I ♡ Trademarks NewsletterIssue #432
Bri Van Til | May 13, 2025
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The USPTO-Do List
Specimen farms are scandalous (not that kind of specimens, friends), and the USPTO has put together some signs to look for and what to do if you suspect someone is using a phony specimen.
If you’re petitioning to cancel a mark, you can now do that in the TTAB Center. Starting in July, they’ll all have to be filed there.
If you want to weigh in on changes to the USPTO, consider volunteering to help their research efforts and give them feedback.
The USPTO still needs to work on its patent quality standards, the Government Accountability Office says.
Worldly Matters
Check out this handy tool to compare legal frameworks in different jurisdictions around the world.
The US Chamber of Commerce is pleased with Indonesia’s efforts to enforce IP laws.
Come to this webinar this summer to learn all about trademark rights in the Middle East and North Africa.
Remember that the Alt Legal Resource Library has a well-organized list of resources about all sorts of IP topics, including strategies for different countries and regions.
A Recipe for Conflict
Bloggers are accusing a cookbook author of plagiarizing their recipes. One accuser claims she spoke up because: “Profiting from plagiarised recipes is unethical—even if it is not copyright infringement.”
Copyright protections for recipes are murky. Here’s an exploration of them in Australia, where the case above is based. They aren’t any easier to protect in the US since, as the Copyright Office states, “A mere listing of ingredients is not protected under copyright law.”
Why do you often you have to sift through long articles to get to a recipe? Copyrights. Find an explanation in this copyright primer for trademark attorneys.
Professional Concerns
Join the Cast of characters at this fabulous firm by applying for their remote attorney position.
Getting this job as a trademark and IP paralegal might make you leave your fortune to your cats only to have them drugged by your butler. Oh wait, that’s Aristocats, not Aristocrat. Scratch that.
Whether you’re an IP attorney or a paralegal, this job might be an Eligon solution to your problems.
There was a trademark paralegal position here, and Conley Rose to apply for it but then decided you’d be a better fit.
You can (U.S.) Bank on this IP counsel position.
Have an open role on your team? Send a link to your job listing to [email protected], and we’ll publish it in our next newsletter.
Odds and Ends
A TikToker faced significant backlash after going on a copyright takedown frenzy after she secured a UK trademark for TUBIE.
A UK law firm is offering AI-powered collections letters for £2, saying the service will help “small businesses struggling to access legal services.”
This Tenth Circuit decision serves as a reminder that trade secrets have to be intentionally kept secret.
A songwriter is alleging that Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page was dazed and confused when he used the song in a documentary about the band, allegedly in breach of a settlement agreement about how the song could be used.
Tesla’s trademark application for ROBOTAXI has been issued an office action for being merely descriptive.
It might not be a big dill, but the Portland Pickles are sour on Disney’s use of a mascot that is allegedly very similar to their own in their new series Win or Lose. Maybe the mascot is just a chip off the old block. Maybe the person who spearheaded the creation of the character didn’t know better.
There will be no newsletter next week because I’ll be at the INTA Annual Meeting. If you want to hang out with our team there, schedule time here!