Lexis Nexis
 |    |  
Premier Destination for Sophisticated Buyers of Legal Services

Home > Search Legal Topics > Article Abstract



Martindale-Hubbell Article RSS Feeds Article Feeds

Knew or Should Have Known, Reckless Disregard for the Truth, and Fraud Before the Trademark Office


by Linda K. McLeod
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P.
Washington Office

September 16, 2007

Previously published by AIPLA Quarterly Journal on Summer 2006

In a series of recent decisions, the Trademark Trial and Appeal board has imposed a heightened duty of candor and strict rule of fraud on practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. This article will examine cases involving fraud in statements in which the applicant claimed use of a mark in connection with all or most of the identified goods or services in a trademark application or registration, when in fact the mark was used only on some of them. In addition, this article will compare the Patent Office's stringent duty of candor and disclosure to the Trademark Office's historically lower standard, outline the elements of fraud before the Trademark Office, and survey recent Board decisions that impose a heightened duty of candor and strict fraud rule.


 

The views expressed in this article are solely the views of the author and not Martindale-Hubbell. This article is intended for informational purposes only and is not legal advice or a substitute for consultation with a licensed legal professional in a particular case or circumstance.




Total Practice Solutions

 
Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Copyright 2008 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.