Trenam Law IP

  • Appeals Court Holds LETTUCE TURNIP THE BEET Trademark Owner Unable to Prevent Use of Phrase on Products

    Phrase “Lettuce Turnip the Beet” not source identifier when screen printed on T-shirts and other goods Read full article

  • EA Sports Revives College Football Franchise

    In 2013, Electronic Arts division EA Sports published NCAA Football 14, the latest entry in its college football videogame series. Little did we know that NCAA Football 14 would be the last version of the game. Player likeness issues came to a head, resulting in a multi-million dollar settlement between EA Sports and the Collegiate… Read full article

  • Cannabis Intellectual Property Protection Through Plant Patents

    In the far corner of patent law lies an underutilized form of intellectual property protection—plant patents. In fact, in 2018, only a total of 1,079 plant patent applications were filed with the USPTO. Then, in the following year, the first hemp plant patent was issued. Specifically, PP30,639 relates to a new and distinctive hemp cultivar… Read full article

  • Secret Trademark Applications

    In most countries around the world, trademark applications are public record once filed. United States federal trademark applications and registrations are searchable on the Trademark Electronic Search Systems (TESS). In fact, anyone in the world can access the TESS database. Moreover, the TESS database is a great tool for determining trademark availability. However, while in… Read full article

  • Robinhood and the Importance of Branding

    Over the past decade or so, stock trading apps exploded in popularity. For example, the Robinhood app launched in 2015, and since then gained millions of users. The mission statement behind the app involved providing market access for all users, not just highly dedicated traders. As such, the app’s name almost became obvious – based… Read full article

  • Circle K Opposes Marijuana Company’s K Design Trademark

    Circle K opposes design logo of marijuana company Read full article

  • Protecting Your Copyright on Amazon

    This week, Smith & Hopen attorney Steven Forte appears as an expert guest on the Ecommerce BrainTrust Podcast. The BrainTrust Podcast is hosted by Forbes contributor and Founder of Bobsled Marketing, Kiri Masters. Episode 172 of the Podcast, which you can listen to below, addresses how Amazon sellers can protect their copyrighted materials from infringement.… Read full article

  • Protecting Brands Against Online Counterfeiting

    Last year, the shift of consumers toward online shopping has exponentially increased since the pandemic began. All around the country, companies large and small were forced to rapidly change focus to the online marketplace. However, the increase in demand for online shopping has, unfortunately, caused businesses to face another threat—the rise of counterfeit goods. What… Read full article