Video blog: Trademarks and the Cannabis industry. It's harder to register the brand of cannabis products as trademarks for several reasons. I go through those reasons and some tips for potential trademark protection for the cannabis industry. Here is a lightly-edited transcript of the video blog:Hi, I'm Anthony Verna, managing partner of Verna Law,P.C., a law firm focused on IP and Advertising Law.I'm going to give you a little hypothetical. You areeither growing cannabis or you're a cannabis dispensary or you have a companythat has some kind of accessories to cannabis and you want to take either thestrain that you're selling, or growing or the products that you're making andyou want to brand that and registered as a trademark.You're going to have a couple problems with that, however.We have a case called in re Pharmacon LLC. At which point, the TrademarkTrial and Appeal Board ruled that because we have the Controlled SubstancesAct, a federal legislation which makes cannabis sales illegal. Even thoughstates are legalizing the use and sale of cannabis more and more, it is stillillegal under federal law. And the Trademark Act is very blatant aboutfederally registered trademarks.They must be in lawful use.Therefore, the Trademark Act and this federal ControlledSubstances Act basically make cannabis trademarks illegal. So if you're in thisparticular industry, how are you protecting your brand as something that can beonly yours? Well, number one, I would state that if you're in the accessorybusiness, that's perfectly fine. Anything that's related to cannabis would befine as long as you forget to have any designs that relate to cannabis, noleaves.No stating the product is related to cannabis.If you're in this particular business and you're makinghemp or you're making CBD oil, well those products are fine. And, what I wouldsay is that if you're in those industries, take your brands and register themthere. Another thought would be state trademark registrations.Usually, I'm not a big fan of state trademarkregistrations because usually they're only evidentiary in nature. At the veryleast in the states where this is legalized, you as a business owner can statewhat the brands are. Here are what we are selling. And at least in theseparticular states where it's legalized, you'll have some kind of protectionthere. And, of course, the business can always rely on the common law as wellfor trademark protection.But that, of course, is a matter for the courts.For actually receiving a federal registration, remember any product that's an accessory to cannabis is perfectly fine. Just make sure you leave out the leaves, make sure you leave out the word "cannabis" at the Patent and Trademark Office.