Lisa P. Ramsey

snoop dogg's application to register SMOKE WEED EVERYDAY as a trademark for retail store services feat. cannabis products derived from hemp w/ a THC concentration of <0.3% refused by @uspto for 2 reasons:

1. services illegal per federal law, &
2. phrase too commonplace

Note that copyright already protects disembodied designs.

So you don't *need* design patents for this stuff...unless your design fails to meet the low bar set by Feist.

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Texas Says Lone Star State's Shape Can't Be A Trademark - Law360 Texas sued a precious metals dealer in federal court seeking to invalidate its trademark registrations of generic shapes of the state of Texas and the state flag's iconic Lone Star, arguing Monday tha...

Texas Says Lone Star State's Shape Can't Be A Trademark
www.law360.com/articles/244...

Sorry I missed your presentation – it looked interesting!

Professor Lisa P. Ramsey - Trademarks and Free Speech book Table of Contents Introduction 1. Trademarks with Substantial Inherent Value 2. When Do Trademark and Free Speech Rights Conflict? 3. A Free Speech Framework for Trademark Law 4. Trademark Registratio...

FYI I also talk about trademark use of a mark, failure to function doctrine, and attempts to register informational, expressive, and decorative matter with substantial inherent value in my new book "Trademarks and Free Speech: Conflicts and Resolutions": www.lisapramsey.com/trademarks-a...

and the Federal Circuit's recent decision in In re Brunetti). I also recommend Rebecca's posts about the other panels at WIPIP. It was a great conference - thanks to Boston University School of Law for hosting WIPIP this year!

(2) my proposed standard for determining when a phrase, name, symbol, or device is used as a mark and when it is merely informational, expressive, or decorative matter that fails to function as a mark (important questions after the Supreme Court's decision in Jack Daniel's....

I talked about (1) whether the US should explicitly adopt a trademark use requirement for infringement liability (I think the US should adopt an affirmative defense for noncommercial use of a mark other than as a mark); and...

@rtushnet.bsky.social always does a great job blogging about IP conferences she attends, and the recent Works in Progress Intellectual Property Colloquium at Boston University School of Law is no exception. Here are her notes about my trademark law panel: tushnet.blogspot.com/2026/02/wipi...

Last session of #WIPIP2026, and Alex Roberts @lexlanham.bsky.social asks “are we human, or are we brands now?” Or “I curated this look, so I must own it!” - Litigating Personal Brand: Intellectual Property & Construction of the Self

"trademark use, failure to function doctrine, & free speech" with @LPRamsey

should the US explicitly adopt a tm use requirement for infringement liability?
how do we determine whether use is use as a mark?
when does a sign fail to function?

Thanks for live tweeting my presentation! FYI my proposal - which I include in my new "Trademarks and Free Speech" book - is a statutory defense for noncommercial use of a mark other than as a mark. Such uses are very unlikely to cause source confusion.

If you can’t join us at USD on February 23, Northeastern just posted the video of my February 3 presentation about the book: law.northeastern.edu/multimedia/t...
Thanks again to Alex Roberts @lexlanham.bsky.social for hosting me and asking great questions!

Celebrate Prof. @lpramsey.bsky.social's new book "Trademarks and Free Speech: Conflicts and Resolutions" on Feb. 23 with a panel, reception, and a book signing. Register at: www.sandiego.edu/events/law/d...

Meet Seedance 2.0, Hollywood’s Newest AI Copyright Headache The entertainment industry's AI copyright claims are strong, but Seedance 2.0 highlights the harder challenge: enforcing them across borders.

Seedance 2.0 drew cease and desist letters within days. One detail that no one's caught: Disney’s letter landed on the desk of a former Warner Bros. GC—now ByteDance’s top lawyer. If that sounds tangled, wait until you get to the enforcement challenge.
copyrightlately.com/meet-seedanc...

No

Best of luck to USD’s moot court team at the national competition in Washington DC on March 28!

- 3rd Place: Dylan Rees and Madeleine Simmons
- Best Brief: Lexi McCrillis and Caroline Spaeth
I also want to thank their coach, University of San Diego School of Law alumni Andrew Rodriguez, for helping our trademark moot court teams the last few years.

Congratulations to USD Law students Lexi McCrillis, Caroline Spaeth, Dylan Rees, and Madeleine Simmons for their amazing performance at the Saul Lefkowitz Regional Trademark Moot Court Competition in Los Angeles on February 7. They received 3 awards:
- 1st Place: Lexi McCrillis and Caroline Spaeth

How To Think About AI: Is It The Tool, Or Are You?

We live in a stupidly polarizing world where nuance is apparently not allowed. Everyone wants you to be for or against something—and nowhere is this more exhausting than with AI. There are those who insist that it’s all bad and there is nothing of…

Second Circuit Holds That the Hague Service Convention Prohibits Email Service on Mainland China-Based Defendants In Smart Study Co., Ltd v. Shenzhenshixindajixieyouxiangongsi, — F.4th —, No. 24-313 (2d Cir. Dec. 18, 2025), the United States Court of Appeals for…

Second Circuit Holds That the Hague Service Convention Prohibits Email Service on Mainland China-Based Defendants
www.lexology.com/library/deta...

Trademark Law and Free Speech - School of Law Join CLIC to celebrate the release of Professor Lisa Ramsey’s much-anticipated new book on trademark law and the First Amendment.

Should swear words or trending phrases be registered as trademarks for T-shirts? Is trademark dilution law unconstitutional? Northeastern University School of Law is hosting me for a Zoom lecture about my new book on Feb. 3 at 9:30 PT/12:30 ET. Please join us! law.northeastern.edu/event/tradem...

Not sure about cases, but consider looking at law review articles about genericide - I assume they will cite the cases (e.g., Sandy Rierson and Deven Desai's paper). Trademark treatises like McCarthy, Gilson, and Callmann may also have some cases in their genericide discussion.

I posted the introduction and chapter 1 on SSRN (papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....), so once SSRN approves of the post you can start reading it there. Also faculty and students: if your university has a subscription to Cambridge Core, you can access a digital version of the book through your library.

It is the #1 new release in trademark law and listed among the top ten best sellers in trademark law (the other books are casebooks and practice guides), so I hope that is the reason. Sorry to those of you who ordered books from Amazon and have not yet received them!

Book of the Week • TaxProf Blog University of San Diego Law Professor Lisa Ramsey is just out with Trademarks and Free Speech from Cambridge University Press. Her case is that current trademark law is insufficiently sensitive to Fir...

I am honored that my new Trademarks and Free Speech book is "Book of the Week" on TaxProf Blog (taxprofblog.aals.org/2026/01/23/t...). In other news, print copies are "Temporarily out of stock" on Amazon (a.co/d/aJLNJFx), so I guess that means the book is sold out and they are printing more?!?!

Thanks! Also thanks for your excellent comments on the book.

Thanks!

Non-TM owner can use 43(a) to challenge confusing use Postar v. Hyland, 2026 WL 145934, No. 5:24-CV-019-H (N.D. Tex. Jan. 20, 2026) This case allows a non-TM owner to bring a false advertising...

Non-TM owner can use 43(a) to challenge confusing use

Trademark Law and Free Speech - School of Law Join CLIC to celebrate the release of Professor Lisa Ramsey’s much-anticipated new book on trademark law and the First Amendment.

Finally, Northeastern University School of Law’s Center for Law, Information, and Creativity invited me to give a virtual lecture about the book on February 3 at 1230 ET/930 am PT - register here if you want to join us on Zoom: law.northeastern.edu/event/tradem...