Laws and Regulations

Adidas filed, and then quickly withdrew, a trademark dispute with the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation over the organization's use of a three-stripe logo. BLMGNF filed a trademark request in 2020 to use the stripes on apparel, drinkware, and other branded products.

Guy Fieri is flying dangerously close to the trademark infringement sun with his "Munch Madness" T-shirt, which parodies the highly proprietary "March Madness" logo. Fieri has plenty of parody apparel, so he clearly knows how to toe the line. Distributors can do that, too, but they need to be careful.

A California appeals court ruled yesterday that companies could still classify workers as independent contractors under the state's Proposition 22. While this ruling mostly pertained to Uber and Lyft drivers, the fight over independent contractor status has been going on in the promo industry, too.

A California State Assemblyman is pushing legislation that would only allow businesses to issue paper receipts upon requests as a means of limiting waste and exposure to chemically coated paper. Assemblyman Phil Ting, representing San Francisco and San Mateo County, re-introduced AB 1347, otherwise known as "Skip the Slip," in a video demonstrating the sometimes…

In a lawsuit filed last month in the Superior court of California, Canary Marketing claims that Twitter hasn't paid for $400,000 worth of branded merchandise.

The Virginia House of Delegates held a hearing yesterday on a bill that would prohibit government agencies from purchasing branded products. In its summary, House Bill 1913, otherwise known as the Virginia Public Procurement Act proposed by Del. Amanda Batten, says: prohibited contracts; agency-branded marketing materials. Prohibits state agencies from entering into any contract for…

AEW wrestler Luchasaurus, also known as Austin Matelson in normal life, is known for wearing a dinosaur mask in the ring. Now that he's getting some acclaim as the cold-blooded wrestling star, it makes sense that he and AEW would want to sell some merchandise featuring his likeness. But, the company that made his mask,…

A Manhattan, Kansas, branded apparel company is out $100,000 after fraudsters posed as hospital employees looking for merchandise. According to WIBW, the suspects came to Champion Teamwear and said they were employees of New York Presbyterian Hospital, and ordered more than $100,000 in merchandise, which Champion Teamwear fulfilled but never got paid for. This type…

The Scottish government issued a report on alcohol branding, and weighed legislation that could ban any branding in an effort to reduce the "attractiveness" of alcohol. This means branded drinkware, apparel and other ways breweries and distillers market themselves in Scotland.

Former One Direction star Harry Styles is suing counterfeiters listing branded merchandise on platforms like Etsy and Amazon without his approval. According to Billboard, Styles filed a lawsuit earlier this week in Chicago federal court against online sellers violating his intellectual property rights.