Receiving a cease-and-desist letter for trademark infringement is a pressure moment. The letter will typically accuse you of using a confusingly similar name, logo, or branding and demand that you stop immediately. It may also threaten litigation, damages, and attorneys’ fees. The instinct is often to either panic and comply […]
A trademark search is one of the most overlooked and most consequential steps in building a brand. Too often, businesses focus on naming, logos, packaging, and launch timelines, while treating trademark clearance as an afterthought. That is a mistake. A trademark search is not a formality. It is a risk […]
A photographer holds a copyright in a picture of Miles Davis. A tattoo artist stenciled that picture onto a client’s arm and reproduced the picture as a tattoo. Can a jury really say that is not copyright infringement? Business owners ask this question more often than they realize. Usually not […]
One of the most common questions trademark owners ask after discovering a potential infringement is deceptively simple: Is it too late to sue? Unlike many areas of law, trademark infringement does not come with a clean, universally applicable statute of limitations. That does not mean timing is irrelevant. To the […]
Food and beverage brands are naturally drawn to words like “Craft,” “Farmhouse,” “Reserve,” “Artisan,” or “Small Batch.” These terms signal quality, authenticity, and care. They help consumers quickly understand how a product wants to be perceived, especially in crowded markets where shelf space and attention are limited. From a marketing […]
Trademark infringement requires an analysis of “likelihood of confusion.” In its shorted form, the question courts ask to determine trademark infringement is whether consumers would likely be confused as to the source, sponsorship, or affiliation of goods or services bearing a particular trademark. Assessing likelihood of confusion involves a multi-factor […]
Business owners often assume a trademark is a trademark, file it locally or file it with the federal government, and the result is basically the same. In reality, the two systems operate very differently, and the type of protection you choose can affect where you can expand, how strongly you […]
When most people think of trademark infringement, they think of knockoffs like fake Rolex® watches or dubious Louis Vuitton® bags sold by street vendors. In these cases, a junior user comes along and tries to profit from the goodwill of a well-known senior user, either through outright deception or by […]
When Restaurant Names Conflict With Packaged Food and Beverage Brands Restaurant owners often assume that if another company is selling packaged food or beverages under a similar name, there must automatically be a trademark conflict. The reality is more nuanced. When a restaurant name collides with a packaged product brand, […]
Legal Risks of Cuban-Inspired Cigar Brand Names Kennedy, Clinton, Schwarzenegger, Jordan, Jay-Z . . . the fascination with Cuban cigars goes back generations and doesn’t seem to fade. No amount of embargo regulation has changed that. In fact, the embargo itself may be what keeps the mystique alive, even as […]