By Eric Ball (September 7, 2017, 12:32 PM EDT) -- The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has long been viewed as an economical alternative to litigation for parties seeking to protect their trademark rights. But if developments in four recent trademark cases are any indication, that may be changing soon. Between the TTAB's growing appeal to non-U.S. companies and a 2017 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on disparaging trademarks, the TTAB stands to gain in popularity as a venue for those challenging trademark registration. At the same time, the increasingly high stakes are likely to make the TTAB a more burdensome place to hash out trademark challenges. Companies will need to carefully weigh their strategies, because TTAB proceedings increasingly look less like the streamlined mechanisms they were designed to be and more like litigation....