Trader Joe’s: A Long Grocery List of Trademarks

Trader Joe’s is an undeniably popular grocery store chain.
It operates over 500 locations in the United States across 42 states and Washington, D.C., with estimated annual sales that reach $16.5 billion.

I’m a fanatical patron myself. I love its funky, mom-and-pop aesthetic and products that I can’t seem to get elsewhere like Everything But the Bagel seasoning (Trader Joe’s owns the trademark for that). The chain has achieved wide success with its “cult-like” customer base

Continue reading “Checking Out Trader Joe’s Tote Bag Trademark Battle”

Years before I started law school, I enjoyed indulging in the work of a comedian named Nathan Fielder, a master of absurdist comedy. Never did I realize this would be one of my first encounters with the many principles of trademark law. On his show, Nathan for You, he acts as a “consultant” helping real people with their real businesses. However, Nathan’s version of “help” only included absurd and unrealistic ideas, such as the concept of “Dumb Starbucks.”
Continue reading “Dumb Starbucks or Smart Starbucks? Brewing Up Effective Parodies”

With winter (or Abuelita season) approaching, Chocolate Abuelita (a classic Mexican hot chocolate) is at the top of many Mexican minds. However, this time, the thought comes with a bit of uncertainty. This summer, a trademark infringement lawsuit between Nestlé USA and Ultra Mundiales, a Mexico-based distributor, took over Mexican Instagram and TikTok.

Continue reading “A Trademark Telenovela: Nestlé USA Fights to Keep Mexican Classics Off the Shelves”

As the fashion world winds down from a season of fashion weeks in New York, Milan, Paris, and Los Angeles, buzz around new designs and creators is at a high. People are reflecting on what ensembles graced the catwalk and studying which ones garnered a nod from Anna Wintour. If you sadly didn’t receive an invite to a show, never fear, because the looks are certainly gracing the internet.
Continue reading “Make It Work!: Fitting Trademark Law into the World of Metaverse Fashion”

Trader Joe’s, the well-loved grocery chain filed suit against Trader Joe, a crypto exchange website, on October 5. The grocer is suing for a variety of federal trademark claims based on its word mark Trader Joe’s that is very similar to the name of the cyrpto exchange company as well as its domain name.

Continue reading “Oh No, Trader Joe!”

$160 million in revenue. 167,000 attendees. 1,000+ exhibitors and panels. One location.

These are just some of the statistics of the San Diego Comic Convention, the world’s most well-known comic book and pop culture convention, over the past decade. This convention also goes by several names, including Comic-Con International: San Diego, San Diego Comic-Con, and SDCC.

Continue reading “The Trademark Tales of San Diego Comic-Con”

So you have a great idea for a new business and have thought of the perfect name.  But what if it turns out there’s a company who has already been using the same (or a similar) name to the one you’re planning on?  Or perhaps you’ve registered a domain name that happens to be similar to another’s?

The good news is this isn’t necessarily a cause to change the name you loved.  The bad news is there are a couple of claims that could be made against you depending on your circumstances.

Continue reading “The Name Game”