A billionaire candidate spent $13 million of his own money on a California gubernatorial campaign, then sued a rival for using the same three words. The court’s response exposed the limits of trademark law in politics. The $13 Million Slogan Dispute Stephen Cloobeck, founder of Diamond Resorts International, announced his 2026 California gubernatorial campaign in … Read more
Donald Trump has built one of the most recognizable personal brands in American history. The 45th and 47th President of the United States first made his name as a New York real estate developer before expanding into casinos, golf courses, hotels, consumer products, entertainment, and most recently, mobile phones and digital goods. DTTM Operations LLC, … Read more
Kellogg’s is one of the most recognized names in the food industry, with a trademark portfolio spanning over a century. Founded by W.K. Kellogg in 1906 in Battle Creek, Michigan, the company transformed breakfast with the invention of corn flakes and went on to build an empire of cereal, snack, and frozen food brands. In … Read more
Nike invented the Total 90 brand in 2000. In 2025, a Louisiana soccer coach is suing them for using it. Hugh Bartlett noticed something interesting in the USPTO database. Nike’s federal trademark registration for TOTAL 90 had been cancelled on April 19, 2019. The athletic giant had failed to file a Section 8 Declaration of … Read more
A Tampa Bay coffee chain just won a four-year battle at the Federal Circuit after the USPTO insisted its name meant “coffee” in Arabic. The Ruling That Changes Foreign Language Trademark Strategy Bayou Grande Coffee Roasting Co. has operated cafés across Tampa Bay under the KAHWA name since 2008. When the company filed to register … Read more
A California surf brand’s $100 million bet against Lady Gaga just crashed on First Amendment rocks. On December 15, 2025, US District Judge Fernando M. Olguin denied Lost Surfboards’ request for a preliminary injunction that would have blocked merchandise sales tied to Lady Gaga’s “Mayhem” album and tour. The ruling landed a significant blow to … Read more
When Cathay Home Inc. posted an Instagram photo of a dog lounging on its bedding while holding Taylor Swift’s new album on October 3, 2025, the caption calling out “Mrs. Swift” may have seemed like harmless marketing. Three weeks later, Swift’s legal team filed a formal opposition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, reigniting … Read more
One of rock’s most legendary bands cannot convince the federal government that adding “Experience” to their name creates something new. On December 9, 2025, the USPTO issued its second office action rejecting Led Zeppelin’s trademark application for “THE LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE.” Superhype Tapes Limited, the Jimmy Page-owned company behind the filing, now faces a dual … Read more
Taylor Swift is a musician who exploded into national attention when her debut country music album reached the top 5 on the Billboard list in 2006. Since then, she has become a defining figure in the music industry, with a transition from country roots to becoming an iconic pop figure. Her albums are: Aside from … Read more
Christi Lower built Highline Spirits from scratch. The woman-owned Michigan distillery launched in 2021 with a whiskey brand and a name she trademarked before opening her first taproom. When Kate Upton’s celebrity-backed Vosa Spirits started selling canned vodka cocktails under the “High Line” name in May 2023, Lower faced a choice: accept the confusion or … Read more
When Beyond Meat and Dunkin’ Donuts launched their celebrity-studded national advertising campaign in 2019, they used a catchy slogan: “Great Taste, Plant-Based.” A small Philadelphia company had registered a nearly identical phrase four years earlier. That oversight just cost Beyond Meat $38.9 million. A Jury Verdict Six Years in the Making On November 24, 2025, … Read more
Six days after an Australian beach umbrella company received its USPTO registration certificate for “Swim Shady,” Eminem’s legal team filed a petition to cancel the mark. The rapper’s lawyers argued the name is “highly confusingly similar and/or legally identical in sight and sound” to his decades-old SLIM SHADY trademark. The company that started as “Slim … Read more
Jarrad Hewett’s Oklahoma underwear company just had its most profitable month after three years of building his brand around a cartoon squirrel holding acorns. Weeks later, Texas-based Buc-ee’s sent him a three-page cease and desist letter demanding he abandon the logo, stop using the colors red, yellow, and brown, eliminate all cartoon rodents from his … Read more
Days after celebrating her 70th birthday with a star-studded bash, Kris Jenner filed a trademark application for “Queen By Kris Jenner” through Jenner Communications Inc. The filing covers an extensive range of beauty products including perfumes, lotions, body oils, lip gloss, nail polish, and artificial eyelashes. This marks the matriarch’s entry into the beauty market … Read more
When Jaime Rogozinski created r/WallStreetBets in 2012, he coined the name and built a community that would eventually drive the 2021 GameStop short squeeze heard around the world. By the time Reddit banned him from the platform in April 2020 for violating self-promotion policies, the subreddit had reached 1 million subscribers. Rogozinski filed a federal … Read more
When Sydney Sweeney filed her trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on November 4, 2025, the entertainment industry took notice, but not for the reasons you might expect. The Euphoria star wasn’t protecting a new fragrance, clothing line, or beauty brand. Instead, her application covered adjustable spanners, socket sets, car polishes, … Read more