Source: https://floridaiptrends.com/2014/03/25/medical-marijuana-the-wild-wild-eastcoast/
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 08:22:00+00:00

Document:
Entrepreneurs are flooding Florida as the state’s citizens prepare to vote on legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes this November. The initiative is on the ballot, and signs are pointing toward enough support to pass the amendment to the Florida Constitution.
As with any new industry, the rush to make a buck has been swift and fierce. Medical marijuana schools are being advertised, seminars are being held at hotels, and law firms are ramping up to guide entrepreneurs through the state regulations. Of course, there are no state regulations yet, but the early bird gets the weed, and it makes sense to start consulting with your attorney of choice regarding what may happen in early 2015.
Clearly, medical marijuana is going to be a “Florida IP Trend” if it isn’t already.
But, the majority of intellectual property practice is based on federal law – the Lanham Act, the Copyright Act, and the Patent Act all arise out of either the Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution (copyrights and patents) or the Commerce Clause of the Constitution (granting the federal government the right to regulate interstate commerce, including interstate trademark use).
Registration is refused because the applied-for mark, as used in connection with the goods and/or services identified in the application, is not in lawful use in commerce. Trademark Act Sections 1 and 45, 15 U.S.C. §§1051, 1127.
To qualify for federal trademark/service mark registration, the use of a mark in commerce must be lawful. Gray v. Daffy Dan’s Bargaintown, 823 F.2d 522, 526, 3 USPQ2d 1306, 1308 (Fed. Cir. 1987) (stating that “[a] valid application cannot be filed at all for registration of a mark without ‘lawful use in commerce'”); TMEP §907; see In re Stellar Int’l, Inc., 159 USPQ 48, 50-51 (TTAB 1968); CreAgri, Inc. v. USANA Health Scis., Inc., 474 F.3d 626, 630, 81 USPQ2d 1592, 1595 (9th Cir. 2007). Thus, any goods or services to which the mark is applied must comply with all applicable federal laws. See In re Midwest Tennis & Track Co., 29 USPQ2d 1386, 1386 n.2 (TTAB 1993) (noting that “[i]t is settled that the Trademark Act’s requirement of ‘”use in commerce,” means a “lawful use in commerce,” and [that the sale or] the shipment of goods in violation of [a] federal statute . . . may not be recognized as the basis for establishing trademark rights'” (quoting Clorox Co. v. Armour-Dial, Inc., 214 USPQ 850, 851 (TTAB 1982))); In re Pepcom Indus., Inc., 192 USPQ 400, 401 (TTAB 1976); TMEP §907.
The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) prohibits, among other things, manufacturing, distributing, dispensing, or possessing certain controlled substances, including marijuana and marijuana-based preparations. 21 U.S.C. §§812, 841(a)(1), 844(a); see also 21 U.S.C. §802(16) (defining “[marijuana]”). In addition, the CSA makes it unlawful to sell, offer for sale, or use any facility of interstate commerce to transport drug paraphernalia, i.e., “any equipment, product, or material of any kind which is primarily intended or designed for use in manufacturing, compounding, converting, concealing, producing, processing, preparing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the human body a controlled substance, possession of which is unlawful under [the CSA].” 21 U.S.C. §863.
The evidence submitted with applicant’s response to the previous Office action plainly indicates that applicant’s identified services include activities that are prohibited by the CSA, namely, instruction on how to grow, cultivate, harvest and produce marijuana.
Because these goods and/or services are prohibited by the CSA, the applied-for mark, as used in connection with such goods and/or services, is not in lawful use in commerce.
Do the applicant’s classes, seminars, and/or workshops involve the provision of, instruction on how to grow, and/or instruction on how to obtain marijuana, marijuana-based preparations, or marijuana extracts or derivatives?
Are the applicant’s services lawful pursuant to the Controlled Substances Act?
If the answer to the first question is Yes, no registration for you.
Another interesting aspect of medical marijuana in Florida is that just last year our lawmakers passed the so-called Bong Ban Bill, making it illegal to sell virtually anything that can be used to smoke marijuana…but only if the seller intended for the item to be used in violation of the drug paraphernalia laws. So, if you do not intend for people to use your hand-crafted glass pipe to smoke illegal substances, presumably you do not violate the law. (As with everything on this blog, the preceding is not legal advice. If you intend to sell pipes, you should consult an attorney.) Once Amendment 2 passes and medical marijuana is legalized in Florida, I’m guessing that the “Bong Ban” will need some renovation.

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