All posts tagged: Trademark

The trademark wars of influencer culture

The trademark wars of influencer culture

Published by Sam Flores

If you’re someone who likes to read and frequents places both online and IRL where other people who like to read tend to congregate, the phrase “Hot Girls Read” has probably been on your radar at some point in the last couple of decades. It’s existed at least since the late 2000s. I’ve seen it on many products, in many different presentations — pink-glitter bubble letters on a sticker, loopy black cursive on a tote bag, industrial embroidery on a hat. “Hot Girls Read” isn’t a catchphrase from a movie or show. The designation “Hot Girl” does, however, have a widely acknowledged point of origin. Megan Thee Stallion made it a thing with her 2019 hit “Hot Girl Summer,” and in the wake of the song’s ubiquity, the cultural vernacular was inundated with activities or concepts rizzed up with the addition of “Hot Girl”: “Hot Girl Brunch,” “Hot Girl Yoga,” “Hot Girls Compost,” “Hot Girls Stay Hydrated,” “Hot Girls for Cuomo.” A growing number of self-described creatives wield legal protections, legitimate and non, as a …

Prince Louis displays trademark cheeky behaviour in background of family photo

Prince Louis displays trademark cheeky behaviour in background of family photo

Published by Daniella Wilson

Prince Louis displayed his trademark cheeky behaviour in the background of family photos from the Princess of Wales’ National Three Peaks Challenge. Princess Kate took to Instagram with heartwarming images of herself meeting her emotional and proud family at the bottom of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) to mark her fulfillment of the criteria for the challenge. She completed the challenge in support of The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Kate and the Prince of Wales’ youngest child was seen putting on an animated display in the photos, including some in which he could only be seen in the background. © The Prince and Princess of WalesIn one photo, Kate hugged her daughter, Princess Charlotte, 11, as Louis, eight, could be seen throwing his hands in the air In one photo, Kate hugged her daughter, Princess Charlotte, 11, as Louis, eight, could be seen throwing his hands in the air while playing with one of the family’s cocker spaniels. In another heartwarming snap, Louis held his mother’s hand after she completed the challenge and chatted with the rest …

The trademark scam that could have handed Linux to a stranger demanding 10% royalties

The trademark scam that could have handed Linux to a stranger demanding 10% royalties

Published by skeptic

When Linus Torvalds built the Linux kernel as a hobby project and announced it on Usenet with his typical understatement in 1991, he licensed it in a way that let anyone use and modify the code. What he didn’t do was trademark the name. That oversight nearly handed the entire Linux ecosystem to an unscrupulous Boston attorney that no one had ever heard of. Who was William R. Della Croce Jr.? A trademark filed on false pretenses Credit: iStock In August 1994, William R. Della Croce Jr. filed a US trademark application for the word Linux, describing it as a “computer operating system software to facilitate computer use and operation.” The application itself claimed he was the original user of the mark and that he didn’t know of anyone else using it at the time, even though he had to file it under the penalty of perjury. The trademark was successfully registered in September 1995 as Registration No. 1916230. This claim was, of course, absurd on the face of it, as a subsequent legal petition put …

Patagonia trademark lawsuit triggers backlash by drag queen Pattie Gonia

Patagonia trademark lawsuit triggers backlash by drag queen Pattie Gonia

Published by Sam Flores

Drag queen Pattie Gonia is asking fans for help fighting Patagonia, the popular outdoor apparel and gear company, which has sued the outspoken environmental activist for trademark infringement. The Ventura-based company filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court in January after the environmentalist drag queen submitted an application for the exclusive right to use the brand Pattie Gonia for marketing, activism and clothing sales. Wyn Wiley, who performs as Pattie Gonia, has millions of followers on social media and has raised nearly $4 million for environmental nonprofits. Last year, the drag queen raised $1 million by hiking 100 miles from Point Reyes to San Francisco. Patagonia sued Wiley for $1 in damages plus legal fees, saying it supports the performer’s causes but wants to protect the company’s branding. Pattie Gonia and their supporters are urging the brand to drop the suit. In its complaint, Patagonia wrote that the drag queen’s “products and services compete directly with the products and advocacy upon which Patagonia built its Patagonia brand over the last fifty-three years.” Pattie Gonia …

DraftKings fights NCAA trademark lawsuit over March Madness betting promotions claims

DraftKings fights NCAA trademark lawsuit over March Madness betting promotions claims

Published by skeptic

DraftKings is pushing back hard against the NCAA’s trademark lawsuit, telling a federal court the sports betting company legally used phrases connected to the men’s basketball tournament and did nothing that would confuse customers about any relationship with the college sports organization. In a response filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana and seen by ReadWrite, the sportsbook operator denied allegations that its promotions and betting products improperly traded on NCAA branding. The company said the NCAA “has no valid claim against it” and argued the association is not entitled to damages or other relief. NEW: DraftKings answered NCAA’s lawsuit, denying trademark infringement over March Madness betting terms and demanding jury trial in Indiana now @RWW pic.twitter.com/Yes03H0NpH — Suswati Basu (@suswatibasu) May 19, 2026 DraftKings acknowledged using phrases tied to the tournament, including “March Madness,” “Sweet 16,” “Elite 8,” “Final 4,” and “March Mania.” Still, the company rejected accusations involving trademark infringement, unfair competition, dilution, and false association under the Lanham Act. The NCAA filed suit earlier this year after …

Danny Dyer Wants To Lose His Characters’ Trademark Moustache In Rivals Season 3

Danny Dyer Wants To Lose His Characters’ Trademark Moustache In Rivals Season 3

Published by Sam Flores

Rivals is back for a new season with more bonking, more affairs and, of course, more moustaches. Set in the fictional Rutshire in the hedonistic late 80s, the Jilly Cooper adaptation has turned some of British TV’s most popular actors into international sex symbols. No one is more surprised by this than Danny Dyer, who plays the lovable Freddie Jones, especially because of his era-appropriate wig and moustache. “I just want to see my top lip again,” he joked to the BBC of his facial hair, admitting he has to keep the moustache for around seven months of the year while he’s filming filming. “My grandchildren only know me as a moustached man, and that depresses me slightly,” he added, referring to his daughter Dani Dyer’s three children, Santiago, Star and Summer. Danny has one hope for his character in series three – that his character might move with the times and ditch his trademark tache. “Obviously, we’re coming to the end of the 80s now, so if we go again, we’re sort of encroaching …

Taylor Swift’s lawyers slam ‘absurd’ trademark lawsuit from former Vegas showgirl

Taylor Swift’s lawyers slam ‘absurd’ trademark lawsuit from former Vegas showgirl

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the inside track from Roisin O’Connor with our free weekly music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Taylor Swift’s lawyers have responded to a lawsuit from a former Las Vegas showgirl who owns the trademark to “Confessions of a Showgirl,” claiming that the suggestion anyone would confuse the brand with Swift’s 2025 album The Life of a Showgirl is “absurd.” In March, Maren Wade, whose real name is Maren Flagg, filed the lawsuit in California, alleging trademark infringement, false designation and unfair competition. She is seeking unspecified damages from Swift and UMG Recordings and a court order that would bar the pop star from continuing to use the album title. In response to an injunction that would have immediately stopped Swift from using her album title, Swift’s lawyer filed a response, which has been seen by Variety and reads:“This motion, just like Maren Flagg’s lawsuit, should never have been filed. It is simply Ms. Flagg’s latest attempt to use Taylor …

Rancho Gordo’s Bean Club trademark sparks controversy, debate in bean community

Rancho Gordo’s Bean Club trademark sparks controversy, debate in bean community

Published by Sam Flores

Should any one business own the term “bean club”? Steve Sando started his Bean Club as a joke in 2013. The idea seemed silly at first — who would be interested in a bean box subscription? Yet it was this concept that would attract thousands of bean lovers several years later, becoming a national phenomenon for the bean community. Sando started selling curated selections of heirloom beans at farmers’ markets in Napa, where he had successfully sold heirloom beans under his brand, Rancho Gordo. He eventually transitioned to mail orders as membership grew. “Bean Club is so unusual, and in 2013 there really was nothing like that,” Sando said. “It’s really a specific thing for extreme bean enthusiasts.” By 2020, Sando’s Bean Club had amassed 11,000 members. Five years later, that number tripled to more than 30,000, with a growing waitlist of more than 36,000 people. For many, Rancho Gordo beans have become a pantry staple and cooking essential. They’ve brought thousands of people together via Facebook groups where club members share their favorite recipes …