Philip Morris cancellation: the TTAB denied a tribal-immunity summary judgment motion

What the TTAB docket shows

TTABVUE lists Cancellation No. 92063134 with Philip Morris USA Inc. as the petitioner and IP Services International Inc. and Sycuan Tribal Development Corporation as the defendants. The cancellation targets four cigarette and smoking-tobacco registrations, including CROSSROADS, NYC CLASSIC, and CARPE DIEM. The September 18, 2026 docket entry denies the defendants' motion for summary judgment.

What the reports say, and what they do not

Bloomberg and Law360 report that the Board's ruling is precedential and a first impression on tribal sovereign immunity. As those reports describe it, tribal sovereign immunity does not bar a TTAB inter partes challenge to a federal trademark registration. That is their account of a ruling on jurisdiction and immunity, not a quote from an opinion reproduced here.

It is not a final cancellation. Denying summary judgment does not cancel the registrations. The case is still a cancellation proceeding, and the merits of those registrations are not decided by that motion.