I ♡ Trademarks NewsletterIssue #497
Bri Van Til | September 22, 2026
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Do You Copy?
Australia can’t call its new rugby team the Chiefs, says New Zealand Rugby. You could say likelihood of confusion is their chief complaint.
Elon Musk’s latest trademark dispute is over his proposed TERAFAB mark; the owners of the registered TERA-FAB mark have sent Musk a cease-and-desist letter. I wonder if he’ll reply that the company is just intended to be a chip off the old block.
Unicoin and Uniswap are battling over the UNI mark. Wouldn’t it be better for them to UNIte over this perhaps UNIntentional confusion or just recognize that it’s used UNIversally?
Buc-ee’s has settled its trademark dispute with Mickey’s, whose moose they argued was likely to be confused with their beaver. Oh, there was confusion, alright.
Amazon’s Off Campus features an episode that refers to Drunk Shakespeare, and the owners of that trademark are alleging the use is likely to cause confusion. Perhaps Amazon will respond with, “What’s in a name?”
In Laymen’s Terms
What precautions should businesses that use AI take to protect themselves? This simple checklist is a handy resource for entrepreneurs.
An associate proposed a logo design for her firm’s new practice area, but that led to the major question of who then owns the trademark for that logo.
Understanding which parts of a store design are owned by whom may be critical for brand owners, especially if they later have a dispute or become arch(itect) rivals.
Investment Profit (IP)
In the latest example of businesses being penny-wise and pound-foolish, this UAE attorney explains how a client’s refusal to pay about $300 to engage the attorney cost the client over $400k.
South Korea’s BNK is creating a product to allow investors to buy fractional IP assets. They might just decimate the competition with them.
Investments can compound interest, but if you invest in IP, can that compound? Apparently sometimes.
A Costa Rican judge has ordered that Quaker Oats’ trademarks be frozen to ensure they pay damages in a lawsuit. I like oatmeal, but I don’t feel like I’d enjoy it frozen, so I hope they pay up!
Law firms have to be profitable to survive in the long term. Join us for this webinar next month to learn how to make them do so.
Professional Concerns
You’ve got this USPTO attaché job in the bag. To learn more about becoming an attaché for the USPTO, check out this summary from a webinar we hosted last year.
I think you have a sporting chance of getting this paralegal specialist position at ESPN.
Customs and Border Patrol is looking for a supervisory paralegal specialist, but I think you’ll find the requirements for the job to be customary.
If you ask me, I think you should Purdue this IP paralegal gig.
I have a theory that Relativity will be a great place for you to work as senior AI and legal tech counsel. Let’s test 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 & Ends
Adidas has filed a trademark infringement suit against White Fox, but the details are sparse so far.
In case you missed our webinar last week about the new trademark law revisions in China, you can find the recording here.
This detailed analysis of the IKEA trademark dispute explains the CJEU’s ruling, parody, and more.
The USPTO is hosting a webinar tomorrow about anti-counterfeiting.