Pizza by Alfredo vs. Alfredo’s Pizza Café: Trademark Lessons from The Office

Part of my job is trademark enforcement, which typically involves sending cease-and-desist letters to infringers. Some lawyers take a slash-and-burn approach, threatening to rain legal hellfire down on the infringer if they don’t cease and desist. Others prefer an academic format, with letters that resemble a legal treatise on trademark infringement and unfair competition. Personally, […]

What a Cluster of a Trademark

Photo of Goo Goo Cluster store in Nashville

Trivia time! Can you name the first candy bar in the United States to feature a collection of ingredients? Hint: It’s made here in Nashville. Give up? It’s the Goo Goo Cluster. Recently, a friend celebrated his birthday by planning some “tourist in your own town” activities. This included taking a trolley down to the […]

Marketing Masterpieces: How Renaissance Artists Pioneered Modern Marketing

Ciao from Italy! I’m currently on a multi-generational family trip. So what does this have to do with trademarks? Well, during a visit to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, I stumbled upon a fascinating connection between Renaissance artwork and early examples of advertising and marketing. Trademarks in Renaissance Art Italian Renaissance painting was not merely […]

X and The Risks of Rebranding

Photo of Twitter X sign

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 […]

Rebranding Spotlight: Transforming Twitter into X

Image of an X made of blue birds

After I heard that Elon Musk would rebrand Twitter as X, I did what many nerdy trademark lawyers did: I checked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office database for any recent X trademark filings by Twitter or X Corp. I didn’t find any, which is not necessarily unusual. Sometimes multinational companies will first file outside […]

Dunkin’ Don’tnuts

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 […]

Uber Logo Uber Alles

Uber Logo on Phone

The Uber logo has changed again. This time, for the better. As you may remember, way back in 2016 Uber changed its “U” logo to a more “futuristic” design. The Internet, kind soul that it is, immediately noticed that when turned 90 degrees, the logo looked like a certain part of the human anatomy: https://gizmodo.com/ubers-new-logo-its-an-asshole-1756692669. […]

Don’t Poke the Bear- The Aloha Poke Co. Trademark

Poke Bowl

As a trademark owner, you need to enforce your rights or you could potentially lose them, but sending out trademark cease and desist letters can be tricky. These letters can wind up circulated widely on social media, and every couple of months it seems like one devolves into a PR catastrophe. This episode of Cease […]

Law Firm Launches Puppy Themed Website

Puppies

Nashville-based trademark law firm, Trust Tree Legal, P.C., has launched a new website, totally rebranded with images of puppies. The website, which launched in mid-November, isn’t just about puppies, however. The firm has grown rapidly since it was founded in 2015, and relies heavily on technology to serve its clients. The firm will file more than […]

John Lewis Christmas Ad Kicks Off the Holiday Season

2017 John Lewis Ad Still

Here at Trust Tree we keep a photo of Santa up year-round, so it should come as no surprise that we get super excited when the John Lewis Christmas video shows up every year. Nothing kicks off the holidays like a good, long, happy cry. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/Jw1Y-zhQURU