Trademark Ownership Dispute Subject to Arbitration Agreement

A dispute over who owns the LaTea trademark for tea-based beverages should be decided by a private arbitrator if the parties agreed to arbitration in a contract, according to an adjudicative panel of the Patent and Trademark Office (Hu v. TJ Food Service, LLC, TTAB, 91230600, 8/8/17).

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board put an opposition proceeding on hold Aug. 8 for private arbitration to settle the ownership issue. TJ Food Service LLC of West Lafayette, Ind., is trying to register the trademark with the PTO, but Yufan Hu opposed the application on the grounds that TJ signed ...