I ♡ Trademarks NewsletterIssue #489
Bri Van Til | July 28, 2026
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Luxury Brands
Among other things, the similarity between the Louis Vuitton logo and an ancient Chinese motif has many asking what the broader implications of the Molly Tea ruling might be.
Following their successful defeat of Molly Tea, Louis Vuitton is suing CNIPA for ruling against their attempt to invalidate a different four-petal design. You could say they’ve put the petal to the metal.
A French court has found an art gallery to have infringed Hermès’s trademarks when it not only displayed art featuring the luxury company’s logo but also used Hermès in the work’s title and social media promotions.
Tiffany & Co. is seeking to invalidate ALFFANY’s trademarks for sanitary pads. I guess you could say Tiffany doesn’t carat all for the competition; they want to cut them out and get clarity on who can use the term.
I See the Appeal
Spirits manufacturer ADS made an OFFER the Indian IP office can’t refuse. Well, they can, but they need to assess the trademark application differently first, says the Delhi High Court.
Eminem is appealing an Australian court’s decision that his use of his trademark on merch was SHADY. They found insufficient use of the mark.
Tattoo artist Kat Von D’s copyright infringement case—the one about a tattoo of an iconic photo of Miles Davis—is set to be reheard.
A Sporting Chance
Trademark applications suggest the Las Vegas Jacks might be coming to an NBA game near you.
More than 1000 domains were seized for allegedly streaming pirated World Cup content.
How does the MLB’s attempted trademark of PLAY BALL compare to Nike’s JUST DO IT?
Golf player and influencer Kai Trump—perhaps best known as President Trump’s granddaughter—might be thwarted in her attempt to register a trademark for KAI. UK company KAI has opposed her application.
I don’t want to set your expectations too high, but I think you’ll love this article about protection for the grass used at Wimbledon.
Professional Concerns
Sometimes convincing yourself to leave a job that doesn’t serve you can be a Harbottle, but fighting it helps you win the war. Leave your weapons behind when you apply for this trademark position, though.
I drug you to this site so you could see this opening for a global trademark attorney at AstraZeneca.
Christensen O’Connor Johnson Kindness is looking for a trademark paralegal. You know they’re good people because their name says so.
Apply for this trademark associate position. And when they ask you where you heard about the opening, tell them you saw it listed in The I Hart(mans) Trademarks Newsletter.
It’d be really cool if you got this IP operations manager job at Ice Miller. I heard that firm rocks.
Have an open role on your team? Email us at [email protected], and we’ll try to get it in our next newsletter!
Odds & Ends
A portfolio of Stan Lee’s IP is up for sale. Do you think some daredevil will come in and pay an enormous price we’d all marvel at?
It’s time for INTA’s awards season, including the TMA of the Year Award. Nominate the amazing people you work with!
The Copyright Claims Board has ruled about implied licenses, and the case is worth a read. To learn more about licenses (though I’d definitely recommend they not be implied), join us for this webinar next month.
The USPTO has a new website. And they have different slogans for patents and trademarks. Mommy, Daddy, are you getting a divorce? Why do you have separate slogans?
In the most recent episode of Last Week Tonight, John Oliver highlighted Buc-ee’s aggressive trademark enforcement. He has created parody Buc-Off merch to provoke the gas station.