2022 Edition: Most Wanted Holiday Gifts for IP and Trademark Lawyers and Professionals
Alt Legal Team | December 01, 2022
Finding the perfect holiday gift for IP and Trademark lawyers and professionals can be a challenge! We’ve compiled a list of our favorite IP- and trademark-related gifts that will surely be a hit!
All Things Alt Legal
Alt Legal Connect 2023 Tickets
Buy tickets to our virtual trademark conference for yourself and a friend! Join us February 6-8 for Alt Legal Connect, and take advantage of our “friendly” offer and buy a ticket for yourself and a friend at just $125per ticket. Your friends will thank you! Order here, select “Regular Tickets – Standard Conference Group Pass” and use promo code: friend-blog. Offer is valid through December 31, 2022.
Alt Legal Trademarket Swag
Show the world your love for trademarks, puns, or both by shopping at the Alt Legal Trademarket. Check out our new holiday designs! We’re passing on all net proceeds from the Trademarket to The Playing Field Project, a nonprofit focused on diversifying the legal profession. Visit Alt Legal’s Trademarket to get great trademark swag and support a wonderful cause.
2022 IP Hot Topics
Bored Ape Yacht Club
One of the biggest headliners this year in the NFT space is the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection. Yuga Labs, the creator of the BAYC has run into issues with artist Ryder Ripps. Plus, actor/producer Seth Green had to halt the release of a planned television series based on his BAYC NFT after his Bored Ape was stolen. Read more about these issues in our year-end round up of the biggest NFT disputes in 2022. While an actual Bored Ape NFT is going for around 61 ETH ($76,000) on OpenSea, you can buy into the BAYC lifestyle by gifting your NFT-loving friends an officially-licensed BAYC hoodie.
Warhol v. Goldsmith
Throughout 2022, IP practitioners have been eagerly watching the Warhol v. Goldsmith dispute unfold before the Supreme Court. The case stems from a dispute between the estate of Andy Warhol and photographer Lynn Goldsmith over her series of photographs depicting Prince. The Supreme Court is set to determine whether Warhol’s use of Goldsmith’s photographs was sufficiently transformative fair use. Read more about the case in our year-end round up of the biggest NFT disputes in 2022. To celebrate this historic case before SCOTUS, gift your IP practitioner friends this Warhol coffee table book and Lynn Goldsmith’s collection of rock and roll photographs and stories.
The Metaverse
Just about every brand and celebrity entered the Metaverse this year, filing trademark applications for metaverse-related goods and services and announcing metaverse-related projects. Help your IP-practitioner friends experience the Metaverse to the fullest by outfitting them with an amazing virtual reality headset.
IP Cases Making Headlines in 2022
Cardi B vs. Some Guy with a Back Tattoo
Grammy-award winning rapper Cardi B found herself in court for a copyright infringement case when a man alleged that his distinctive back tattoo was used on the cover of one of Cardi B’s mixtapes, resulting in a case of mistaken identity. The man was particularly upset because the tattoo was depicted on an individual in a sexually suggestive position, which he claimed caused him “distress and humiliation.” Cardi B ultimately prevailed and the jury found that the plaintiff had not proved that she had misappropriated his likeness. Celebrate Cardi B’s win by purchasing her triple-platinum-certified album, Invasion of Privacy.
Lululemon vs Peloton
Lululemon had accused Peloton of infringing six design patents for women’s workout clothing, and Peloton subsequently sought a declaratory judgment of non-infringement. Ultimately, the fitness giants finally came to an agreement where Peloton agreed to phase out its allegedly infringing workout clothing designs. Share some fashionable, design-patented workout wear with your friends by gifting them Lululemon’s cult favorite Align™ leggings or the License to Train jogger for men.
Vans vs. MSCHF
Art collective MSCHF found itself in hot water yet again after Vans claimed that MSCHF’s collaboration with rapper Tyga for the “Wavy Baby” shoes infringe Vans’ trademarks relating to its “Old Skool” skate shoe. The dispute centers around how courts should balance free speech and artistic expression versus trademark rights. The case is still pending before the Second Circuit, but in the meantime, treat your friends to a pair of eternally stylish Old Skool Vans, available in a variety of colors and patterns.
Hermès v. MetaBirkin
One of the biggest NFT cases this year has been the MetaBirkin case. Artist Mason Rothschild developed a collection of 100 NFTs dubbed “MetaBirkins,” displaying the famous Hermès Birkin handbag covered in various patterns, textiles, and artworks. By January 2022, Rothschild sold over $1 million in MetaBirkin NFTs. In turn, Hermès sued him for trademark infringement and dilution, misappropriation of its BIRKIN trademark, cybersquatting, false designation of origin and description, and injury to business reputation. The case is still pending before the SDNY and is certainly one to watch. Read more about the case in our year-end round up of the biggest NFT disputes in 2022. While buying an actual MetaBirkin may be out of reach, an Hermès blanket is somewhat more affordable, as is this fanciful Hermès pop-up book.
Do Good, Donate, and Promote Civil Rights
Over the past few years, we’ve seen the rise of Black Lives Matter and an enormous movement in the US to promote civil rights and prevent racial discrimination. Help by donating in your friends’ names to these worthy organizations that support Black attorneys, encourage diversity in the legal profession, and promote justice.
The Innocence Project exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. The Innocence Project’s mission is to free the staggering number of innocent people who remain incarcerated, and to bring reform to the system responsible for their unjust imprisonment.
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Scholarships – LDF is America’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. Through litigation, advocacy, and public education, LDF seeks structural changes to expand democracy, eliminate disparities, and achieve racial justice in a society that fulfills the promise of equality for all Americans.
National Urban League – The League is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment, equality, and social justice. The League promotes economic empowerment through program areas that include education and job training, housing and community development, workforce development, entrepreneurship, health and quality of life.
IP Fun
How well do you know your logos? Test your trademark knowledge with The Logo Game! The game includes 1600 questions and, according to the manufacturer, “a few astonishing facts and surprises to entertain everyone!”
Support Innovation and Invention
Did you know there’s a USPTO museum? Well, it’s the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and there’s a gift shop that is undoubtedly epic. If you can’t make it to the gift shop, another great gift idea is to make a donation to the museum on behalf of your IP-lawyer friends. Donations help to make STEM education accessible to students, teachers, and aspiring inventors throughout the US.