Trademarks

* Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich isn’t the only politician who will be joining Dentons. After Dentons completes a merger with McKenna Long & Aldridge, former DNC Chair Howard Dean will also be working for the largest law firm in the world. YEEEAAAH! [The Intercept]

* Now that New York has adopted the Uniform Bar Exam, other states are considering it. Hurry up, because the UBE will “break down the long persistent barriers that keep lawyers from moving” — which isn’t a bad thing. [National Law Journal]

* In half a century of reproductive and gay rights cases, it’s worth noting that “arguments based on a right to privacy have tended to weaken and crack; arguments based on equality have grown only stronger.” Let’s see what SCOTUS does in June. [The New Yorker]

* All six of the Baltimore police officers who were arrested following the death of Freddie Gray have been indicted on homicide and assault charges. Despite the fact there’s now an indictment, the officers’ lawyers are calling the prosecution’s case weak. [New York Times]

* “Can you #trademark a #hashtag?” It’s somewhat of a tricky issue for people who are trying to register their marks at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, but these attorneys from IP powerhouse Morrison & Foerster have a pretty good explanation. [Law.com]

* This past Friday, Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby dropped the gavel on the police officers who were allegedly involved in the death of Freddie Gray. Here are seven interesting facts you need to know about this “certified badass.” [New York Magazine]

* Which law school placed the most graduates from the class of 2014 into full-time, long-term jobs where bar passage was required that weren’t school-funded? Stop. Before you say Columbia Law, you’re wrong for the first time in years. [National Law Journal]

* Indiana Tech, the little law school that couldn’t, received a recommendation against accreditation from the ABA on its first try. Not to worry, because law school officials say this is just a “minor setback” for all 59 of its students. ::sad trombone:: [News-Sentinel]

* “You are not doing that here.” Tough titty: Kelly Noe, one of the Ohio women challenging the same-sex marriage ban in her state before the Supreme Court, was yelled at by a security guard for breastfeeding her baby outside the high court. [Cincinnati Enquirer]

* If you’re hoping to register a “smutty” or “immoral” trademark, then you may be able to get what you want if this Federal Circuit opinion comes down your way. We’ll soon see if a ban on these offensive trademarks violates the First Amendment. [Corporate Counsel]

* If you think the federal government is preparing a military takeover of Texas… you might be a redneck. And you might also be Governor Greg Abbott. [Forbes]

* Elie says it’s time to end the expansive powers of arrest, for the good of everyone. [New York Daily News]

* Most of the 2016 presidential hopefuls are breaking the law. It’s good practice for if they win. [LFC 360]

* Not to dismiss the important point made in this article about substandard housing and the dangers of lead paint, but I think there may be other lessons to learn from Freddie Gray. [Washington Post]

* Satanic Temples are taking this RFRA thing and running with it. [Jezebel]

* Over in the EU, Louis Vuitton failed to win back the trademark it claims on its checkerboard pattern. [Fashionista]

* I’ve not read this yet, but here’s a collection of Legal Notices To Superheroes. Per the description, “A Letter to Superman from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services” has a lot of promise. [Amazon (affiliate link)]

* And remember to vote for the winner of the 2015 ATL Law Revue contest. Voting concludes Sunday at 11:59 p.m. EST. [Above the Law]

* The Girl Scouts of Suffolk County are teaming up with Touro Law to create a justice patch so young women can learn about the law and legal careers. If only the law school would help its grads earn the jobs patch! [National Law Journal]

* After going through the fuss of having Greenberg Traurig send out a cease and desist letter to a designer who created a 3D printed figurine of Left Shark after the Super Bowl, Katy Perry’s trademark application for cartoonish sea creature has been denied. [SPIN]

* Douglas Boggs, son of the late Thomas Boggs, Jr., is planning to ditch Squire Patton Boggs for Manatt Phelps & Phillips as soon as next week. Poor SPB, because now the firm isn’t going to have a single Boggs left to speak of. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

* ” This is a country that has made great progress, but there is still more to do.” Now that Loretta Lynch has finally been confirmed as our next attorney general, it’s time to step back and take a look at Eric Holder’s historic legacy in the position. [MSNBC]

* The Orrick partner who defeated Ellen Pao’s gender discrimination case against Kleiner Perkins has now been hired to fend off another gender-bias suit filed against Twitter. Imagine what it’s like to be the go-to lawyer for Silicon Valley tech bros. [WSJ Law Blog]

Great companies have great brands, and this is true for great cannabis businesses, too.

* Amal Clooney, the attorney who tamed George Clooney’s heart and is now considered one of the most famous human rights lawyers in the world, will be teaching at a New York law school this spring. Which one? We’ll have more on this fun news later today. [USA Today]

* Talk about a Hail Mary play: The ACLU has decided to come to the defense of a very unlikely cause. Per a recently filed federal brief, the organization thinks that the USPTO’s cancellation of the Redskins trademark was unconstitutional. [WSJ Law Blog]

* According to a new BARBRI study, the vast majority of third-year law students think they’re ready to go when it comes to practicing law, but the lawyers who have had the (dis)pleasure to work with new graduates don’t seem to agree. [National Law Journal]

* “Those kinds of jobs are never going to be enough to absorb the number of people graduating from law school over the next five or 10 years.” Northeastern’s dean laughs in Biglaw’s face — his grads measure their success in other ways. [Boston Business Journal]

* Ellen Pao’s “racy” gender discrimination lawsuit against Kleiner Perkins serves as a harsh criticism of the sexist culture of Silicon Valley. Luckily, jury members will be able to busy themselves with the case’s more lurid details. [The Upshot / New York Times]

* Kyle McEntee of Law School Transparency is working on a new podcast that will help prospective law students to see what working in the legal profession is really like. “I Am The Law” debuted in January 2015, and it’s worth a listen. [U.S. News & World Report]

There are a lot of ways to sell your product in China. Whichever you choose, make sure you've protected yourself.

* Bill Clinton’s professor thought Bubba should have taught tax law. Then maybe something could have trumped this tale. [TaxProf Blog]

* If you’re looking for a hell of a procedural fact pattern, try to unravel the gay marriage situation in Alabama. [PrawfsBlawg]

* Do law professors get lazier over time? [The Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post]

* Our own Tamara Tabo joined the folks at The Docket to discuss 50 Shades of Grey. [MSNBC]

* The USPTO is dumb enough to think people might confuse the Angry Asian Man blog and a children’s comic book called Angry Little Asian Girl, and now a trademark fight is brewing because the author of the latter has… become the latter. [Angry Asian Man]

* Lawyer and bike enthusiast tells bikers they’re part of the problem. Did this need to be said? [Outside Online]

* Katy Perry’s lawyers from Greenberg Traurig lob another volley at the sculptor of Left Shark. Amazingly, they’re trying to use his sculpture in their trademark application. Can’t make this up. [Political Sculptor] * Former ATL Lawyer of the Year, Paul Weiss’s Roberta Kaplan, has an interesting new project. She’s asking Americans to co-sign an […]

Red Bull thinks consumers don't know the difference between a beer and a bull.

* Next time on Nancy Grace: A recent graduate of Michigan State Law allegedly got a master’s degree student from the school pregnant twice before he left the country. The woman allegedly murdered one of the babies, and the other is now missing. [Detroit Free Press]

* I’ll just leave this right here so I won’t get fined. It looks like a partner from Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton helped Marshawn Lynch trademark his nickname “Beast Mode” — a trademark that may lead to Lynch getting a $100,000 fine from the NFL. [Am Law Daily]

* In other trademark news, Taylor Swift got approval for catchphrases from her album. “Nice to Meet You, Where You Been?” Her IP lawyers “Could Show You Incredible Things,” but you could’ve been getting down to “This Sick Beat.” [WSJ Law Blog]

* Gibson Dunn earned $459,000 for successfully challenging Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage, which was apparently a “sharp cut” in the fees the firm initially requested for star litigator Ted Olson’s time. Poor Teddy. [National Law Journal]

* According to Am Law’s latest Lateral Partners Survey, there was a 7 percent increase in lateral moves — 2,736, to be precise — between Oct. 1, 2013 and Sept. 30, 2014. Guaranteed pay packages, though, seem to be a thing of the past. [American Lawyer]

* The K&L Gates Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project, a clinic that’s perhaps better known as the firm’s revenge porn project, is assisting a California law student whose nude pictures and videos were allegedly put online by an ex. [DealBook / New York Times]

The guy suing Disney so he can build a real-life X-Wing has lost. But the judge gives us some grade A trolling.

* Lagunitas sued Sierra Nevada over beer. Beer connoisseurs pulled themselves out of their own vomit to tweet their disapproval. And it worked, Lagunitas dropped the suit. Imagine if we could harness the power of drunks for good. Or evil. Just anything. [SF Gate]

* Musing that maybe that daunting LSAT was the obstacle keeping students from filling seats, University of San Diego Law just opened up the school to USD grads — no LSAT required. [University of San Diego School of Law]

* Saks has heard the public backlash against its assertion that transgender people deserve no legal protections in the workplace and responded by… reasserting that transgendered people have no rights. [Slate]

* Fashion law isn’t just for Elle Woods acolytes anymore. [Racked]

* Ninth Circuit does not take kindly to a state prosecutor who lied under oath. [Seeking-Justice]

* SCOTUS justices don’t have to recuse themselves, and when they do, they don’t have to explain why. Let’s look at the recusals this Term and venture a guess at why each justice sat out. [Fix the Court]

* NY subways boast some ridiculous safety posters to cover themselves legally. Here’s a breakdown of their latest efforts. [NY Observer]

* Checking in on the always messed up developments down at Manhattan Supreme Court. [Wise Law NY]

* “Good news for law grads and law schools!” article ends up buried in a sea of caveats. Because of course it does. [TaxProf Blog]

Mobile Internet usage is predicted to grow faster in the next few years, making online or web based businesses great opportunities. What does that mean for you if you are starting an online business?

* Many Biglaw firms seem to be dragging their feet to match Davis Polk’s generous bonus scale. Why’s that? According to one partner, these bonus matches have cut into his firm’s profits by about 4 percent. Yikes! [The Economist]

* Total 1L enrollment in law school is the lowest it’s been since 1973, when there were 53 fewer schools. The next step would be to reduce tuition to 1973 levels, and then no one would have any more complaints. [DealBook / New York Times]

* Just because Bingham McCutchen bit the big one, it doesn’t mean that all of its pro bono cases will have to suffer the same fate. Not only did Morgan Lewis rescue most of the firm’s attorneys, but it’s also saving 500 of its pro bono cases. [Am Law Daily]

* Now that President Obama has decided to reopen diplomatic relations with Cuba, lawyers are champing at the bit for more business opportunities. Love Cuban cigars? Well, lawyers love trademark disputes involving those cigars. [National Law Journal]

* Greenberg Traurig reminds Florida clerks that if they issue gay marriage licenses, they could be criminally charged. Plaintiffs’ attorneys remind Florida clerks that if they refuse to issue gay marriage licenses, they could be sued. [Tampa Bay Times]

* Our managing editor, David Lat, sat down with Vivia Chen to dish about some of his favorite things, from his new book, Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link), to his new fiancé. Her book review: “I liked it! It’s a fun, breezy read.” Hooray! [The Careerist]

* New Jersey’s new tort liability ruling is an important first step to a real-life Hunger Games. [The Legal Blitz]

* A holiday shopping guide to beer and wine involved in intellectual property disputes. Clever. [Trademark and Copyright Law Blog]

* “There’s an app for that!” Lawyers create “Driving While Black” app for your smartphone. [The Oregonian]

* Speaking of Oregon, the University of Oregon is in the midst of a teaching strike that not only impacts its football team, but caused an immigration law issue when statements the school made were interpreted as threats to the immigration status of foreign teachers if they joined the strike. [Daily Nous]

* According to Dean LeDuc, Thomas M. Cooley Law is sad that it failed to sell the Mason Temple building in downtown Lansing to the state senate. Except there’s not really any mention that the state senate was ever interested. Perhaps their interest was reported by the same people behind the Cooley Rankings. [Lansing City Pulse]

* If you liked Mark Hermann’s rundown of business development tactics, here some other suggestions for what more lawyers and law students could be doing to develop business. [Law and More]

* New OSHA rules a-comin’. [Lawyers, Guns & Money]

But before the complaint is over we learn about how great Florida State is at football and get a review of world literature.

Wrigley seeks to protect its stale, dry gum from Internet slang....

If you sell or outsource your products to China, you should anticipate infringement of your intellectual property.

Well this is just astounding.