I ♡ Trademarks NewsletterIssue #494
Alt Legal Team | September 01, 2026
Sign up for Alt Legal’s mildly humorous, pun-filled “I ♡ Trademarks” weekly newsletter to stay current on all things trademarks and IP.
Rebrand New
Ugandan dry cleaning company Spot Wash has been ordered to rebrand because of trademark infringement and passing off. I guess you could say they’ve been taken to the cleaners.
This article about a fitness studio’s $45,000 rebrand is a great example for clients about why trademark searches are so important.
Since Twitter rebranded to X, Twitter.now has been launched by Stephen Coates, former counsel for the social media giant before its acquisition by Elon Musk.
The Buc Stops Here? Maybe?
Each week I think I’ve reached the end of the Buc-ee’s trademark stories, but I’m still not sure we’ve seen the tail end of them. In response to the backlash about its aggressive trademark enforcement, Buc-ee’s has announced that it will only open new locations in “conservative, business-friendly states.”
This author finds fault with Buc-ee’s strategy of trying to make the controversy out to be “some kind of red team, blue team partisanship” issue.
Buc-ee’s didn’t originally know the identity of someone they were alleging was selling counterfeit Buc-ee’s merchandise on Shopify, so they filed suit against Crab.Rangoons2. They’ve since identified the seller and settled the suit. I wonder if the seller settled because he was worried about feeling the pinch.
Educating Clients
Having guides like this to teach startup owners about IP will help educate existing clients and generate attention for your firm.
Commenting on the IP implications of any big news story is a great way to get attention for your firm. Explaining potential trademark infringement related to Taylor Swift’s wedding dress is a fabulous example of how to make sure your clients are knot confused.
A website offering discussion platforms for roofers, metalworkers, and landscapers has registered a trademark for THE COFFEE SHOPS (you know, where professionals can meet on common grounds), reminding us that seemingly descriptive or generic terms are great trademarks as long as they’re not related to the goods or services.
It’s always worth reminding potential clients and the public that trademarks are intended to be source indicators, so putting LAKE AMERICA on apparel likely won’t cut it.
Professional Concerns
Feel like you currently work with a bunch of children? Whether they’re just Little Tikes who don’t know what they’re doing or Bratz that are hard to be around, maybe it’s time to play around with the idea of something else. Consider this entertainment and licensing paralegal position at MGA instead.
This listing for a trademark manager seems awesome both in theory and in Practus.
Show your current employer that you’re tired of the endless stream of unsatisfying tasks at your current job; make the movie to Netflix with this IP analyst position.
Marvel at all the fabulous IP you’d be responsible for as a legal analyst for Sony Pictures.
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
The latest episode of The TMA Talk Show is live, and it features a fabulous conversation with Alt Legal’s own Kane Ridley talking about building a personal brand and career growth in the industry.
Christian metal band Demon Hunter is suing Netflix, alleging K-Pop Demon Hunters riffs on the band’s trademarks.
The WNBA is trying to get a trademark registration for THE W, and including the definite article might allow them to register the word mark. If they succeed in getting the mark, you could say they took THE W.
The Delhi High Court has found Google liable for trademark infringement for allowing competitors to bid on HINDWARE’s trademarks. They were just plumb wrong to do so.
A California patent attorney has been publicly reprimanded by the USPTO for including AI-hallucinated citations in his litigation documents.