The latest issue of the The Trademark Reporter features an article by former TTAB Judge Lorelei Ritchie, now an Assistant Professor at Southern Illinois University School of Law, entitled "'Recognizing the "Use"-fulness of Evidence at the TTAB," 112 Trademark Reporter 635 (May-June 2022). [download pdf here]. Willard Knox, Staff Editor-in-Chief of TMR, describes the article as a "unique combination of TTAB 'inside baseball" and scholarship . . . of value to practitioners and academics alike."
Introduction
There has been a fair amount of confusion regarding the value of "use"-based evidence in proceedings at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ("TTAB" or the "Board"). In 2021, shortly after departing the TTAB for a full-time academic position, I published a law review article intended as an in-depth discussion of policy issues and concerns involving the appropriateness of use-based evidence at the TTAB.1 While that article provided an analysis of policy initiatives and opportunities, the present article is intended to provide tips to current (or aspiring) practitioners on best practices of when to submit—and when to avoid submitting—evidence of marketplace use in TTAB proceedings. In short, this article is intended as a practical guide, based on current law and practice at the TTAB, including as the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 takes effect.
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