Alt Legal IP News – Issue #50
Hannah Samendinger | August 16, 2017
New Alt Trademarks episode alert! Our guest is Suzann Moskowitz of the Moskowitz Firm. We discuss the Slants case in our first NSFW episode. Check out the episode here.
The Good Stuff
– Planet Money asks a question we’ve all had: Can you patent a steak?
– Can a cake design be granted intellectual property protection?
– A small Transylvanian brewery took on a beer giant in a trademark battle and won.
– A couple of wheeled booze vessels in Nashville are fighting over the phrase “pedal tavern.”
What the Future Holds
– Will brands of the future have more trouble securing trademark rights?
– Amazon owns a whole collection of brands that you may have no idea they are behind.
– How do you address concerns about self-driving cars hitting pedestrians? Make a softer car.
Rainbows, Bros, and Cheerleaders
– LeVar Burton, of Reading Rainbow fame, is being sued for using the tagline “but you don’t have to take my word for it” on his new podcast.
– Do you even trademark, Bro? Delivery meal kits designed for bros are creating some trademark trouble.
– The cheerleader uniform case before the Supreme Court ended with a settlement.
Odds and Ends
– WeWork is in a race to open offices around the globe, trying to beat out competitors like UrWork while protecting their intellectual property rights.
– A Canadian man registered a trademark for his county’s name, and it is causing some problems for the local government.
– An interesting long read: Kale, Kickstarter, and my lawsuit against the USPTO.
– Gorilla Glue is not happy about the state trademark registrations for Gorilla Glue #44, a popular marijuana strain.
– Cards Against Humanity was granted an injunction and $60,000 in damages against a knock-off producer.
See you next week!
The Alt Legal Team