CLANCY PC - IP LAW
  • Home
  • About
  • PAULA's BIO
  • Contact
  • IP Blog

@CanadianIP News


Follow us on Twitter @CanadianIP
Follow us on LinkedIn @ClancyPC
Follow us on Facebook @ClancypcIP
Follow us on Instagram @ClancyPClaw
Clancy PC, Intellectual Property Law, Paula Clancy, Trademarks, Canadian IP, @CanadianIP, IP

Cannabis owners face another set-back in the U.s.

8/10/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Photo by Kimzy Nanney on Unsplash
By Paula Clancy
Cannabis trademark owners are not able to obtain Federal Trademark Registrations in the U.S. This position was affirmed by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ("TTAB") last month in In Re NL LLC, wherein the Board held that for a trademark to meet the "use in commerce" requirement, the use must be "lawful". 

Although cannabis and CBD products have been legalized in several U.S. states, the Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetics Act (FDCA) and the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) prohibit the sale of products containing cannabis.

The Applicant argued that under Colorado state law, its use was indeed "lawful", however the TTAB rejected this argument. “The fact that the provision of a product or service may be lawful within a state is irrelevant to the question of federal registration when it is unlawful under federal law”. Under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, in cases where  there is conflict between federal and state law, federal law prevails. 

This is of course disappointing to cannabis brand owners who are excluded from the benefit of Federal Trademark Registration.  The upcoming U.S. election may provide some solace given that Biden/Harris have vowed to legalize cannabis if they win.

We will continue to track these developments as cannabis is a growing sector in Canada, and many Canadian companies are anxiously awaiting the decriminalization of cannabis in the U.S.

Please contact us for further information on protecting your brands worldwide.
Clancy PC, Intellectual Property Law, Paula Clancy, Trademarks, IP
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    May 2018
    December 2017
    May 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    July 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    September 2015
    June 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014

    Categories

    All
    Appointments
    Awards
    Brexit
    EUTMs
    Paula Clancy
    Trademarks
    UKIPO
    WTR 1000

Clancy PC

28 Deakin Street, Suite 201
Ottawa Ontario K2E 8B7
​Canada
pclancy@clancypc.com
Review us on Google
© Clancy PC, 2020
  • Home
  • About
  • PAULA's BIO
  • Contact
  • IP Blog