In February, OpenAI OpCo, LLC, received a final refusal of its trademark application for CHATGPT. The deadline for OpenAI to respond to the refusal is in August. Like any good law blogger, I gave CHATGPT the following prompt: “Write a blog post about the CHATGPT trademark being refused as merely descriptive and OpenAI’s effort to […]
While it looks like there might not be much Ryder Cup drama this year, there has been no lack of golf-related drama in recent years. Much of the drama has related to the fledgling LIV Golf tour, which now finds itself in a new dispute. This time, it is with Adidas, which recently initiated an […]
The week before the NFL season. That special time of year when friends (or frenemies) get together to build fake football teams for bragging rights. One of the keys to fantasy football success is being able to identify “sleepers.” Just don’t sleep on applying for trademark protection if you are in the fantasy sports business. […]
On Saturday, Lionel Messi comes to our hometown for a showdown with Nashville SC for the Leagues Cup championship. Tickets to the match are . . . not inexpensive. Not surprisingly, Messi has taken the MLS by storm, scoring in every game since arriving in the league. Messi hasn’t just mastered the beautiful game. He […]
Last week, Randy wrote about some lurking trademark issues that could await Elon Musk as he rebrands Twitter to X. Musk’s decision shines a spotlight on the risks associated with rebranding. Not only can rebranding lead to a potential dispute with another trademark owner, as Randy discussed, but it can also cause a brand to […]
Last week, Randy wrote about the “spectrum of trademark distinctiveness” and how generic terms cannot be protected as trademarks. This week, Taco John made news when it agreed to abandon its trademark registration for TACO TUESDAY for restaurant services after a recent challenge by Taco Bell alleging that TACO TUESDAY was generic and not entitled […]
When I first heard that Bed Bath & Beyond was shuttering, I shuddered to think about finding a new go-to place to buy Mahogany Teakwood candles. A moment later I realized that I was confusing the home goods store with Bath & Body Works. It wasn’t the first time I had confused the two alliteratively-named […]
Trademark attorneys often talk about how a trademark embodies the goodwill of a business. When I try to wrap my brain around the idea, I often think about my favorite part of the Harry Potter series. Toward the end of the series, Harry asks Professor Dumbledore whether something he is experiencing is real or happening […]
I have a bit of a sweet tooth. Just last week, my mother-in-law left a bag of pumpkin spice donuts at my house. The donuts didn’t survive the night. Unfortunately for donuts, they did not survive Dunkin’ Donuts’ recent rebrand either. Earlier this week, Dunkin’ Donuts made the announcement that it would be dropping the […]
As you may have noticed, around the Tree we love puppies, beards, football, and trademarks. This post is about all those things. Ryan Fitzpatrick is best known for two things, going to Harvard and his majestic beard. Also, from time-to-time, he plays like an elite quarterback. Filling in for the suspended Jameis Winston, Fitzpatrick has […]
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