TMF clients know that when they call or text the TMF number, they have a direct line to Suzann. But this year, besides a number of appearances of her words in print, her voice was immortalized in podcasts. The first was Alt Legal’s first not-safe-for-work interview, spotlighting changes in the law relating to disparaging, scandalous and just plain offensive trademarks. And while other podcasters might have bleeped her out, Alt Legal took the same approach as the Supreme Court and allowed free speech to reign. Click here to listen. (Just don’t stream it while driving your kids’ carpool!)
Suzann was later featured on the “Your Wealth” podcast on an episode about why copyright and trademark protection is valuable for growing businesses. Despite its PG rating, it is nonetheless an interesting listen, particularly for those who are new to protecting their IP or who wish to learn more about how The Moskowitz Firm came to be. Click here to listen. For another angle on the Slants disparaging trademark case, see Suzann’s insights in this article from The Forward.
As Suzann predicted in her Alt Legal chat, the Circuit Court of Appeals followed suit this month, expanding the Supreme Court ruling to open the floodgates for all “offensive” and “scandalous” trademarks. So whether or not it’s actually a good idea to include offensive words or ideas in brand names, you may now send those %#$!# requests to TMF!
Suzann was also interviewed regarding the use of brands in social media. See here for her layperson’s approach to Nominative Fair Use, i.e. the idea that you do not always need permission to use other companies brands when you do so factually and without implying any affiliation or endorsement.