The United States Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “TTAB”) recently published a precedential decision regarding the treatment of trademarks for wine and spirits and their potential for being “deceptively misdescriptive” pursuant to Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1052(a). Section 2(a) has three provisions, all of which are relevant to the alcoholic beverage industry. In this new precedential decision, the TTAB held that “[t]erms that are not specifically place names, but which may have ‘geographical association,’ may provide bases for claims under the general deceptiveness provision of Section 2(a).”
Important Notice: The Québec government has announced its intention to modify the French Charter in order to better protect the French language in Québec. We do not know precisely when these changes will come into force, nor what they will entail. That said, we know that the Québec government wishes to announce these changes sometime in 2021. As soon as we know more, our firm will issue a publication advising of these changes and their coming into force, and make any necessary amendments to our French Language Requirements in Québec series.
While the new laws make numerous changes to Mexico’s intellectual property framework, the most substantial change is that a declaration of use must now be filed for all trademark registrations within three months of the third anniversary of the registration date. So, for example, if a trademark is registered on Jan. 1, 2021, a declaration of use must be filed before April 1, 2024. This new rule is applicable to all registrations granted after Aug. 10, 2018. A declaration of use must also be filed when a trademark owner seeks to renew its registration. If the trademark owner does not prove use of the mark in Mexico in the appropriate manner and timeframe, the owner will be considered to have waived and renounced its trademark.