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Pam Chestek Ponders the Transfer of Common Law Trademarks under State Law

At her Property, intangible blog, Pam Chestek reports (here) on an "uh-oh moment" involving transfer of common law trademark rights. The TTAB case, she observes, involves a "fairly routine examination of a petitioner's first use date to determine who is senior user of the mark. The 'uh oh' is a theory that the mark, when transferred from the sole proprietor to a corporate entity he formed, wasn't properly transferred under state trademark law." Terra Sul Corporation A/K/A Churrascaria Boi Na Brasa v. Boi Na Braza, Inc., Cancellation No. 92047056 (June 12, 2009) [not precedential].The Board granted the Section 2(d) petition for cancellation based on prior use and likely confusion, but it side-stepped the question of whether the New Jersey statute -- which states that assignments must be in writing and recorded -- applies to common law marks...continue to full post

Full post as published by The TTABlog on June 22, 2009 (boomark / email).