I ♡ Trademarks NewsletterIssue #442
Bri Van Til | July 29, 2025
Sign up for Alt Legal’s mildly humorous, pun-filled “I ♡ Trademarks” weekly newsletter to stay current on all things trademarks and IP.
Training Day
A judge says Anthropic can face a class action lawsuit for its alleged piracy of books. This comes about a month after a judge ruled that using the books to train AI was fair use.
Here’s a nice explanation of the background and legal issues stemming from the Anthropic case.
President Trump says AI companies can’t be expected to pay for the content they use to train their models.
This statement has led some to wonder if the issue will create a copyright thicket.
Underdogs
A small bakery in Spain has successfully overcome a trademark infringement claim from Impossible Foods. Does that make them the underburgers?
International casino giant Bally’s Corp has been denied a trademark application in Australia because of likelihood of confusion with a lawn bowling club.
A UK business owner is facing an opposition from L’Oreal, which takes issue with her NKD trademark. She’s vowed to fight the cosmetics giant, though.
California-based World Champ Tech is claiming that Peloton’s Bike+ product and app will cause confusion with their own BIKE+ app and trademark.
CIPOssibilities
CIPO appears to have gotten its pendency periods for trademarks under control; relatedly, they’re ending their accelerated examination periods.
Wow. A hotel in Québec was fined for displaying the English HOTEL instead of the French HÔTEL. You could say it was a (circum)flex.
For an overview of Canadian trademarks and a discussion of how they compare to US trademarks, check out this webinar and this article.
And watch this webinar recording to learn about Canada’s Bill 96, the law that requires French translation, including of many trademarks.
Professional Concerns
It wouldn’t take you long to learn the Ropes (& Gray) for this litigation paralegal position.
Current job not great? Consider this IP paralegal gig Winstead.
US Bank has an IP counsel position, so contact them. Tell them you’re checking on the job, and make sure to signal your interest. I think you’ll get the job, even if you aren’t the loan applicant.
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
We went to the USPTO’s webinar about its recent security updates, CAR forms, and more. Check out our summary of the contents here.
Here’s a great client-focused exploration of the use of trademarks in media.
If you missed this webinar last week about getting a brand considered for the next top-level domain round, you can find the recording here.
Sunkist opposed an application for KIST for beverages, which makes sense, but the story is a bit more complicated—and tragic—than it may seem. Docketing software can save your assets, folks!
Next week I will be writing this newsletter from Europe after driving an ambulance generously donated by the IP community to the soldiers on the front lines in Ukraine. Contribute to the effort here.