Issue No. 048
September 2, 2026
New York
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The IP Briefing · by ESCA Legal
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| An Ohio federal judge denied Trader Joe's bid to dismiss J.M. Smucker's trademark lawsuit over frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and declined to transfer the case to California. |
| § | Smucker alleges that Trader Joe's sandwiches copy the round shape and crimped edge associated with Uncrustables. | | § | The complaint also challenges package colors and a photograph showing a bite taken from the sandwich. | | § | Trader Joe's argues that its sandwiches are square with rounded edges and that crimping serves a functional purpose. | | § | The court found that Smucker adequately pleaded fame for its asserted marks at this stage of the case. |
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| Continue reading → |
| § ESCA Takeaway |
| This issue tracks how distinct brand assets can shape disputes across food packaging, musician identity, legacy media names, and online content delivery. |
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| More IP Stories |
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| § Right of Publicity · Filed |
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| Jason Isbell, David Lowery, Guy Forsyth, and Eduardo Calle filed a proposed class action accusing Suno of using musicians' identifying characteristics in its artificial intelligence music system without consent. |
| § | The complaint was filed in Massachusetts federal court on August 31. | | § | The musicians allege that Suno encoded artist identities and allowed users to generate tracks that evoke their voices, tone, and phrasing. | | § | The plaintiffs seek class certification, damages, and an order stopping the alleged commercial use of musician identities. | | § | Suno disputes the claims and says it blocks prompts for specific artists and copyrighted songs. |
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Why it matters
The case separates artist identity from ownership of recordings and compositions. That distinction puts name, voice, style, and persona at the center of a dispute that is not limited to traditional copyright claims.
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| § Trademark · Closed |
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| The worker-owned publication that revived Gourmet has adopted the name Buffet after agreeing to stop using the Gourmet mark in a confidential settlement with Condé Nast. |
| § | Goulash Unlimited relaunched Gourmet in January after claiming that the prior trademark registration had lapsed. | | § | Condé Nast argued that it continued using the Gourmet name through Epicurious and branded video content. | | § | The publication temporarily operated without a permanent name before launching as Buffet. | | § | The settlement terms beyond the rebrand and discontinued use of Gourmet remain confidential. |
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Why it matters
A lapsed registration does not necessarily end a trademark dispute when a prior owner claims continued use. The rebrand shows how settlement terms can resolve competing claims to a legacy media name without a final merits ruling.
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QUICK HITS
| § Copyright | The Fifth Circuit rejected the Ninth Circuit's server test for embedded online content and adopted a transmission-focused standard in Emmerich Newspapers v. Particle Media. The court affirmed judgment for Particle because the challenged material was delivered from servers controlled by the newspapers. [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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