Issue No. 038
August 7, 2026
New York
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The IP Briefing · by ESCA Legal
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| WME sold the trademarks, logos, and digital assets associated with New York Fashion Week, NYFW, and NYFW: The Shows to Signet Fashion. |
| § | The transaction transfers the event's central brand assets to a media and entertainment company focused on fashion. | | § | Signet plans to expand live events, digital content, brand partnerships, and year-round audience engagement around the properties. | | § | The Council of Fashion Designers of America said it will continue to organize and steward the official New York Fashion Week schedule. | | § | Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. |
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| Continue reading → |
| § ESCA Takeaway |
| This issue follows control over brand assets at several stages: an ownership transfer, a copyright defense built on design records, counterclaims against a famous mascot owner, and a new entertainment trademark application. |
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| More IP Stories |
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| § Copyright · Filed |
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| Louis Vuitton and Off-White moved for summary judgment on the remaining copyright claim in designer Paula Hian's lawsuit over distorted checkerboard designs. |
| § | The brands argue that Hian cannot prove copying, substantial similarity, or access to her registered Plaque D'egout fabric design. | | § | Their filing traces distorted checkerboard imagery through art, fashion, and Louis Vuitton's own design history. | | § | Design records, sketches, mood boards, and internal communications are offered as evidence of independent creation for the accused collections. | | § | The case has narrowed to one copyright claim after other design claims were dismissed in 2024. |
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Why it matters
The motion shows how luxury houses can use archives and contemporaneous design records to defend the origin of creative work. The court must assess whether the remaining similarities reflect protected expression or recurring checkerboard elements.
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| § Trademark · Filed |
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| Teddy's Market denied Buc-ee's trademark claims and filed counterclaims seeking declarations of noninfringement and cancellation of registrations asserted in the mascot dispute. |
| § | Teddy's argues that consumers would not confuse its neighborhood stores with Buc-ee's large travel centers. | | § | The counterclaims allege that some Buc-ee's registrations were obtained through false statements about other businesses using similar marks. | | § | Teddy's also asks the court to require Buc-ee's to withdraw its opposition to pending Teddy's trademark applications. | | § | Buc-ee's has not yet responded to the counterclaims. |
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Why it matters
The counterclaims turn a defensive response into a challenge to the scope and validity of registrations behind a household brand's enforcement campaign. The new posture puts both marketplace confusion and registration history before the court.
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| § Trademark · Filed |
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| WWE filed a federal trademark application for Vice City covering wrestling performances, sports entertainment media, fan clubs, and related online services. |
| § | The August 4 application is pending examination at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. | | § | The listed services focus on wrestling exhibitions, broadcasts, sports information, fan clubs, and newsletters. | | § | The phrase is associated with wrestler Lola Vice and her Miami background. | | § | Vice City is also the name of the setting used by Take-Two Interactive's Grand Theft Auto franchise. |
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Why it matters
The filing brings wrestling branding and a famous video game place name into the same trademark conversation. Its defined services show how registration scope can separate uses of the same phrase across entertainment markets.
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QUICK HITS
| § Patent | The Federal Circuit affirmed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision finding challenged claims of Nike's adaptive watch patent unpatentable in an appeal involving Lululemon. [source] |
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This newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Published by ESCA Legal. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Attorney advertising; prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
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