I ♡ Trademarks NewsletterIssue #426
Bri Van Til | April 01, 2025
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Just Eat
Australian vegan burger chain Lord of the Fries (yep, I love it!) recently faced legal challenges from an author’s estate. Notably it was not that of William Golding but rather that of J.R.R. Tolkien, and the burger chain won.
Read all about California Pizza Kitchen’s rebrand, which they marketed as a “midlife crisis” in honor of turning 40. Find some praise for it here.
Dave & Busters is says it’s game over for Arcade Time’s alleged infringement of their EAT DRINK PLAY trademark. They say they’ve sent four cease-and-desist letters, but Arcade Time has neither ceased nor desisted.
Something to Do
Don’t miss tomorrow’s episode of the TMA Talk Show, where Em and Kara will talk with Brand Action founders Phil Cox and Jackie Stelling.
Get your ticket for the annual Brand Action fundraiser in San Diego next month.
You know that networking is important, but how do you transform new contacts into meaningful relationships you can use to develop business? This webinar will give you concrete steps to take.
For a discussion of the latest developments in IP protection for AI-produced content, join us for this webinar in June.
Leggo My Logo
Duke University objects to the use of its logo in the most recent season of The White Lotus. Here‘s an analysis of whether they’d likely win a trademark infringement suit if they brought one.
The owner of Barc-ee’s has responded to Buc-ee’s lawsuit alleging their name and logo infringe that of the gas station giant (or perhaps more appropriately the giant gas station). He joked that “Being sued is a delightful addition to the business experience” but seemed to be considering the matter seriously.
Lost Surfboards is suing Lady Gaga for $100 million for allegedly infringing their Mayhem logo mark.
Professional Concerns
This trademark and copyright litigation partner position ESCAlling your name, so apply for it today!
Build your career as copyright counsel for Roblox.
Here’s a prime employment opportunity: Amazon is looking for trademark counsel.
Collier friends and tell them you just applied for this IP attorney gig.
If you meat with the team at ag company Cargill, you can become their IP counsel and figure out how to help them produce more IP to help feed their bottom line.
Have an open role on your team? Send a link to your job listing to community@altlegal.com, and we’ll publish it in our next newsletter.
Odds and Ends
The EFF claims a new change in USPTO policy regarding inter partes reviews will “make fighting patent trolls even harder.”
President Trump has nominated John Squires, former IP attorney for Goldman Sachs, to lead the USPTO.
The USPTO is requiring all users to have specific types of multi-factor authentication in place by the end of the month. And SMS and voice call authentication won’t work.
LEGO is suing Dutch company Betonblock for infringing its trademarks by selling LEGO-shaped concrete blocks using the name LEGO. They argue there is no confusion, though, because “No eight-year-old child has ever been given a 2,500-kilogram concrete block because they wanted LEGO bricks.”
Regardless how you feel about the use of AI in legal work, it’s not recommended to send an AI avatar to make oral arguments on your behalf.