Trademark Opposition Proceedings

Even if the USPTO approves your application for a trademark registration, you’re not out of the woods quite yet. After approval, the USPTO publishes a proposed trademark for the world to see and any party who believes it owns a trademark which may be harmed by your proposed mark has a right to object to that mark’s registration by filing an opposition proceeding with the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board (TTAB) of the USPTO. To obtain your registration, you must prevail in that opposition proceeding, which is a lawsuit in the USPTO over the rights in your proposed trademark. Because Zarin & Associates has litigated many trademark cases both before the TTAB and in federal courts, it is very familiar with the arguments your competitors will use to attempt to block your registration and with the most effective ways to overcome those arguments.

Trademark Cancellation Proceedings

Trademark registrations are powerful weapons, but they are not necessarily infallible or indestructible. Once you have successfully obtained a registration, a party who believes it owns a trademark which may be harmed by your trademark can petition the TTAB to cancel your registration. Conversely, if you believe your trademark, whether or not it is registered, may be harmed by another party’s registration, you can petition the TTAB to cancel that registration.

Like an opposition proceeding, a cancellation proceeding is also a lawsuit in the TTAB over the rights in a trademark. Because cancellation proceedings involve extant trademark registrations, however, they are often more difficult to prevail on than are opposition proceedings. Due to its extensive experience litigating trademark cases before the TTAB and in federal courts, Zarin & Associates can marshal the most effective arguments in a cancellation proceeding, whether you are the party bringing the proceeding to obtain cancellation or the party defending against the proceeding to avoid cancellation.