Lori Cohen

This year started with a district court decision defining the parameters of parody and trademark infringement and ended with a case that could have taken the overlap of parody and political free speech to a new level, had it not settled. That can of soup has not yet been opened. While brand owners expect that their trademarks and trade dress are federally protected properties under the Lanham Act, political figures, satirists and manufacturers of parody products expect their activities to be protected under the First Amendment and other carved out, fair use exclusions. Sometimes, these respective worlds collide. In 2025, this became abundantly clear.

It has already been quite a year in the world of U.S. trademark practice. If you manufacture a highly colorful product, are the owner of a well-known trademark, are an AI start-up company or are testing the waters as to whether a certain, unsavory word is protectable, pay attention to developments that have happened in just the first half of 2024.

A Certification Mark is a name, symbol and/or logo used by groups (associations, unions, organizations, trade groups, etc.) to show that the product or service to which it is attached complies with industry or associations standards. A Certification Mark can be used to indicate that a product claiming to be from a region, is in fact from that region (Roquefort Cheese). A Certification Mark can be used to indicate that a product is in fact made with the materials it claims to be (Wool). A Certification Mark can be used to assure that certain standards a product boasts of are true (Energy Efficiency, 100% Recycled). A Certification Mark can be used to help parents decide whether to take their children to a certain motion picture (The Rating System). The purpose of a Certification Mark is therefore, to certify and not to own or indicate source.