Issue No. 067
October 21, 2026
New York
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The IP Briefing · by ESCA Legal
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| 7-Eleven voluntarily dismissed its trademark lawsuit against Nike with prejudice on October 19. The dispute concerned orange, green and red stripes on an Air Max 95 sneaker that the retailer alleged evoked its store branding. Each side will bear its own costs and attorney fees. |
| § | 7-Eleven alleged that the design and a planned July 11 release suggested an unauthorized connection with the convenience-store chain. | | § | Nike denied infringing 7-Eleven's trademark rights. | | § | The dismissal ends the action without a judicial decision on infringement. |
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| § ESCA Takeaway |
| The 7-Eleven case ends without a ruling on whether Nike's color arrangement infringed. The dismissal resolves this dispute, not the broader question of how familiar brand colors operate on products outside their original market. |
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| More IP Stories |
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| § Copyright · Filed |
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| Matthew Michael Hobbs, the creator behind Puppy Songs, sued Kroger in California federal court over an allegedly unlicensed TikTok video featuring Cheese Tax. The October 19 complaint asserts separate copyright claims for the sound recording and the underlying composition. Hobbs alleges that the song was never available in TikTok's Commercial Music Library. |
| § | The complaint says Kroger posted the video in March 2023 and removed it in April 2026 after a demand from Hobbs. | | § | Hobbs alleges that Kroger initially said the audio was available to business accounts. He disputes that position and says Kroger used his uploaded original sound. | | § | He seeks damages and injunctive relief. No infringement determination has been made. |
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Why it matters
The case distinguishes an audio clip's availability to ordinary TikTok users from permission to use the same recording and composition in a brand's marketing.
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| § Copyright · Update |
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| The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment in songwriter Cyril Vetter's copyright dispute because it lacked a quorum, not after a decision on the merits. The October 19 order leaves intact a Fifth Circuit ruling recognizing the recovery of worldwide rights in Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love) following termination of an earlier grant. |
| § | Four justices did not participate, leaving fewer than the six needed for a quorum. | | § | The Court applied 28 U.S.C. Section 2109, giving the affirmance the same effect as an equally divided Court. | | § | BMG, Capitol CMG, Essential Music Publishing and Warner-Tamerlane sought review. The order does not establish a nationwide Supreme Court rule on foreign rights. |
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Why it matters
The dispute concerns whether statutory termination returns only U.S. rights or also foreign rights under a worldwide grant. The judgment remains in place without a Supreme Court merits resolution of that question.
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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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