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 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
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
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 All Elite Wrestling filed its trademark application for “AEW Shockwave” on September 6, 2024, the company likely anticipated a straightforward path to registration for what insiders believed would be a new television program. Instead, that filing triggered a federal trademark opposition that landed both AEW and the National Wrestling Alliance in a Trademark Trial … Read more
Imagine spending five years building a successful podcast brand around your own first name, only to have a toy company tell you that you can’t register it as a trademark. That’s exactly what’s happening to a DC podcaster in a legal battle that raises questions about corporate trademark power, common personal names, and how far … Read more
When a North Carolina coastal pool company thought it could sidestep a trademark dispute through legal maneuvering, a federal judge had other plans. On September 18, 2025, an Outer Banks-area pool and spa service provider learned that escaping trademark litigation isn’t as simple as filing the right motion. North Carolina’s Eastern District delivered a clear … Read more
A World Intellectual Property Organization panelist recently discovered forged U.S. trademark documents in what was called “one of the most egregious” reverse domain name hijacking cases on record. The shocking revelation came during proceedings between AK Associates, LLC and Alina Chung against the owner of ChafeZero.com. In my extensive trademark practice, having filed over 6,000 … Read more
Genki’s September 9, 2025 settlement with Nintendo proves that trademark gambles during major product launches carry million-dollar consequences. The accessory maker’s CES 2025 stunt – showcasing unauthorized Switch 2 mockups just days before Nintendo’s official reveal – ended with confidential damages and permanent restrictions on the company’s future marketing. As someone who has filed over … Read more
In my two decades of trademark practice, I’ve witnessed countless David vs. Goliath disputes, but few as fascinating as the legal battle that erupted in late August 2025. Ex Populus, the company behind Ethereum gaming network Xai, filed a federal trademark infringement lawsuit against Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI in the Northern District of … Read more
Celebrity trademark disputes rarely reach the personal and high-stakes level seen in singer Apollonia’s lawsuit against the Prince Estate, reportedly filed on August 20, 2025. This case strikes at the heart of celebrity brand protection, raising questions about name rights, creative collaboration, and posthumous trademark management that extend far beyond the music industry. In my … Read more
Utah’s newest NHL franchise has thrown down the legal gauntlet. On August 5, 2025, the team filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Mammoth Hockey, LLC, an Oregon-based manufacturer of hockey equipment bags. The dispute centers on exclusive rights to use the “Mammoth” name in sports-related business. This case represents more than just a name dispute … Read more
Apple Inc. filed a federal lawsuit in Massachusetts on August 1, 2025, against Apple Cinemas, marking another chapter in the ongoing battle between established brands and emerging businesses that share similar names. This case offers valuable insights into trademark law, brand protection strategies, and the critical timing decisions that can make or break a business … Read more