What is a trademark specimen?A specimen is an example of use of the trademark in commerce in connection with the goods or services identified in the trademark application. More simply, it shows what consumers encounter when they consider purchasing those goods or services. An acceptable specimen differs by whether you are offering goods or services under your trademark.For goods/products, a specimen shows your trademark the way it is being used with the goods you are providing in commerce. Examples
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Latest from Ogden Glazer + Schaefer Interact
Why I Ask Annoying Questions
One of the more annoying parts of hiring a lawyer is that we tend to respond to perfectly good and reasonable questions with more questions.A client asks whether they can sign a contract, bring in a new partner, buy a business, or hire an intern. Usually, I need to know a little more before I can give a useful answer. Who drafted the agreement? What are you actually agreeing to? Who controls the company? What happens if the relationship
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The AI – Monkey Connection
U.S. copyright law protects works created by humans. The Copyright Office will not register content produced entirely by a non-human source. Courts have applied this rule to works attributed to animals, supernatural beings, and natural forces. Not monkeys, not oceans, not even “celestial beings” can own a US copyright. Courts found Naruto the monkey couldn’t protect his “selfie” even though he was smiling oh so handsomely. The also found that the Urantia Foundation couldn’t register a book that they
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Hurry Up and Wait: More Federal Speedbumps for Federal Hemp and Marijuana Regulation
Over the last year or so, two points of federal cannabis reform have been in the news: (1) shifts in Congressional policy around the federal treatment of hemp (see Collin’s earlier post here for more) and (2) the Executive Branch effort to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (more details in my earlier post, as well as the subsequent December 2025 Executive Order and corresponding rulemaking). Both efforts have seen
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Copyright in the Age of AI: Anthropic’s Clash with Music Publishers
“Plaintiff Music Publishers, a group of the world’s leading music publishers, bring this action to hold accountable the culprits behind one of the largest and most blatant ongoing thefts of intellectual property in history,” starts the allegation that music publisher’s Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell Music have made against Anthropic, an American artificial intelligence company known for creating a family of AI assistants in a 48-page complaint. In a significant legal battle, Sony Music and Warner Chappell
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So … Are We a Marijuana Business Now?
I’ve spent a lot of time lately thinking about the definition of “hemp” under the 2018 Farm Bill. More than anyone reasonably should, probably.
The history is actually pretty interesting though … I promise. Ride with me on this one.
Brief History
The 0.3% dry-weight delta-9 THC limit goes back to the 2014 Farm Bill, but the hemp market we know today really came out of the changes made by the 2018 Farm Bill. In 2018, Congress kept
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RAGBRAI Biking Lesson: Team Work
In July, I rode my bicycle across the state of Iowa as part of RAGBRAI. RAGBRAI posts that it America’s oldest and longest multi-day recreational bike ride. There were a lot of things that were impressive. The comradery, the logistics, the efforts by individual cyclists, but one thing stood out to me: The Air Force Cycling Team. The US Air Force Cycling Team call themselves “The Guardian Angels Of The Road.” They exemplify their core values of
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How Congress Actually Works – An Intern’s Perspective
You can learn a lot about the federal government in school and everyday life, but in my experience, nothing beats being a part of it. I spent the first four months of 2026 in Washington, D.C., working and studying as an intern and student on Capitol Hill. They were the busiest four months of my life, but I have never learned more. Here’s what I still think about now that it’s been a little while.
When people think about
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Trade Dress Matters: Protecting Your Brand’s Look, Feel, and Competitive Advantage
When building a successful brand, businesses may more often focus on protecting their name, logo, and other trademarks, but a brand’s value can extend far beyond these traditional identifiers. The colors, packaging, product design, and overall visual presentation that customers associate with your business can become valuable assets of their own. This is where trade dress protection comes into play.
For many businesses, the way a product looks is just as important as the product itself. A distinctive design
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Keen Dreams: Moonlighting, Softdisk, and the Unexpected Road to Castle Wolfenstein
If you are of a certain age, and occupy that certain point on the nerd spectrum, you’re probably familiar with Commander Keen.
Commander Keen was one of the first major games created by the team that would later become id Software, the company responsible for Wolfenstein 3D, DOOM, and Quake. Those games did more than sell a lot of copies. They helped turn the first-person shooter into one of the most dominant genres in video games, with Wolfenstein
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Love for the Driftless
We at Ogden Glazer + Schaefer literally have a written directive to “geek out.” That may be about legal stuff or other stuff. But be passionate and interested and maybe a tiny bit obsessed. One of those things that I geek out about is geographic indications. So be warned. Geographical indicators are special marks that help indicate that certain places in the world imbibe things that come from that region with unique attributes. Roquefort cheese and blue cheese
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Minnesota Adult Use Cannabis: Tweaking Licensing Rules for the Real World
With another blog post, there is another opportunity to touch on the recent changes to cannabis law in Minnesota. Check out Part 1 at the link here. With the introduction aside, we can turn to some changes from the Cannibus Bill (SF 4401) to the licensing rules that seem to address some practical issues around licenses and how they change over time.
Use It or Lose It: Qualified Applicant Status Now Expires
Every cannabis licensee must complete
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A Non-Controversial Blog About Wisconsin
By Nick Hierlmeier
This weekend was the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. You may not have known that unless you read Erin’s blog post from last week. 😉
While we took last week and this past weekend to celebrate our country, let’s take this week to celebrate our state.
Before we start, I’ll answer a few questions that I know will come up:
- Yes, I know Wisconsin’s anniversary was two months ago.
- No, OG+S isn’t
Celebration of the Great Experiment
This week we are celebrating the birth of our nation – 250 years of the great experiment of the democratic republic of United States of America. It has been 250 years since we adopted the Declaration of Independence. 250 years of declaring the right to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” and “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to
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Hemp Beverage Update and Potential TTB Oversight
We have all been waiting, with something close to bated breath, for a fix to the looming closure of the THC “loophole” in November. Today, we at least have a small glimmer of potential hope worth watching.
Rep. Beth Van Duyne of Texas has circulated a draft bill called the Hemp-Derived Beverage Regulatory Clarity Act. You can read the draft bill here.
At a high level, the bill would put hemp beverages under the authority of the Alcohol
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Avoid the Red Card: What Businesses Need to Know About FIFA’s Intellectual Property Rules During the 2026 World Cup
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup set to be the largest tournament in history, businesses across the United States, Canada, and Mexico are preparing marketing campaigns designed to capitalize on the excitement surrounding the event. However, before incorporating World Cup-themed branding into advertisements, promotions, or social media content, businesses should understand that FIFA aggressively protects its intellectual property rights.
FIFA owns an extensive portfolio of trademarks, copyrights, and other intellectual property associated with the tournament, including official names, logos,
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