Yuezhong Feng

If a court finds that a patent applicant intentionally misrepresented or withheld material information from the USPTO with the intent to deceive, the consequences are severe, leading to unenforceability of the entire patent (and likely any later patents claiming priority to the unenforceable patent). As the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit famously said in its landmark en banc decision in Therasense, Inc., v. Becton Dickinson and Co., 649 F.3d 1276 (Fed. Cir.

It seems most everyone has been closely monitoring Taco Bell’s cancellation proceedings directed to federal trademark registrations covering the TACO TUESDAY trademark. On July 15, 2023, one of the registrants, Spicy Seasonings, LLC, withdrew its registration after decades of ownership, supporting Taco Bell’s allegations that the phrase is generic and therefore not protectable as a trademark. At its core, a trademark or service mark is a source identifier.