Ethan Van Sciver STRIKES BACK! Files MOTION TO DISMISS Preston Poulter’s attempt to steal #Comicsgate.
On Aug. 6, the USPTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) SUSPENDED proceedings in the #Comicsgate trademark dispute as the board considers Ethan Van Sciver’s motion to dismiss the case on the grounds Preston Poulter lacks standing to sue:
https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?pno=92075375&pty=CAN&eno=19
According to TTAB: “as of the filing date of the motion to dismiss, proceedings are SUSPENDED pending disposition of the motion. Any paper filed during the pendency of this motion which is not germane thereto will be given no consideration… The motion to dismiss will be decided in due course.”
In the motion to dismiss Van Sciver and attorney Scott Houtteman call Preston Poulter’s April and May 2020 applications for the Comicsgate TM “brazen trademark piracy” in light of Van Sciver’s common law TM that’s been in use since July 2018.
https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?pno=92075375&pty=CAN&eno=18
This puts the ball back in Poulter’s court to respond and then TTAB will decide to either grant the motion to dismiss or to say Poulter has standing because he applied for the TM, in which case the trial will proceed apace, perhaps dragging on for months or even years.
Poulter has previously vowed the “destruction of #comicsgate”.
https://twitter.com/ComicsJacks/status/1195944701137866752
What remains to be seen is if “brazen trademark piracy” and infringement of years-old common law marks are valid strategies to pry a lucrative mark away from an intellectual property holder by abusing the application process. This case could have a big impact on future @USPTO applications.
