Butzel Long attorney Thomas Southard quoted in Crain's Detroit Business article on cannabis intellectual property

9.29.2019

Proprietary pot: Cannabis trademarks aren't legal, but workarounds exist to protect IP

Dustin Walsh
Crain's Detroit Business

The state's largest marijuana grower plans to launch a line of edible gummies this fall — without enough tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, to get you high.

Dimondale-based Green Peak Innovations will launch its branded Jolly Edibles as a CBD-only product, meaning it contains less than 0.3 percent THC. While CBD products are popular, the choice has more to do with protecting its branding than selling gummies.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office bars trademarks on illicit products. Marijuana remains a Schedule 1 narcotic at the federal level, despite being legal for use in Michigan. This presents a tricky scenario for the state's legal marijuana companies seeking to protect their intellectual property.

Green Peak, like many others in the industry, is enforcing its protections in as many "workarounds" as possible, local experts say.

Click here to read the complete article in Crain's Detroit Business (subscription may be required).

What's Trending

Follow us on social media

    Jump to Page

    Butzel Long Cookie Preference Center

    Your Privacy

    When you visit our website, we use cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences, or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. For more information about how we use Cookies, please see our Privacy Policy.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Always Active

    Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. These cookies may only be disabled by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.

    Functional Cookies

    Always Active

    Some functions of the site require remembering user choices, for example your cookie preference, or keyword search highlighting. These do not store any personal information.

    Form Submissions

    Always Active

    When submitting your data, for example on a contact form or event registration, a cookie might be used to monitor the state of your submission across pages.

    Performance Cookies

    Performance cookies help us improve our website by collecting and reporting information on its usage. We access and process information from these cookies at an aggregate level.

    Powered by Firmseek