President Trump has officially signed the farm bill that includes a section that legalizes the commercial cultivation of hemp nationwide. From this, there is much speculation as to how the legalization of industrial hemp will affect the treatment of CBD by multiple government agencies, including the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Will the legalization of industrial hemp open the door to federal trademark protection for CBD products? Unfortunately, the answer is not yet clear.

What about Federal Trademarks?

Federal trademarks have made their way throughout the medical community, But what about CBD? If CBD products are “legal under federal law,” why can’t they obtain federal trademark protection? Part of the issue that remains, even in light of the legalization of industrial hemp, is that the FDA still says that CBD cannot be sold for human consumption unless it has undergone the agency’s drug approval process. Currently, Epidiolex is the only FDA-approved CBD-based drug, which was rescheduled to Schedule V of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in September.

Aphria, Tilray, Canopy Growth and Aurora All have shared interested in expanding into the US Markets.
The first obvious step would be to be granted an import license, which simply signifies cooperation from the DEA. To date, Tilray Inc. was one of the first received approval cases from the Drug Enforcement Administration to import cannabis into the U.S. for medical research, the first Canadian company to do so. Tilray will work with the University of California San Diego’s Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research on a clinical trial to test whether the drug can effectively treat essential tremor, a common neurological disorder that causes uncontrollable shaking and affects more than 4 percent of people over age 65.

Aphria has already signified patent and trademark intentions, along with their desire to enter more US markets, they will surely be pushing for some trademarked (SR1) patents.

Canopy Growth and Aurora perhaps have the best potential for filing successful trademarks, as they have already made a number of deals that will eventually require protection of intellectual property, especially in any new acquisition they make in 2019.

From this, many analysts are suggesting that these 4 powerhouses are posturing to trademark their CBD products now that Donald Trump has signed the bill.

Similar companies have also recently started doing this, and some of the bigger boys are taking over iconic labels with the hopes of adopting trademark status for their own strains. One emerging Cannabis company that was recently granted a licence was Global Consortium Inc. (OTC:GCGX), has been flying under the radar until its recent merger that showed investors a sudden $40 million added to the balance sheet. From this, some of the larger investors are starting to take notice. From a recent press release,

This week Global will complete a $26-million-dollar merger with operating assets within the Cannabis sector. This is the first of several mergers that will be completed over the next 6 months.

Just recently, the company was issues a manufacturing licence, as outlines in their latest Press Release.

COCONUT CREEK, Fla., Dec. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — via OTC PR WIRE — Global Consortium, Inc. (OTCPINK: BDCI) is pleased to announce the State of California has issued a temporary manufacturing license allowing operations in the facility to begin.
The temporary manufacturing license for adult and medical cannabis products issued to Global Consortium Group, LLC, means Indulge Oils and Infused Edibles can begin selling THC products generating revenue for the company from cannabis sales.
Infused Edibles began lining up orders for THC infused edibles, and ordered 50,000 of the new packaging as required July 1, 2018. Indulge Oils has clients ready to accept pens and cartridges.

You can be assured that a large number of cannabis growers will be flooding the trademark offices with their own special strain, or product. However, time will tell if the farm bill will encourage the federal government to alter already established doctrines on what defines an acceptable product for trademark.