Xavier Morales Snoop Dogg helped turn “Smoke Weed Everyday” into one of the most recognizable phrases in cannabis culture. That popularity is exactly why the USPTO won’t let him trademark it. The Refusal Dr. ETC Holdco, LLC, Snoop’s intellectual property holding company, filed a trademark application on March 14, 2024 (Serial No. 98449797). The application sought federal … Read more
Quick answer: A trademark protects a product name or logo, and a service mark protects a service name or logo. That is the entire distinction. If you file under the wrong one, the USPTO examining attorney will issue an office action asking you to amend your identification of goods or services, but your application does … Read more
A Florida holding company wanted to open a sandwich shop called Vice City Subs. Take-Two Interactive, the publisher behind Grand Theft Auto, had other plans. The Opposition Filing On February 13, 2026, Take-Two Interactive Software filed Opposition No. 91305220 at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to block the registration of “Vice City Subs.” The … Read more
Buc-ee’s filed a federal trademark infringement lawsuit on February 18, 2026, against an Ohio gas station chain whose cartoon moose mascot looks uncomfortably similar to its iconic beaver. The target: Coles IP Holdings LLC, doing business as Mickey’s, a family-owned chain of roughly 42 convenience stores and gas stations spread across northern Ohio. Filed in … Read more
On February 20, 2026, a federal judge in Atlanta closed the book on the trademark infringement lawsuit between Outkast’s holding company and a masked electronic dance music duo who had been performing under the name “ATLiens” since 2012. The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning Outkast can never refile it. After 18 months of litigation, … Read more
When OpenAI launched Sora 2 on September 30, 2025, it included a feature letting users insert themselves into AI-generated videos. OpenAI called it “Cameo.” The problem: a company called Cameo, with four federal trademark registrations and 40,000+ celebrities on its platform, already owned that name. Cameo is a Chicago-based marketplace founded in 2017 where fans … Read more
The number 1587 means something very different depending on who you ask. To a small sneaker company founded by two Asian American entrepreneurs, it represents 1587 AD, the year Filipino sailors first arrived in what is now the United States. To Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, it’s a jersey number combination: Mahomes wears 15, Kelce … Read more
Kim Kardashian filed three trademark applications on January 14, 2026, for a brand that doesn’t exist yet: NOR11, a fashion and jewelry line for her 12-year-old daughter North West. Three Applications, One Strategy The filings, submitted through KimYe’s Kid Inc., cover an ambitious range of products. The first application targets clothing, footwear, loungewear, and hats. … 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
Autodesk spent over two years building its Flow brand for visual effects and production management software. Then Google launched an identically named AI filmmaking tool and, according to Autodesk’s complaint, did so after providing assurances it wouldn’t. On February 6, 2026, Autodesk filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in US District Court for the Northern District … Read more
Sydney Sweeney filed a federal trademark application on January 16, 2026 to push her SYRN brand beyond lingerie into skincare and cosmetics, twelve days before her first bra even hit the market. The new application (serial number 99596321), filed through Sweeney’s Delaware-registered entity Mylk Studios Inc., covers “skincare preparations, cosmetics, and beauty care preparations” under … Read more
Wayf Digital, a Warsaw-based software company, just sued one of America’s most recognizable insurance brands in federal court. Not over insurance. Over a domain name: GeiCo.ai. Wayf Digital Sp. z o.o. filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona on February 5, 2026. The case centers on the domain GeiCo.ai, which the … Read more
A California apparel company wants nearly $1 million back after losing a trademark battle over four words that have represented the US Army since 1778. The Appeal and What’s at Stake TWD, LLC owes Grunt Style nearly $1 million after a jury trial in the Northern District of Illinois. The damages totaled $739,500, plus $229,235.38 … Read more
Ten seconds. That’s how long it took crypto scammers to seize both the old GitHub organization and X account after Peter Steinberger released them during a forced rebrand. The Austrian developer, who founded PSPDFKit before selling to Insight Partners, had just built one of the fastest-growing open-source AI projects on the internet. Clawdbot had amassed … Read more
Nike filed a federal trademark application on January 21, 2026, for a stylized “CA” logo that signals the sportswear giant’s next signature athlete partnership. The filing covers footwear, headwear, shirts, jackets, wristbands, sports bags, and backpacks. Nike has not officially confirmed the connection, but industry observers universally link the “CA” mark to Carlos Alcaraz, the … Read more
Kim Kardashian filed trademark applications in March 2023 to protect her eldest daughter’s name for dolls, action figures, and educational toys. Nearly three years later, those applications remain pending at the USPTO, reportedly stalled over a fundamental problem: “North West” sounds like a compass direction. The case illustrates a challenge facing every parent who names … Read more