News & Analysis as of

Trademark Registration Music Industry

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Turn the Trademarks Off: The Trademarks of Kendrick Lamar, SZA, and Beyonce

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On May 9, 2025, I sat in a crowded football stadium for the sold-out second night of the Grand National Tour concert featuring Kendrick Lamar and SZA (the stage name of Solána Rowe). As I listened to those iconic artists...more

Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP

… Ready for It? A Lesson on Intent-to-Use Trademark Filings Inspired by Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift’s upcoming trademark deadline has sparked speculation that she is gearing up to release Reputation (Taylor’s Version). In February 2021, Swift’s legal team filed an intent-to-use (ITU) trademark application for...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

What’s in a (Band) Name? Why Bands Need Trademark Registrations

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We’ve moved into winter and that means many bands and artists are taking a breather after summer and fall tours. Some seemed to go on for eras. For me, that means waiting a few months to catch some favorite acts. But I’ve got...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP - Social Media

Social Links: TikTok Trademarks, Social Signposts, And Robot Rock

Sick of the “very demure, very mindful” social media trend yet? The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office probably is too. Our national nightmare began on August 5 when TikToker Jools LeBron uploaded a video of herself...more

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP

Dispute Over the Smiths Trademark: "Is It Really So Strange?"

When a renowned band like The Smiths breaks up, the fate of their trademark can become a contentious issue. Recently the former Smiths frontman, Morrisey, reported that guitarist, Johnny Marr had applied to register The...more

Erise IP

What’s Trending in Trademarks, May 2024: Taylor Swift Fans Analyze Latest Trademark Filing; San Francisco Sues Over San Francisco...

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Every month, Erise’s trademark attorneys review the latest developments at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in the courts, and across the corporate world to bring you the stories that you should know about: Taylor...more

ArentFox Schiff

Behind the Stage: The TTAB's “Non-Performing Band Member” Ruling on Disputed Ownership of SPLIT DECISION Trademark

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The world of music often sees as much drama in the courtroom as on the stage. One fight that frequently results in protracted, expensive, and bitter legal disputes is over ownership of a band or group name....more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

MarkIt to Market® - February 2024

Thank you for reading the February 2024 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss the advertising rights of luxury resellers and important updates to the Warner Chappell Music v. Nealy...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Journey’s Trademark Squabble - Who’s Crying Now?

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When Journey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, Steve Perry was ranked 76th on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Singers of All Time.” Arguably, many Journey fans view the front man and his voice as the...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

MarkIt to Market® - May 2022

Thank you for reading the May 2022 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss Spotify's exploration into NFTs, two new USPTO policies with practical implications for trademark applicants...more

Arnall Golden Gregory LLP

Jam Brands: Why Bands Should File for Federal Trademark Registration

Consumers do not associate the names Phish, Grateful Dead, and Moon Taxi with an animal, a scary movie, and a spaceship. Instead, these names likely recall the bands’ popular songs, albums, and memorable concerts....more

Bodman

Disparaging, Immoral, and Scandalous Trademarks: Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should

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At a Glance - Even though the Supreme Court has paved the way for brands to register trademarks that may be considered disparaging, immoral, or scandalous, brand owners are reversing themselves and voluntarily changing....more

Akerman LLP - Marks, Works & Secrets

Proud to Be an American God Bless The USA, But Not Functioning as A Trademark

In a precedential decision, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) affirmed the refusal to register the trademark GOD BLESS THE USA for home decor items on the ground...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Making Your Mark

Smiles Like Teen Spirit: “Smiley Face” Copyright and Trademark Litigation

You may think the phrase “million-dollar smile” is just a metaphor, but a smile could cost you millions of dollars in litigation damages if you aren’t careful, at least according to Nirvana LLC, the legal entity that owns the...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

MarkIt to Market® - August 2018: #NOPOWER? will.i.am's Hashtag Problems

In a recent precedential decision, the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) confirmed that a hashtag symbol (#) generally adds little or no source-indicating distinctiveness to a trademark. In this case, rapper...more

CMCP - California Minority Counsel Program

In Matal V. Tam, Scotus Rules Prohibition On Disparaging Trademarks Unconstitutional

The Asian American members of the band the Slants adopted that name to “reclaim” and “take ownership” of the derogatory term. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) refused to register a trademark application...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Key SCOTUS Decisions in Tech – First Half 2017

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Despite being short one justice for much of the year, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down multiple significant decisions this past term that can unsettle long-standing legal understandings in multiple technology fields. These...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Settling the Hawkwind Trademark Flap

Addressing an opposition to the trademark registration of a band name, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) found the opposer—the originator and continuous user of the name—to be the owner and prior user. Dave Brock v....more

Weintraub Tobin

The First Amendment Protects The Trademark Registrability Of THE SLANTS And THE WASHINGTON REDSKINS Irrespective Of Political...

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In 2014, the Washington Redskins lost a battle before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) where the petitioner, a group of Native American activists, sought cancellation of the “Washington Redskins” trademark, which...more

Dickinson Wright

Three Questions from the Supreme Court’s Decision on “Offensive” Trademarks

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Last week the Supreme Court ruled that the Trademark Office may not refuse federal registration to a trademark merely because the mark is “disparaging.” The decision has attracted a lot of media attention, much of it...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Band Trademark Can Rock On: Lanham Act Disparagement Clause Unconstitutional

In an 8–0 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed an en banc panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and found the disparagement clause of the Lanham Act to be facially unconstitutional...more

Best Best & Krieger LLP

Supreme Court Rules Trademarks are Protected by First Amendment's Free Speech Clause

Trademarks do not constitute government speech, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled. Instead, trademarks qualify as speech protected by the First Amendment Free Speech Clause. As a result, the government cannot reject a...more

Weintraub Tobin

Offensive Trademarks Are Protected Free Speech Under The First Amendment

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Simon Tam is the lead singer of the rock group call “The Slants’, which is composed of Asian-Americans. Tam applied for federal trademark registration of the band’s name. While the term “slants” is a derogatory term for...more

Dickinson Wright

U.S. Supreme Court Holds Trademark Registrations Are Free to Disparage

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Justice Alito’s summary opinion announced in Court Monday morning, in what has come to be known as the Slants case (Matel v. Tam, 582 U.S. ___ (June 19, 2017), was short and sweet but the trademark applications we can expect...more

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer

If You Have Nothing Nice to Say, Say ®

On June 19, the Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional a provision of the Lanham Act prohibiting federal registration of disparaging trademarks. The Court’s ruling in Matal v. Tam, 582 U.S. ___, No. 15-1298 (June 19,...more

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