Currently, seven of Canada’s top ten cannabis patent holders are major multi-national pharmaceutical companies, according to a joint research project by Washington D.C.-based New Frontier Data and London-based cannabis bio-technology firm, Grow Biotech. The list includes Ciba-Geigy AG (Switzerland) with 21 patents; Pfizer Products (United States) with 14; and Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (Sweden) with 13….
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Cannabis Patent Litigation Update: A Certificate of Correction Allows the 911 Patent to Survive Another Challenge
Uncategorized July 9, 2019
We have been closely monitoring the first ever cannabis patent infringement case, between plaintiff United Cannabis Corporation (“UCANN”) and defendant Pure Hemp Collective, Inc. (“Pure Hemp”). UCANN owns the “911 Patent,” which generally covers liquid cannabinol formulations of a purified CBD and/or THC greater than 95%. For the past year, UCANN has fought to secure a…
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SCOTUS Clarifies That Protection is Available for “Immoral or Scandalous” Trademarks
Uncategorized July 2, 2019
In alignment with its 2017 decision in the Matal v. Tam case which ruled that the disparagement clause of the Lanham Act violated the First Amendment’s free speech clause, the Supreme Court ruled last week that free speech protections also extend to “immoral or scandalous” trademarks. In Iancu v. Brunetti, SCOTUS ruled that the United…
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Recently, William J. McNichol, Jr., Adjunct Professor at Rutgers University School of Law, wrote an article regarding the enforcement of cannabis patents that should definitely be discussed. As we’ve noted starting last summer, we expect to see an increasing number of patent infringement cases. We’ve also been providing updates on the very first patent infringement…
Read moreNext week on June 11th, I will be speaking on a panel during the Cannabis Law Sessions, which are being hosted by the National Cannabis Bar Association in conjunction with MJBizConNEXT and the Hemp Industry Daily Conference. Together with my colleagues, we will be covering a wide range of intellectual property issues faced by startups…
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Cannabis businesses use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) constantly. This may be due to a combination of factors: 1) the relative hardship of acquiring and protecting intellectual property over marijuana-related processes and products, today and historically; 2) a general modus operandi of “close to the vest” dealings in an industry that historically was pushed underground; and 3)…
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I have advised countless cannabis companies, both start-up and well-established, on how to choose a strong brand and ideally, how to avoid trademark litigation down the line. But inevitably, clients come to me (even those who put a lot of thought into choosing their trademarks) with cease and desist letters and notices of opposition that…
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Last week I attended the International Trademark Association’s Annual Meeting, where one of the somewhat obscure topics discussed is something I’ve actually seen crop up recently in practice. The question is at what point the use of a fictional character in branding or advertising constitutes either trademark or copyright infringement. And the answer is not…
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Earlier this month, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued Examination Guide 1-19: Examination of Marks for Cannabis and Cannabis-Related Goods and Services After Enactment of the 2018 Farm Bill. While the guide didn’t provide any earth-shattering news regarding cannabis-related trademarks, it did clarify the USPTO’s position with respect to trademarks for domestic…
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We’ve referenced the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board (TTAB) in numerous posts related to protecting your cannabis trademarks, but many clients come to me unaware of the functions of the TTAB. This post will give a basic rundown of what the TTAB does, and what the trademark opposition process looks like. This process is something…
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