4th Cir. Clears Two Paths for Repeat Trademark Ruling Reviews (1)

Snyder’s-Lance Inc.'s decision to appeal an administrative tribunal’s refusal to let it register a trademark for “Pretzel Crisps” to the Federal Circuit doesn’t mean it also had to file a subsequent challenge there, the Fourth Circuit said.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has never before considered whether a party can appeal a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruling to a district court if it had already appealed to the Federal Circuit. In an opinion by Judge James A. Wynn Jr., it held that such appeals are allowed, reversing a lower court ruling.

The ruling preserves both ...