Trademark Law 
When is a Trademark Abandoned?
Under the Lanham Act, nonuse of a mark for 3 consecutive years shall be prima facie evidence of abandonment.
In today’s Internet age, use or non-use of an Internet website can be powerful evidence of use in commerce, or the lack thereof.
“WOULD YOU RATHER…?” Is this Trademark Distinctive?
A mark MAY be registered if it is fanciful, arbitrary or suggestive. A mark may NOT be registered if it is generic. In order for a descriptive mark to be registered, it must have acquired a secondary meaning in commerce.
Evaluation of whether a mark is suggestive or descriptive is done under two tests: the “imagination test” (is the imagination or a mental leap required order to reach a conclusion as to the nature of the product) and the “competitors’ needs test” (the extent to which a mark is actually needed by competitors to identify their goods or services).
Southern Cal Beats South Carolina in Trademark Case
University of Southern California beats University of South Carolina in a PAC-10 / SEC Trademark shootout before the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.
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