Judge William Alsup expressed broad concerns about a proposed $1.5 billion settlement deal between Anthropic PBC and a number of author-plaintiffs, questioning whether the agreement adequately protects class members and Anthropic. At a September 8 preliminary hearing, Judge Alsup denied
brand protection
Never Give Up: How SIDECAR SLIDER BAR Proves Persistence Pays Off in Trademark Prosecution
Bucking the trend of recent Section(d) refusal affirmances, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) delivered a surprising victory to the applicant in In re Restaurant Concept Management, LLC,[1] finding no likelihood of confusion between SIDECAR SLIDER BAR…
TTAB Draws the Line on “See Prior Arguments”
In a precedential opinion issued June 6, 2025, the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (“USPTO”) Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) affirmed the refusal to register PRINCETON EQUITY GROUP as a trademark for “strategic financial advisory services; providing equity…
Reputation Reaches Across Borders: TTAB’s Ruling Charts New Course for Foreign Marks
The Board’s Decision
In a significant precedential ruling, Plumrose Holding Ltd. v. USA Ham LLC, No. 91272970, 2025 WL 248763, at *1 (Jan. 17, 2025), the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) has expanded protection for foreign trademark owners…
Keeping your business IP safe- Intellectual property in a disrupted employment environment
This article was co-authored by Bella Baker
We live in a disrupted world. One impact from this is a gig economy that increasingly favours contractors and freelancers, allowing for more flexible working arrangements. This has also led to the growing…
Concepts, creative ideas and copyright protection: Buster, The Brave Little Wooden Boat illustrating the limits of causal connection and copyright protection
By Georgina Hey & Jerome Messiha
Content developers and creatives are generators of ideas and concepts. The point at which any concept transforms into a copyright protected work is often a vexed issue in the creative (and other) spaces.
A…
10th Circuit Moves Forward with Supreme Court Directive: Domestic Anchor Required for Lanham Act Application
** Drew Engel, a Summer Associate in NRF’s Minneapolis office, assisted with this article. Drew is supervised by attorneys who are licensed in the state of Texas.**
The Tenth Circuit’s recent decision in Hetronic Int’l Inc. v. Hetronic Germany GmbH…
Trademarks and NFTs: The battle over “MetaBirkin” NFTs continues
** This article was drafted by Logan Woodward, a Summer Associate in NRF’s Minneapolis Office. Logan is supervised by attorneys who are licensed in the State of Texas.
The MetaBirkin dispute continues before the United States Court of Appeals for…
The TTAB’s Periodic Reminder that Deadlines Matter
In a decision earlier this year, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) dismissed as moot a cancellation proceeding filed by Men’s Wearhouse, LLC against WKND NYC LLC for the mark

(hereinafter, “MW MRWKND”) because Men’s Wearhouse filed the cancellation…
Who’s in control? Liability for copyright infringement by contractors and software developers
The High Court recently delivered its decision in Real Estate Tool Box v Campaigntrack 1 relating to copyright authorisation.
The High Court held that the appellants, who had engaged a third party software developer to create a real estate…