On Friday, I had the privilege of speaking on a panel at American University Washington College of Law’s Intellectual Property Symposium in Washington D.C., which addressed the obstacles of obtaining and enforcing IP rights in the cannabis industry. Many of the questions asked were ones I’ve been working through for the last several years, so
As we’ve discussed before on this blog, cannabis can be and is being patented. It is important to remember that patents are a balance between competing social values. In classical legal theory, patents exist to encourage innovation by offering innovators a limited monopoly in return for making inventions, and eventually releasing them to the public. Although
Previous posts have discussed cannabis patents, here. Today I explain the basics of how to read a patent. Why would you want to do such a thing? If you are in the cannabis business, you may own a patent, or be threatened of infringing one. The tips below will give you a good start on understanding
Given the recent influx of cannabis-IP licensing deals on which we have worked, I thought it important to discuss some of the issues potential licensees often face when negotiating with brand owners. These licensing deals are complicated and fraught with unique cannabis-related issues. Many companies come to us with such licensing deals expecting the biggest
The Gorilla Glue Company and GG Strains LLC, a Nevada-based cannabis company, entered a recent settlement agreement in the trademark infringement case brought by Gorilla Glue back in March. This case provided a perfect illustration of what NOT to do when developing your cannabis brand, and it now illustrates the possible consequences of infringing the trademarks
In cannabis intellectual property (IP) law, as in most areas of cannabis law, separating the flowers from the weeds is difficult. There is a lot of misinformation available on the internet and elsewhere about whether pot is protectable under patent or similar laws, and what patentability means for the industry. This post gives an overview of
We’ve written about trademark basics, about the importance of trademarking your brand, about choosing a brand that sells, and about how to choose a strong mark. We have even written about the differences between U.S. and Canadian trademarks. But we have not delved into the mechanics of prosecuting a trademark application because, quite frankly, the details
Given the onslaught of media pieces lately on celebrity cannabis brands, this would be a good time to enumerate branding issues faced by cannabis business owners, and to discuss how celebrity branding is different. There are three main ways a brand owner can establish trademark rights: By using the mark in connection with their goods or
Last month, I had the honor of speaking at the International Trademark Association’s Annual Meeting about the unique trademark issues faced by the cannabis industry. We’ve written extensively on the subject (see below for some of the highlights), but it’s about time for a basic refresher on trademark law and the trademark issues cannabis business
The Mendocino Appellations Project is one of the best cannabis branding ideas we’ve heard in a while. According to the Ukiah Daily Journal, “[s]ome farmers in the Emerald Triangle, seeking to reserve the name recognition the crop has brought to the region for decades, are turning towards establishing regional appellations to protect the unique culture
