cannabis copyright

A number of cannabis trademark infringement lawsuits have been cropping up nationally. Many involve other dispensaries or ancillary businesses in nearby marijuana markets, but an increasing number pit other plant businesses against pot shops. Horticulture, lumber and other “green product” companies are more likely than other industries to discover an overlap, considering many use shades of green and plant icons in their brand bibles. Los Angeles cannabis trademark attorney

L.A. marijuana trademark attorney noted the latest in this trend is an established Idaho lumber company suing a Massachusetts cannabis dispensary. The allegation is that the “tree” logo used by the New England dispensary bears striking similarity to that of the lumber company, using the same green or alternative black color and an encircled tree with six branches.

This, plaintiff tree company says, has the potential to cause confusion among its office supply and wood products customers – one of whom is the U.S. government. As a $5 billion federal contractor in business 55 years, it is compelled to provide a drug-free work environment, which includes cannabis, and conducts random drug-testing of employees. Defendant dispensary, meanwhile, opened just a few months ago. It also uses a green-tree-in-a-circle logo, though their tree has four branches.

The firm is seeking monetary damages and an order that the new company halt use of the trademark.

L.A. Marijuana Attorneys Can Assist With California Cannabis Branding Strategy

Years ago, you could call your Los Angeles pot product pretty much anything you wanted, and not only would you find a market for it, you were unlikely to face costly litigation if you swiped someone else’s style. As marijuana increasingly gains legitimacy across the U.S. (now fully legal in Canada), preserving your budding cannabis brand is becoming a significant legal issue for Los Angeles marijuana businesses. Our California cannabis attorneys can help you in this and other endeavors in launching – or rebranding – your legal marijuana business. cannabis intellectual property protection

As NBC Los Angeles recently reported, now that regulations in the year-old recreational marijuana industry are beginning to settle, some companies are revamping their whole image in an effort to appeal to a wider audience. (Years of “reefer madness” propaganda, a spotty patchwork of state medical marijuana statutes and a spate of federal raids hadn’t helped the industry’s image.)

Building on this previously-untapped market, long-time dispensaries are taking a new tact on branding, while those just breaking into the market are working on forging their recognition for the first time. Unfortunately, because federal law – specifically the U.S. Controlled Substances Act – remains at odds with the now-majority of states that legalize the drug in some form, not all types of intellectual property protection are available to marijuana businesses. Nonetheless, acting on available protections now can help combat copycats in the present while better positioning them to seize further opportunity if/when the government does repeal the CSA. Continue reading

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