Masking a Problem
Alt Legal Team | May 07, 2020
As industries across the world attempt to combat the global COVID-19 pandemic, trademark filings with the term “virus” and “mask” in the Goods and Services description have risen significantly. Filers applied for 276 trademarks including these terms, up from just 60 in all of 2019.
Some of these marks have been applied for by companies under special duress. Royal Caribbean, as noted by CBS News, has applied for a trademark on the term SEAFACE for “Cruise ship services” and “Sanitary masks for virus isolation purposes.”
Other filers include medical device companies, apparel companies, and individuals attempting to trademark catchy slogans like “Make America Breathe Again.”
The USPTO has not yet registered any of these trademarks, but the high number of filings suggests the degree to which masks have consumed the public imagination.