69 Am. U. L. Rev. 1331 (2020).

* Stephanie H. Bald is a Partner at Kelly IP, LLP, in Washington, D.C. and an alumna of American University, Washington College of Law (WCL). She also serves as an Adjunct Professor at WCL, where she teaches a course on trademark practice and procedure.

** Sara Copeland Parker is an Associate at Kelly, IP, LLP in Washington, D.C. She specializes in trademark litigation before the federal courts and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

Introduction

In 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued five precedential trademark decisions—a slight decline from the seven precedential decisions issued in 2018. The cases consist of appeals from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB or “the Board”), U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC or “the Commission”), and a U.S. district court. The majority of these decisions involved the issue of likelihood of confusion and were resolved based on longstanding precedent. The Federal Circuit also issued one notable decision relating to the requirements for specimens of use consisting of webpages.

Each of the Federal Circuit’s precedential 2019 trademark decisions is discussed in detail below.