Vans Convinces Board to Cancel ‘Old School’ Clothing Trademark

Vans Inc. won the cancellation of a trademark for “OLD SCHOOL” on certain apparel, as an administrative board agreed that the mark had been abandoned.

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board found in a precedential opinion Thursday that Branded LLC had failed to use the mark after acquiring it in a 2008 bankruptcy auction and didn’t demonstrate intent to resume use.

Branded’s owner, 42-year fashion industry veteran Keith Johnson, owns 50 to 100 clothing brands and viewed the trademark “as valuable, underleveraged,” according to the opinion, which also said he planned to increase its value through deals with manufacturers and ...