellectual property (IP) law less frequently considered by cannabis businesses than trademark, trade secrets or even patents it seems. Yet, like these other forms of intellectual property, copyrights can afford their holders with market dominance and profitability when utilized correctly. Almost all marijuana businesses own numerous unregistered copyrights, whether or
We’ve written extensively about the dos and don’ts of filing cannabis-related state and federal trademarks, and we all know by now that you cannot obtain a federal trademark registration for goods or services that are not lawful pursuant to federal law. But I’ve heard a lot of creative arguments in this space, and have had many
Last week I had the pleasure of attending the International Trademark Association’s (INTA) Annual Meeting in Seattle, where trademark practitioners from around the world convened to geek out on all things brand-related. One of the prevalent topics of conversation was trademark licensing. While we’ve discussed at length some of the challenges of entering into Intellectual
On Friday, I had the privilege of speaking on a panel at American University Washington College of Law’s Intellectual Property Symposium in Washington D.C., which addressed the obstacles of obtaining and enforcing IP rights in the cannabis industry. Many of the questions asked were ones I’ve been working through for the last several years, so
As we’ve discussed before on this blog, cannabis can be and is being patented. It is important to remember that patents are a balance between competing social values. In classical legal theory, patents exist to encourage innovation by offering innovators a limited monopoly in return for making inventions, and eventually releasing them to the public. Although
Previous posts have discussed cannabis patents, here. Today I explain the basics of how to read a patent. Why would you want to do such a thing? If you are in the cannabis business, you may own a patent, or be threatened of infringing one. The tips below will give you a good start on understanding
Given the recent influx of cannabis-IP licensing deals on which we have worked, I thought it important to discuss some of the issues potential licensees often face when negotiating with brand owners. These licensing deals are complicated and fraught with unique cannabis-related issues. Many companies come to us with such licensing deals expecting the biggest
If this feels like déjà vu (all over again), it’s probably because earlier this month, I wrote about The Gorilla Glue Company’s lawsuit for trademark infringement against GG Stains LLC out of Nevada. In that case, Gorilla Glue, the manufacturer of a variety of adhesives sold under the “Gorilla” brand and distinctive logo, alleged trademark
The Gorilla Glue Company and GG Strains LLC, a Nevada-based cannabis company, entered a recent settlement agreement in the trademark infringement case brought by Gorilla Glue back in March. This case provided a perfect illustration of what NOT to do when developing your cannabis brand, and it now illustrates the possible consequences of infringing the trademarks
