Bucking the trend of recent Section(d) refusal affirmances, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) delivered a surprising victory to the applicant in In re Restaurant Concept Management, LLC,[1] finding no likelihood of confusion between SIDECAR SLIDER BAR
trademark
TTAB Draws the Line on “See Prior Arguments”
In a precedential opinion issued June 6, 2025, the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (“USPTO”) Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) affirmed the refusal to register PRINCETON EQUITY GROUP as a trademark for “strategic financial advisory services; providing equity…
Reputation Reaches Across Borders: TTAB’s Ruling Charts New Course for Foreign Marks
The Board’s Decision
In a significant precedential ruling, Plumrose Holding Ltd. v. USA Ham LLC, No. 91272970, 2025 WL 248763, at *1 (Jan. 17, 2025), the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) has expanded protection for foreign trademark owners…
Concepts, creative ideas and copyright protection: Buster, The Brave Little Wooden Boat illustrating the limits of causal connection and copyright protection
By Georgina Hey & Jerome Messiha
Content developers and creatives are generators of ideas and concepts. The point at which any concept transforms into a copyright protected work is often a vexed issue in the creative (and other) spaces.
A…
10th Circuit Moves Forward with Supreme Court Directive: Domestic Anchor Required for Lanham Act Application
** Drew Engel, a Summer Associate in NRF’s Minneapolis office, assisted with this article. Drew is supervised by attorneys who are licensed in the state of Texas.**
The Tenth Circuit’s recent decision in Hetronic Int’l Inc. v. Hetronic Germany GmbH…
Supreme Court Rules Section 2(c) of Lanham Act Constitutional and TRUMP TOO SMALL Not Registrable
** Logan Woodward, a Summer Associate in NRF’s Minneapolis Office, assisted with this article. Logan is supervised by attorneys who are licensed in the State of Texas. **
In June 2024, the Supreme Court held in Vidal v. Elster that…
Trademarks and NFTs: The battle over “MetaBirkin” NFTs continues
** This article was drafted by Logan Woodward, a Summer Associate in NRF’s Minneapolis Office. Logan is supervised by attorneys who are licensed in the State of Texas.
The MetaBirkin dispute continues before the United States Court of Appeals for…
Ninth Circuit’s decision “RAW”ks trademark world: BBK Tobacco & Foods LLP v. Central Agriculture, Inc.
The TTAB’s Periodic Reminder that Deadlines Matter
In a decision earlier this year, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) dismissed as moot a cancellation proceeding filed by Men’s Wearhouse, LLC against WKND NYC LLC for the mark

(hereinafter, “MW MRWKND”) because Men’s Wearhouse filed the cancellation…
EVERYBODY is VS RACISM, so the Mark Fails as a Source Identifier
In a recent decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the decision of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) to deny registration of “EVERYBODY VS RACISM” because the “public is unlikely to associate the…
