Category: Intellectual Property Law Category: Intellectual Property Law (show less)

2018 has been a year of tremendous change in California for the legal cannabis industry/starting with the further decriminalization of the cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, sale, and possession of cannabis by virtue of the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) that took effect on January 1, 2018. (Although this change in the law is commonly referred to as “legalization” or legalizing “recreational” cannabis, the author prefers to refer to this as decriminalization or adult use for adults over the age of 21). MAUCRSA in turn spurred the California Secretary of State’s Trademark Unit to allow registration of some trademarks and service marks for cannabis, products that contain or touch cannabis, and cannabis services/notwithstanding the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office’s refusal to allow such trademark or service mark registrations. The purpose of this article is to highlight some of the practical aspects of filing and prosecuting trademark/service mark applications in California, and also touch on some related ethical considerations.