Trademarks: Some, But Not Many, Protections For Cannabis Companies

By John Schroyer

Rapper Snoop Dogg and a Washington State marijuana entrepreneur learned the hard way that cannabis businesses must tread carefully when it comes to trademark protection.

Both recently encountered trademark snafus, underscoring the pitfalls cannabis companies face. Still, MJ entrepreneurs do have options to safeguard their names, logos and other intellectual property.

Experts said state-level trade protection is one option, given that federal trademark protection typically is unavailable for plant-touching companies because…