Navigating the haze of US cannabis TM law

18-11-2022

Sarah Speight

Navigating the haze of US cannabis TM law

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With a rising number of US states legalising or decriminalising cannabis, Sarah Speight explores how owners of cannabis-related trademarks can seek protection without getting their fingers burned.

Seeking protection for owners of cannabis-related trademarks may be likened to finding your way through a dense fog.

This is down to a disconnect between state and federal law—but, given the rate at which the cannabis industry is growing, change could be in the pipeline.

At the federal level, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rejects applications for cannabis-related trademarks on the basis that products containing more than 0.3% THC (tetrahydrocannabinol—the narcotic element of the plant) are illegal in the US.


cannabis, trademarks, US, USPTO, Farm Bill

WIPR