On February 6, 2015, a US District Court issued a ruling which underscores the territorial nature of trademark rights and the need to seek formal protection for your marks where possible in all countries of interest. The US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas reversed the US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's ruling in Bayer Consumer Care AG v. Belmora LLC which held that the Paris Convention does not grant trademark rights that are protectable under certain Sections of the United States Trademark Statute (the Lanham Act). The District Court's decision allows Belmora LLC's US trademark registration for FLANAX to stand even though Bayer holds trademark protection for FLANAX for a very similar product. Bayer's registration of FLANAX is in Mexico and its similar product in the US is marketed under the brand Aleve. Read more analysis of this important decision on the Copyright & Trademark Matters blog.
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