[E-trademarks] Licensing of Intellectual Property Rights?

Wed Feb 26 14:44:53 UTC 2025

Interesting that the PTO doesn’t consider the licensing of one’s own IP to be “licensing of intellectual property,” but one can register “retail store services” (particularly online ones) when the only products sold are the mark owner’s.

Kevin Grierson

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From: E-trademarks <e-trademarks-bounces at oppedahl-lists.com> On Behalf Of Edward Timberlake via E-trademarks
Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2025 6:01 PM
To: For trademark practitioners. This is not for laypersons to seek legal advice. <e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com>
Cc: Edward Timberlake <ed at timberlakelaw.com>
Subject: Re: [E-trademarks] Licensing of Intellectual Property Rights?

EXTERNAL EMAIL
By no means exhaustive or scientific, but a quick glance at the results of a quick search of live federal trademark registrations, based on use in commerce, including the words "licensing of intellectual property" (such as that below), seems to suggest many of these registrations cover only services in one class (rather than one class for the non-licensing services and another for licensing). That's not quite the same thing as saying those marks aren't also registered in connection with non-licensing services, but it looks like a lot of them probably aren't.

(IC:045 OR IC:042) and GS:"licensing of intellectual property" AND RN:* AND LD:true AND CB:1a

Sincerely,

Ed Timberlake
Board Certified Specialist in Trademark Law<https://www.nclawspecialists.gov/for-the-public/find-a-board-certified-specialist/results/detail/?id=29473>

Timberlake Law<http://timberlakelaw.com/>
Chapel Hill, NC

Schedule a call on Clarity<https://clarity.fm/edtimberlake>
ed at timberlakelaw.com<mailto:ed at timberlakelaw.com>
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On Tue, Feb 25, 2025 at 5:37 PM Gerry J. Elman via E-trademarks <e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com<mailto:e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com>> wrote:
In the ancient past, the USPTO deemed licensing of IP to include licensing of the Applicant's IP to others.  Then the wind shifted, and the USPTO took the position that the "service" of IP licensing includes only doing it for another company's IP.

-Gerry Elman
Elman IP
Denton, Texas

Sent from my T-Mobile 5G Device

-------- Original message --------
From: Edward Timberlake via E-trademarks <e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com<mailto:e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com>>
Date: 2/25/25 3:43 PM (GMT-06:00)
To: "For trademark practitioners. This is not for laypersons to seek legal advice." <e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com<mailto:e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com>>
Cc: Edward Timberlake <ed at timberlakelaw.com<mailto:ed at timberlakelaw.com>>
Subject: Re: [E-trademarks] Licensing of Intellectual Property Rights?

Maybe TMEP 1301.01(a) - Criteria for Determining What Constitutes a Service would have some helpful language?

https://tmep.uspto.gov/RDMS/TMEP/current#/current/TMEP-1300d1e36.html

Sincerely,

Ed Timberlake
Board Certified Specialist in Trademark Law<https://www.nclawspecialists.gov/for-the-public/find-a-board-certified-specialist/results/detail/?id=29473>

Timberlake Law<http://timberlakelaw.com/>
Chapel Hill, NC

Schedule a call on Clarity<https://clarity.fm/edtimberlake>
ed at timberlakelaw.com<mailto:ed at timberlakelaw.com>
919.960.1950

[https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4zUm0zjuSoSf91b85RXakFjrbAqMcNkJek2_S8VO9eHNz9mDAX5u3RBN0aEhVODltVLqRN-NYsDzt7A]

On Tue, Feb 25, 2025 at 4:26 PM Montgomery, Alexander P. via E-trademarks <e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com<mailto:e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com>> wrote:
Question for the brain trust:

If your client uses its mark for X services, and also licenses its mark to others so that those others can provide X services (not a franchise), do you include in an application for the mark:

•       X services; AND

•       (Class 45) Licensing of intellectual property

or only “X services”?

Alexander P. Montgomery <http://www.hinckleyallen.com/people/alexander-p-montgomery>
Partner
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