Trademark News

Need CLE? Check Out The American Bar Association Webinar, “All Clear? Practical Tips for Trademark Searches and Opinions.”

by Randy Michels December 3, 2015

Today, I am participating in the American Bar Association webinar, “All Clear? Practical Tips for Trademark Searches and Opinions.” The program runs from 1:00 - 2:30 PM ET and will discuss the following topics: How to properly conduct a trademark search How searches are treated during litigation The difference between [...]

Vanderbilt vs. Tennessee: The Trademark Rivalry

by Randy Michels November 25, 2015

It’s college football rivalry week at Trust Tree! My Vanderbilt Commodores travel to Knoxville this weekend to take on Kevin and George’s University of Tennessee Volunteers. It’s the 110th contest between the schools, and UT leads the series 74–30–5. UT is a 17.5 point favorite with an over/under of 40.5. Given […]

Trademarks Become NFL Trash Talk Fodder

by Bill Ferrell November 24, 2015

It’s no secret that we are big fans of trademarks, but we understand that it’s not an exciting topic for most folks. So, we were super excited to see trademarks become the center piece of a widely-discussed Twitter beef between two NFL teams this Saturday. The feud started when the Redskins […]

The Hunger Games: Trademark Victors

by Kevin Hartley November 18, 2015

A million dollars isn’t cool, you know what’s cool? A billion dollars . . . and The Hunger Games film franchise has already grossed over $2 billion. That number is expected to increase dramatically after the final film premieres tomorrow. You know what else is cool? Trademarks! And The Hunger Games […]

Update- Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Wins Trademark Dispute

by Bill Ferrell November 17, 2015

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how Sturgis Motorcycle Rally had sued Walmart and Rushmore Photo and Gifts for use of the "Sturgis" trademark. I also pointed out that I seemed to be writing a lot about motorcycle clubs and trademarks. So, when I saw that a jury had reached [...]

Bolo You Didn’t: A Lawyer Says Goodbye to the Tie (Sort of)

by Kevin Hartley November 11, 2015

Earlier today, I got word that an event I am attending on Saturday is, in the words of JT and Jay Z, a “Suit & Tie” affair. I feel the same way about ties that Sir Richard Branson does. One of my favorite things about life in the Tree of […]

John Lewis Christmas Ad Gets Me Again

by Bill Ferrell November 10, 2015

The leaves are falling. There’s a chill in the air. I’ve finished eating all my kids’ halloween candy. That can mean only one thing. It’s almost Christmas! It also means it’s time for the 2015 John Lewis Christmas commercial! I’m talking about John Lewis, the upscale department store chain in Great […]

All Black Everything: New Zealand’s Powerful Rugby Brand

by Kevin Hartley November 4, 2015

The Music City Miracle. The Band is on the Field. The Miami-Duke Debacle. Americans love watching football players lateral the ball. Of course, that is the foundation of an entire sport. Rugby – the fastest growing sport in the world. And the biggest event in rugby – The Rugby World […]

Halloween Trademarks: Star Wars Edition

by Randy Michels October 29, 2015

Halloween is almost here. Have you picked out your costume yet? According to the National Retail Federation, consumers plan to spend an average of $27.33 on Halloween costumes for the whole family, and a total of $2.5 billion on store-bought, homemade, large and small costumes. It’s estimated that 68 million […]

Rebranding in the NBA: Where Bullets Become Wizards

by Kevin Hartley October 28, 2015

In honor of tipoff to the NBA season, I’m returning to my favorite blog topic: rebranding in sports. For those of you that have followed my blogging exploits (thanks, mom and dad), you may recognize this as my go-to subject. Today, we tackle the Washington Bullets rebranding to the Washington Wizards. […]