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
It’s becoming more and more common for companies in all industries to use social media “influencers” to promote their goods and services online. Influencer advertising in the cannabis industry is a particularly risky idea because paid advertisers need to comply with all cannabis marketing and advertising rules. It goes without saying that social media influencers
As promised, here’s an update on the first ever cannabis patent infringement case, which we’ve previously written about here and here. Since it’s been a little while – plaintiff United Cannabis Corporation (“UCANN”) owns the “911 Patent,” which generally covers liquid cannabinol formulations of a purified CBD and/or THC greater than 95%. Last July, UCANN
As everyone knows by now the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp production by de-scheduling the crop under the Controlled Substance Act. We’ve written extensively about federal hemp rules and regulations as well as those in California, Oregon and Washington. We’ve also addressed hemp in terms of USDA Organic Certification, international trade issues, and the FDA stance on
It's no secret that multiple state-by-state operators are building their cannabis empires through aggressive mergers and acquisitions ("M&A"). Last year, our cannabis business attorneys closed more than $100 million in cannabis company acquisitions, and that shows no signs of stopping in 2019. Cannabis M&A is not your run-of-the-mill business dealing though, and working from boilerplate,
The deals in Oregon cannabis are getting very big and much of what we do these days involves mergers, acquisitions and cross border work. It’s amazing this happened so fast. Less than four years ago, as the OLCC began writing rules for the adult use marijuana industry, there was a distinct small business tenor to
We have been closely following California's commercial hemp cultivation licensing law since it was proposed last year as Senate Bill 1409 (see here, here, and here). In March, I wrote about some of the roadblocks to implementing SB-1409's commercial hemp cultivation programs, and the lengthy review process of the California Department of Food and Agriculture ("CDFA") regulation which
On April 19, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it would formally update its Policy Manual regarding how cannabis-related activity--even when it took place in states that have legalized the medical and recreational use of marijuana--would impact naturalization. The Policy Manual is self-defined by the USCIS as its centralized online repository for
In the past year or so, we have seen an influx of cannabis delivery businesses enter the Oregon market-- specifically in Portland. Those businesses are getting a lot of press, and we have received multiple inquiries from outfits looking to enter this space. Given this growing interest, we thought we would go over some of
Last Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) released a statement, in which the agency clarified that the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill rendered the importation of hemp seeds legal. As we previously explained, the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp, hemp seeds, and other derivatives, by removing them from the Controlled Substance Act. Accordingly,
