Trademark

Patagonia is suing an ally, drag climate activist Pattie Gonia, for $1. It feels like a betrayal. Trademark law says it mostly isn't.

Taylor Swift filed a sound mark application built around an Amazon Music ad for the album she's currently being sued over. The USPTO probably won't register it. Here's why — and why federal name-image-likeness legislation is what this whole conversation is actually missing.

The TTAB's first precedential opinion of 2026 refused registration of an eight-slice pancake design as a trademark, finding the configuration functional — largely because the applicants' own marketing materials and arguments explained exactly why it's useful.

Sneaker influencer Nick Tuinenburg sold knockoff Nikes on Discord and launched his own Dunk lookalikes. A federal jury just hit him with $11 million in damages. The case is a warning to every brand founder who thinks copying a silhouette without the logo keeps them safe.

Blake Lively's company is using a trademark opposition to block a Utah entrepreneur from registering BEAUTY BY BLAKE. It's a smart strategy. It's also a legally questionable one.

The TTAB ruled that PISSTERINE mouthwash would confuse consumers with LISTERINE, rejecting parody as a defense to trademark infringement.