Weekly IP Buzz for week ending September 28, 2018

Here's a summary of interesting developments in intellectual property, technology, social media, and Internet law for the week ending September 28, 2018.

Nestlé Disputes Potentially Infringing Third Party Trademark Use

Food giant Nestlé has filed a complaint in federal court against a competitor for allegedly infringing upon its LEAN POCKETS® and HOT POCKETS® trademarks. According to the complaint, a New York company operated by Gigi Anthony (“Anthony”) has been selling and promoting food products under the name “Pizza Pocket,” “Pizza Pockets,” and “Russo’s Gluten Free Pizza Pockets.”

Anthony’s food products, which consist of filled-sandwich products, are allegedly infringing upon Nestlé’s HOT POCKETS® and LEAN POCKETS® products and trademarks because Nestlé has long offered a pizza-filled sandwich product under both the LEAN POCKETS® and HOT POCKETS® trademarks. Read more about the story.

What Do Whataburger and Wonder Woman Have In Common?

With the reemergence of Wonder Woman in popular media, Texas hamburger chain Whataburger has found itself embroiled in a potential trademark dispute with DC Comics over the ubiquitous “W” logo. Read the full article, and why trademark rights protection shouldn't be hindsight.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.