Congratulations to Jim Menker on his landmark win in the U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit in the case In re Sones, Case No. 2009-1140, decided December 23, 2009.
The Federal Circuit reversed the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s refusal to accept a specimen of use filed in connection with a trademark application. The specimen in question was a web print out that contained a description of the goods, but not a photograph. The decision rejected the Trademark Office’s long-held interpretation of prior case law, by holding that a specimen of use from the Internet does not always need to include a picture of the goods.