(Podcast) The Briefing: Trademark Basics – Protecting Names, Logos, and Brands in Entertainment
The Briefing: Trademark Basics - Protecting Names, Logos, and Brands in Entertainment
Want to use a positioning cheat code? Try "early bird" thought leadership.
Daily Compliance News: July 29, 2025 the Is CEO Conduct Ever Personal Edition
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Trending Now: An IP Podcast - Cease and Desist Letters: Protecting Your Intellectual Property the Right Way
PODCAST: PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Trending Now: An IP Podcast - Cease and Desist Letters: Protecting Your Intellectual Property the Right Way
You should be talking about philosophies—not just tactics—in your thought leadership
Mickey Mouse: un ratón con abogado
The Briefing: The Ninth Circuit Puts the Brakes on Eleanor’s Copyright Claim
(Podcast) The Briefing: Who Owns Jack Nicklaus? Lessons for The Creator Economy From a Brand Battle
The Briefing: Who Owns Jack Nicklaus? Lessons for The Creator Economy From a Brand Battle
(Podcast) The Briefing: Trademark Smoked: The Fall of General Cigar’s COHIBA Registration
The Briefing: Trademark Smoked: The Fall of General Cigar’s COHIBA Registration
(Podcast) The Briefing: When a TikTok Costs You $150,000 - Copyright Pitfalls in Influencer Marketing
The Briefing: When a TikTok Costs You $150,000 - Copyright Pitfalls in Influencer Marketing
(Podcast) The Briefing: Influencer Fail – ALO Yoga & Influencers Named in $150M Class Action Lawsuit for FTC Violations
The Briefing: Trademark Mayhem – Lady Gaga Gets Sued for Trademark Infringement
What Were the Cooler Wars? (Part 1) — No Infringement Intended Podcast
The Briefing: The Stanley Cup Clash - A Trademark Battle (Podcast)
The Briefing: The Stanley Cup Clash - A Trademark Battle
In this episode of The Upper Brand, Richard Assmus, Kristine Young, and Christa Cole delve into key court cases that have shaped trademark law. They explore the intricacies of functional and generic trademarks, with insights...more
When The White Lotus returned to HBO for its third season, it came with the usual dose of dramatic tension, along with one unexpected intellectual property wrinkle. [WARNING – Potential Plot Spoiler Ahead!] In a particularly...more
“I love reality TV!” Cue the eyerolls. For many, admitting to watching reality TV is often done begrudgingly or dismissed as a “guilty pleasure.” But why the stigma? Reality television has it all: drama, competition, social...more
You have a brand—a trademark—for your business. Perhaps it is a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination of these that identifies and distinguishes the source of goods or services. At its heart, trademark law is...more
As noted in the linked article, many iconic brands, including Ford, Harley-Davidson, and JC Penney (yes, he was real), bear the surnames of their founders. These names often lend a sense of authenticity or legacy that...more
After nearly 30 years of litigation, a federal court has canceled General Cigar’s U.S. trademarks for COHIBA cigars — all because of a little-known treaty and a Cuban brand once favored by Fidel Castro. What does this mean...more
During uncertain economic times, it may be tempting to forego the expense of filing for (or maintaining) a federal registration to protect a trademark, relying instead on common law rights acquired through use in commerce....more
Pop icon Lady Gaga is no stranger to making waves, but a new lawsuit initiated by California-based surfboard company Lost International (aka Lost Surfboards), shows that even superstars can find themselves navigating choppy...more
In the debut episode of The Upper Brand podcast, Mayer Brown attorneys Richard Assmus, Kristine Young, and Christa Cole delve into the evolving world of non-traditional trademarks—covering everything from colors and scents to...more
Trademark registrations are a great tool for business owners to protect their brand identity. Unlike some other forms of intellectual property protection, trademarks can last forever provided that they are actively used and...more
On March 21, 2025, I participated in a spirited panel at the annual IP symposium hosted by the Penn Intellectual Property Group (PIPG) at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. Titled “How Far Should Trademark...more
2024 has been a busy year in all intellectual property. It has been especially busy in trademark law. Here are the top seven cases in trademark law to date....more
Dewberry Engineers Inc. (“Dewberry Engineers”), a prominent engineering firm, has been locked in an on-again, off-again trademark dispute with a real estate development firm called Dewberry Group, Inc. (“Dewberry Group”) for...more
The Second Circuit issued a ruling on May 28, 2024, in a trade dress case, affirming the district court's decision that Redemption Whiskey diluted the trademark and trade dress rights of Bulleit Whiskey since Redemption's...more
The Ninth Circuit issued two opinions in BBK Tobacco & Foods LLP v. Central Coast Agriculture, Inc. finding judicial power over pending trademark applications and an exception shielding trademark registrations for marks used...more
In the realm of professional associations, establishing a strong and recognizable brand is crucial. Trademarks and service marks are essential tools that not only protect your association's brand but also enhance its...more
A federal court in Pennsylvania granted in part and denied in part a licensee’s motion to dismiss the licensor’s breach of contract, fraud, and Lanham Acts claims. Westbrook Monster Mix Co. v. Easy Gardener Prods., Inc., 2024...more
The small blue bird adorning nearly every company’s social media section. The verbiage “tweet” and “retweet” working their way into the fabric of modern language. The creation of character-limited, short-form posts as a new...more
Trademarks help brand owners build and communicate their brand’s reputation and value with the relevant public. Once that valuable goodwill is linked between a mark and the owner’s products and services, trademark owners can...more
Thank you for reading the July 2023 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we continue our three-part series that closely examines ways to lose trademark rights with a discussion of genericide. We...more
In a win for brand owners across the country, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that potential infringers as a threshold matter are not automatically shielded from liability by simply claiming their infringement includes...more
On March 22, 2023, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in the trademark parody case captioned Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products LLC. As we previously blogged, the issues presented in the care are: ...more
On November 21, 2022, the United States Supreme Court granted a petition for certiorari in Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc., v. VIP Products LLC. The case is an appeal of a Ninth Circuit decision which held, among other things,...more