I ♡ Trademarks NewsletterIssue #288
Bri Van Til | May 10, 2022
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Meta Analysis
This artist has filed a class action lawsuit against Meta, alleging that Facebook is not doing enough to stop counterfeit advertisements on its site.
Were MetaBirkins—digital images of Hermès handbags where the leather was replaced with fur allegedly to highlight animal cruelty—trademark infringement or protected free speech?
Dfinity is suing Meta for allegedly infringing its infinity logo. You might say it’s a §2(D)finity issue.
A recent Clarivate report says that trademark applications for NFTs, metaverse-related brands, and virtual goods have propelled Class 9 to the second most common Nice class. Get the full report here.
Russian to Conclusions
The Department of the Treasury issued a statement clarifying which financial interactions with Russia are okay, and it seems that applying for and renewing IP filings are allowed.
How does having trademarks used as part of a military strategy affect brand owners?
Yuri Zubov, the head of Rospatent, wants to remind the world that Russia’s IP legislation has not changed and points out that many applications that seemed to infringe on Western brands have been withdrawn.
Have a Drink on Me
Monster Energy is suing a Chinese textile company for trademark infringement.
Trademark applications suggest that Gatorade is considering moving into the metaverse. Almost completely unrelatedly, if you like puns (and why are you reading this newsletter if you don’t?!), check out this amazing headline.
Stone Brewing—which made it into last month’s newsletter for its triumph against MillerCoors—has been sued for allegedly infringing another brewery’s “Keep it Juicy” tagline. This author argues this is part of a growing trend in beer trademarks. Also, I hop you appreciate all the beer puns in the article.
Professional Concerns
What would it Signify for you if you got this job as senior IP counsel for this lighting company? Would it make your world brighter?
I’m offering a Public Broadcasting Service: I’m going to tell the whole world about this opening for counsel.
If this pro-voting organization did testing on its general counsel, would that make the person a Voting Rights Lab rat?
Have a real talon for IP? Consider applying to be IP counsel at Falcon’s Creative Group.
Fanatics are obsessed with finding senior IP counsel. They might need your help!
Feel like you’ve opened Pandora’s Vox at your current job? Consider applying to be advertising counsel at this media company instead.
Have an open role on your team? Send a link to your job listing to [email protected], and we’ll publish it in our next newsletter.
Odds and Ends
In case you missed USPTO Director Kathi Vidal’s talk at the INTA annual meeting, you can read her remarks here. And here’s WTR’s recap of the INTA annual meeting (and its own industry awards).
Don’t forget to join us on Thursday for this great ethics CLE webinar about issues throughout the trademark lifecycle.
The Fifth Circuit has found that a school district did not infringe an author’s copyright when it quoted the author on Twitter. They also made the author pay the district’s fees to deter such suits in the future.
Here’s an overview of what WIPO is when to file using it as opposed to single-country filings. For more details, check out this webinar recording.
The USPTO is considering a pretrial conference pilot program.