When a home goods company tried to register “SWIFT HOME” for its pillows and sheets, Taylor Swift was not about to shake it off. The intense (albeit brief) trademark showdown between Swift and Cathay Home offers a front-row seat to
trademarks
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…
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…
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…
Supreme Court Rules Section 2(c) of Lanham Act Constitutional and TRUMP TOO SMALL Not Registrable
** Logan Woodward, a Summer Associate in NRF’s Minneapolis Office, assisted with this article. Logan is supervised by attorneys who are licensed in the State of Texas. **
In June 2024, the Supreme Court held in Vidal v. Elster that…
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…
EVERYBODY is VS RACISM, so the Mark Fails as a Source Identifier
In a recent decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the decision of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) to deny registration of “EVERYBODY VS RACISM” because the “public is unlikely to associate the…
Black Card Can Register FOLLOW THE LEADER Mark
In a presidential decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) held that Black Card, LLC can register FOLLOW THE LEADER because the phrase operates as a source identifier and not as an unregistrable common phrase.
Black Card applied to…