I ♡ Trademarks NewsletterIssue #449
Bri Van Til | September 16, 2025
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Countering Feits
A bunch of kitchen equipment was seized by CBP. It may’ve been because they fit on the counter. Is that illegal?
21 Pilots—a band, not actually a group of people who fly planes—is suing Temu for selling allegedly counterfeit band merch.
Costco has responded to Lululemon’s trademark infringement lawsuit saying, in essence, nuh uh.
Kids’ Stuff
The maker of Nerds is suing the maker of Dweebs—tiny fruit-flavored candies—for trademark infringement.
Cookie company Dirty Dough’s trademarks may be sold to pay its debts. It seems they may’ve done some dirty dealing.
Nintendo recently acquired a couple of patents that this author called “an embarrassing failure of the US patent system.” It appears the patents could be instrumental in combatting the Palworld dispute. And, like, summoning characters in a video game, so a lot of other things, too.
Surprise?!
Who could’ve guessed that Bill Belichick’s trademark applications for his already-trademarked catchphrases followed by “(BILL’S VERSION”) wouldn’t be faring well at the USPTO?
The Delhi High Court’s refusal to issue an interim injunction in a trademark infringement case between WOW MOMO and WOW BURGERS did not elicit a WOW from me.
Woah. A Pakistani café has defended its (honestly kind of similar) logo against trademark infringement claims by Starbucks.
A programmer developed a mobile app called Tender so that he could “swipe right” to celebrate his wife. Yeah, Tinder is having none of that.
Professional Concerns
After Carlton Fields questions about being an assistant IP administrator, he dances when he realizes you might apply!
This head of legal position at Circular Services calls for a well-rounded applicant.
Getting this trademark paralegal gig would be a real (Haynes &) Boone for your career.
Lenovo here so I can tell you about this IP portfolio manager position.
There’s an opening for commercial transactions counsel at Boston Beer. Hop to applying for it!
Have an open role on your team? Email us at [email protected], and we’ll try to get it in our next newsletter!
Odds and Ends
This Planet Money episode—framed around the exploration of Milk.com—is a fascinating exploration of the domains industry and how it ties into brands.
It appears that the Trump administration is considering taking a portion of universities’ patent revenue, which some argue would undercut researchers’ incentives built into the Bayh Dole Act.
Luxury goods company Chrome Hearts is alleging that Neil Young named his band after the store to “exploit” their reputation.