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IP BLAWG
Splitting Up Isn't Easy for Trademarks
Beverly A. Berneman
9/5/17Business divorces can put trademarks in limbo. %CUT% Devon Johnson and Latresa Moore launched the fashion and lifestyle magazine, PYNK, in 2011. It only took two years for the team’s relationship to sour. The parting of the ways was not all that simple. Johnson kept the magazine, but hasn’t posted new content for a long time. Moore set up her own ThinkPynk website and a Pynk Magazine Instagram feed. Johnson tried to trademark the word and design mark for “Pynk”. Moore opposed registration saying that she is a co-owner and Johnson can’t register the mark alone. The TTAB granted the opposition. The board said that it wasn’t possible to delineate what intellectual property and assets remained and with whom. Since Johnson could not show that he was the sole owner, he couldn’t register the marks.
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