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TTAB Denies Registration of Bakked Trademarks

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In a precedential decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) affirmed an examining attorney’s refusal to register two “Bakked” trademarks by deeming the goods to be illegal drug paraphernalia under the Controlled Substances Act (the “CSA”) and deciding the two exemptions of the CSA did not apply.

The Bakked trademark applications

National Concessions Group (“NCG”), a Colorado-based subsidiary of Canadian company SLANG Worldwide, filed two trademark applications to protect its brand name “Bakked” in connection with a product identified as “an essential oil dispenser, sold empty, for domestic use.” The examining attorney took the position that the product constituted illegal drug paraphernalia because it was primarily used for “dabbing” cannabis-based oils, and it denied the applications. Appeals ensued, and the refusals remained in effect until it escalated to the TTAB. Unfortunately for NCG, the TTAB agreed.

The TTAB decision

First, the decision (which is marked “This Opinion is a Precedent of the TTAB”) analyzes whether the product should be considered drug paraphernalia under the CSA:

“equipment or products primarily intended or designed for use in ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing marijuana into the human body (e.g., water pipes, roach clips and bongs) constitute unlawful drug paraphernalia under Section 863(d)

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The New True Party of Interest Rule

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New York’s release of the revised adult-use rules and regulations has been well-publicized. A key revision that was the source of significant speculation was whether the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and Cannabis Control Board (CCB) would revise the True Party of Interest (TPI) definition with respect to ancillary service providers and the monetary limits before TPI status is triggered. And they did!

The revised TPI limits apply to the following parties:

Parties with risk sharing or goods and services agreements with the applicant/licensee; Parties that consult and receive flat or hourly compensation from an applicant/licensee under a goods and services agreement; and Goods and services provides that do not have any right to control the applicant/licensee.

Any party that falls under the aforementioned categories does not constitute a TPI as long as the payments in “that calendar year” do not “exceed the greater of”

10% of the gross revenue of the applicant/licensee; 50% of the net profit of the applicant/licensee; or $250,00 from the applicant/licensee.

The key revision was increasing the dollar figure amount from $100,000 to $250,000, which will be particularly relevant to service providers to licensees in their first year(s) of operation, when

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Minnesota Cannabis? You Betcha!

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Minnesota is poised to legalize adult-use cannabis with the approval of HF 100 by the state legislature. Governor Tim Walz is expected to sign the bill soon (and may in fact have done so by the time this post goes live), making Minnesota the 23rd state (plus DC, Guam, the Marianas, and the Virgin Islands) to legalize recreational cannabis. Commencing on August 1, Minnesotans will have the right to possess, use, and cultivate cannabis for personal consumption within their homes.

Similar to other states that have recently legalized adult-use cannabis, Minnesota’s new law establishes possession limits, allowing up to two pounds of cannabis flower in private residences and two ounces in public. The bill also sets caps of 800 milligrams for edibles and eight grams for concentrates.

The new law envisions the licensing of retail establishments, but Minnesotans (and folks in neighboring states) will have to wait a bit longer before dispensaries open their doors in the Twin Cities, Rochester, and beyond. As Jen Randolph Reise explains:

The bill creates a new regulator, the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), which will be promulgating important rules and granting licenses. Currently, the Senate bill directs license applications to be available Jan. 1,

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Chalice Goes Down

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News broke yesterday which will affect quite a few people in the Oregon cannabis industry. Chalice Brands Ltd. (CSA: CHAL) obtained a court order in Ontario, Canada (“Initial Order”) which grants the company and its affiliates protection (a “stay”) from creditors. At least temporarily. The Initial Order is here and the Chalice press release is here. Chalice also filed an Oregon Circuit Court complaint on May 22 (“Complaint”), where it sued five of its own subsidiaries (the “Subsidiaries”) to drive them into receivership locally. If you’d like a copy of the Complaint, email me here.

I’m not an insolvency lawyer, so I won’t delve into issues of how the Initial Order from a Canadian court could be binding with respect to the Subsidiaries, which are Oregon companies. My guess is the Complaint was filed to address concern that Oregon creditors won’t respect the Ontario court’s rulings– including the stay. Appointing a local receiver could also expedite the disposition of all these local creditor claims.

I will note that the Initial Order, underlying pleadings, and Complaint make for interesting reading. The Complaint for example alleges that:

the Subsidiaries owe Chalice over $35 million in intercompany debt (while admitting “these numbers

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