Rethink(IP) - USPTO Trademark Notices
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US Supreme Court CasesThis bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during January. Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security reports applicants for adjustment of status. Allocations were made, to the extent possible under the numerical limitations, for the demand received by December 8th in the chronological order of the reported priority dates. If the demand could not be satisfied within the statutory or regulatory limits, the category or foreign state in which demand was excessive was deemed oversubscribed. The cut-off date for an oversubscribed category is the priority date of the first applicant who could not be reached within the numerical limits. Only applicants who have a priority date earlier than the cut-off date may be allotted a number. Immediately that it becomes necessary during the monthly allocation process to retrogress a cut-off date, supplemental requests for numbers will be honored only if the priority date falls within the new cut-off date.
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About: Rayan F. Coutinho is an attorney in the Business Group at the law firm of Wood & Lamping LLP and can be reached at 513-852-6030 or by email at rfcoutinho@woodlamping.com.
admin @ December 16, 2008
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The term “partnership” is generally defined in the Uniform Partnership Law as an association of two or more persons to carry on as co-owners a business for profit. A “partnership” has been defined by the courts as a contract of two or more competent persons to place their money, effects, labor, or skill in lawful commerce or business, and to divide the profit and bear the loss in certain proportions. The partnership relation is a voluntary one, and thus a contract, express or implied, is essential to its formation. It is not necessary that the partnership contract be in any particular form; it may be express, implied, or partly express and partly implied. The elements of partnership considered critical to its existence have been variously expressed by the courts, but generally include: (a) an association of persons under a contract or agreement; (b) sharing of profits and losses from the business enterprise; (c) mutual agency and control; (d) co-ownership of the business. For purposes of this research, I am assuming that a valid partnership existed between the departing and non-departing partners based on an oral agreement.
admin @ December 16, 2008
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At the outset, it must be clarified that a slogan may be registrable as a trademark. However, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has strict regulations regarding whether or not a slogan can become a registered mark. A slogan may be registrable if it is inherently distinctive i.e. if it inherently acts as a source identifier. If not, inherently distinctive, then the slogan may be registrable if it acquires distinctiveness through secondary meaning. This basically means that through extensive advertising the consuming public, upon hearing the slogan, relates it to the particular product or service. The best example of this type of slogan is “Just Do It” (Nike)
More on page 125
admin @ December 16, 2008
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The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, effective April 21, 2000, applies to the online collection of personal information from children under 13. The law spells out what a website operator must include in a privacy policy, when and how to seek verifiable consent from a parent, and what responsibilities an operator has to protect children’s privacy and safety online. The Federal Trade Commission staff and the Direct Marketing Association prepared this guide to help you comply with the new requirements for protecting children’s privacy online and understand the FTC’s enforcement authority.
For the complete article, click here.
About: Rayan F. Coutinho is an attorney in the Business Group at the law firm of Wood & Lamping LLP and can be reached at 513-852-6030 or by email at rfcoutinho@woodlamping.com.
admin @ December 12, 2008