I ♡ Trademarks NewsletterIssue #496
Bri Van Til | September 15, 2026
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Updates
The Puri Jagannath Temple in India has secured several of the trademarks it applied for in relation to the temple and the faith practiced there.
Penn State is appealing in its trademark infringement case against Vintage Brand, despite having won the last one.
It seems IKEA’s counsel assembled their case effectively; the CJEU has ruled that the far-right Vlaams Belang party can’t use IKEA’s trademarks to promote its ideology.
Smucker’s gets to continue its trademark infringement suit against Trader Joe’s; the suit survived a Motion to Dismiss. So Trader Joe’s isn’t in a jam just yet.
Stolen (Intellectual) Property
The US government’s trial against Huawei has begun, and they’re alleging theft, conspiracy, espionage, and all sorts of other criminal charges.
Scammers are submitting copyright infringement takedowns on social media accounts to scam content creators into paying them ransoms to withdraw the claims.
A BelGaN researcher is being accused of stealing semiconductor IP and trade secrets.
That’ll Learn Ya
Don’t miss this webinar on Thursday, where Spring Chang and Lilian Qiu will walk you through China’s trademark reforms set to take effect soon.
If you’re going to CITMA next week, schedule time to hang with the Alt Legal and WebTMS team!
The TMAE Summit is next month in New York. All the paralegals and other trademark administrators you work with should be there! Use the code “newsletter” for a discount.
UIC Law is hosting this CLE webinar about international IP practice next week.
Hong Kong has formed a steering committee to help guide its IP Academy.
Professional Concerns
I saw this listing for trademark counsel at 3M, so I decided to Post-it here.
When I’m looking for job opportunities to share with you, Immix in both attorney and non-attorney positions, like this trademark paralegal gig.
This junior IP specialist position at Crystal Lagoons is making waves.
Fake it ’til you make it. And when you make it, sell it on Etsy. And now that you’ve made it, apply to be their AGC.
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
Last week the White House took down its Tetris-like Build the Wall video game and also launched a video of President Trump in a knockoff of The Legend of Zelda. I wonder if other video games featured on the site are still piecing together their cease and desists.
This study suggests that using AI for patent application critiques increases seasoned attorneys‘ skill levels but lowers those of junior attorneys.
It looks like Apple used a submarine strategy to file for the iPhone Duo in secret. Learn more about the strategy here.
A dozen Canadian companies have applied for trademarks for ELBOWS UP, the country’s patriotic slogan.
If you’re a paralegal, legal assistant, docketer, or other non-attorney trademark administrator, we’d love your feedback on this fully anonymous salary survey. And if you aren’t, please spread the word!