As it stands, you can\u2019t trademark a product that\u2019s not currently legal under federal law\u2014like marijuana or psychedelics. But a CBD beverage company is appealing that rule, and it could have wide-ranging implications for burgeoning industries surrounding potentially soon-to-be-legal substances.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) says that companies cannot secure trademarks for products that aren\u2019t lawful for commerce, even if they\u2019re simply submitting \u201cintent to use\u201d applications that could take years to process while a pending policy change works its way through Congress or federal agencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile applicant may be anticipating that CBD-based beverages will be made lawful at the federal level within the time frame for filing an allegation of use, that anticipation does not make this application registrable,\u201d USPTO wrote in explaining its decision to deny a registration to Joy Tea, which markets hemp-derived CBD drinks. \u201cThe lawfulness of the goods is determined at the time the application is filed and not what may or may not be lawful at the federal level years from now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Joy Tea is appealing the rejection with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.<\/p>\n While hemp and its derivatives like CBD were legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, USPTO denied its trademark request because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not currently have regulations in place that allow for the lawful marketing of cannabinoids in food items or dietary supplements.<\/p>\n While the federal food regulator has said it\u2019s working on rules to allow for the marketing of CBD-infused products, USPTO says that for now, \u201cFDA intentions, public opinion in favor of legalization of cannabis, and anticipation of change in the current law have no bearing on the prosecution of a trademark application.\u201d<\/p>\n But Larry Sandell, an intellectual property attorney at Mei & Mark LLP<\/a> who is representing Joy Tea, told Marijuana Moment that it\u2019s improper to deny his client a trademark registration in the meantime.<\/p>\n \u201cThe general idea as to why [companies submit intent to use applications]\u2014outside the cannabis space\u2014is if you\u2019re marketing a new product, and you\u2019re starting to lay the groundwork, it would be terrible if somebody could just swoop it up and beat you to the trademark office and steal it out from under you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Traditional pharmaceutical companies that are interested in selling products that aren\u2019t currently approved by FDA have this option\u2014but CBD businesses are barred.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no real logical basis for the split,\u201d Sandell said.<\/p>\n But USPTO said the comparison is \u201cmisleading because pharmaceuticals are not per se unlawful.\u201d<\/p>\n Joy Tea \u201chas not argued or demonstrated that it is seeking or has sought FDA approval for the sale of its CBD-based beverages,\u201d the agency said. \u201cApplicant\u2019s goods are not merely \u2018unapproved\u2019 but are actually \u2018unlawful.’\u201d<\/p>\n To resolve the issue, Joy Tea, is seeking an appeal.<\/p>\n \u201cAt base, this Appeal seeks to overturn, or at least narrow, this per se rule,\u201d the company\u2019s filing states. \u201cNo statute or applicable regulation supports disqualifying an applicant\u2019s bona fide intent that stems from a belief\u2014especially an objectively reasonable belief\u2014that its intended future commerce will be legal future commerce,\u201d<\/p>\n It further argues that \u201cmarket movement in cannabis-related stocks evinces that\u2014notwithstanding the current law\u2014many people anticipate changes in federal law toward cannabis legalization in the immediate future and have been willing to invest in this belief.\u201d<\/p>\n If the appeal succeeds and companies are prospectively able to trademark products that aren\u2019t currently legal under federal law, that would have a significant impact on businesses entering the space.<\/p>\n If it fails, however, that would mean that the status quote prevails, putting these companies \u201cin a terrible spot,\u201d Sandell said.<\/p>\n It would mean, for example, that a company could preempt another company that plans to sell a cannabis product by taking their business name and using it for a legal, unrelated purpose.<\/p>\n Should Joy Tea\u2019s current effort fail, Sandell said they will appeal to a federal circuit court. They\u2019re expecting a response to the initial briefing by mid-summer.<\/p>\n Read the text of the appeal<\/a> on the CBD trademark below:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n CBD Tea Trademark Appeal<\/a> by Marijuana Moment<\/a><\/p>\n Head Of Top Federal Drug Agency Says It\u2019s Time To Consider Decriminalization<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo by Kimzy Nanney<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post CBD Company\u2019s Appeal Could Let Marijuana And Psychedelics Companies Trademark Businesses Pre-Legalization<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
As it stands, you can\u2019t trademark a product that\u2019s not currently legal under federal law\u2014like marijuana or psychedelics. But a CBD beverage company is appealing that rule, and it could have wide-ranging implications for burgeoning industries surrounding potentially soon-to-be-legal substances. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) says that companiesContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1335,18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47644"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47644"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47645,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47644\/revisions\/47645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: CBD Company\u2019s Appeal Could Let Marijuana And Psychedelics Companies Trademark Businesses Pre-Legalization<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"