Trademark Examples: Learn From These Trademark Infringement Cases

What is a trademark?

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, design or other identifying feature that distinguishes a company’s products or services from those of other businesses. Trademarks help consumers recognize a brand and can help prevent competitors from using confusingly similar names, logos and other identifying elements. Businesses can submit a trademark application to register eligible marks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), giving them additional legal protections and enforcement options.

Trademark rights are tied to how a mark is used in connection with specific goods or services. For example, if a local coffee shop builds its brand around a specific logo, another cafe can’t simply adopt a similar design and expect to get away with it. The logo helps customers recognize that business. A company in an unrelated industry, on the other hand, may be able to use a similar design without creating trademark issues.

Trademarks can take several forms, including the following:

• Logos: Visual symbols such as Nike’s swoosh, Apple’s bitten apple and McDonald’s golden arches
• Slogans: Memorable phrases such as Nike’s “Just Do It” and McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It”
• Sounds: Audio signatures like the Intel chime or NBC’s three-note sequence
• Colors: Distinctive color combinations like Coca-Cola’s red and white or Tiffany & Co.’s signature robin’s egg blue

Famous trademark examples in business

Some trademarks are instantly recognizable. When most people see the Nike swoosh, McDonald’s golden arches or Coca-Cola’s logo, they know exactly which company they’re looking at. Because these brands are so widely known, the law gives them additional protection against infringement.

Examples of globally recognized famous trademarks include:

• Coca-Cola: Established in 1886, this beverage brand uses its distinctive red and white logo and was valued at over $120 billion at the end of 2025, making it one of the most recognized trademarks in the world.
• Nike: Founded in 1964 (as Blue Ribbon Sports), this athletic apparel leader introduced its famous swoosh logo in 1971 and generates billions in annual revenue.
• McDonald’s: The world’s largest fast-food chain, founded in 1940, introduced its golden arches logo in 1962 and operates over 38,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries.
• Google: This technology giant’s trademark has become so famous it’s practically synonymous with internet searching.

These brands didn’t become household names overnight. Decades of consistent branding, successful marketing campaigns, extensive advertising and customer recognition helped turn their trademarks into some of the most valuable business assets in the world.

Trademark infringement examples

Businesses invest significant time and money building recognizable brands, so it’s no surprise they aggressively defend their trademarks to protect their brand reputation. The following disputes show what can happen when two companies claim rights to the same name, logo or other branding element.

Apple Corps v. Apple Computer

Who has the right to trademark the word “apple”: the Beatles or Apple Inc.? The Beatles got there first with the music company Apple Corps. Eight years later, Steve Jobs introduced Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.). The two companies spent decades battling over the use of the Apple name.

After an early legal dispute, Apple Inc. agreed to pay Apple Corps a cash settlement and stay out of the music business. However, the arrival of iTunes reignited the conflict because Apple was now distributing music. The companies eventually resolved the dispute in 2007 when Apple Inc. acquired ownership of the Apple trademarks and licensed certain rights back to Apple Corps.

The fight over the Apple name shows how expensive and time-consuming trademark disputes can become. A little research at the beginning of the branding process is usually much cheaper than years of legal battles.

Starbucks v. Obsidian Group

Starbucks filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Obsidian Group, the parent company of Canadian coffee chain Coffee Culture, after it introduced a drink called the “Freddoccino” in 2016. Starbucks argued that the name was too similar to its trademarked “Frappuccino” and could confuse customers.

Starbucks also alleged that Coffee Culture’s packaging made it appear the “Freddoccino” name was trademarked when it wasn’t. The dispute was ultimately settled out of court, with Coffee Culture agreeing to stop using the “Freddoccino” name and rename the drink “Freddo” as part of the rebranding process.

The case highlights how seriously companies protect their trademarks, especially when a competing product’s name closely resembles one of their best-known brands.

Adidas v. Forever 21

In 2017, Adidas sued Forever 21 and several suppliers, alleging that the retailer sold track pants and shorts featuring Adidas’ trademarked three-stripe design. The lawsuit included claims of trademark infringement, dilution, unfair competition and deceptive trade practices.

Adidas argued that its three-stripe design was already widely recognized and that Forever 21’s use of similar stripes on athletic clothing crossed the line.

The companies reached an out-of-court settlement later that year. It’s also a reminder that some of the most valuable trademarks aren’t words at all. For Adidas, three simple stripes were worth defending in court.

Landmark trademark cases and lessons

Trademark disputes don’t always involve obvious copycats. Some cases center on how a trademark is used, while others challenge whether a company should have exclusive rights to a term in the first place. The following examples highlight several of the issues businesses may encounter when protecting their brands.

Marvel and DC Comics over “Super Hero”

For decades, Marvel and DC Comics jointly held trademark registrations for “Super Hero” and “Super Heroes” and aggressively defended those rights against other publishers. That changed in 2024 when the registrations were canceled after the companies failed to respond to a petition claiming the terms had become generic.

Part of what made the dispute so unusual was the term itself. Many people think of “superhero” as a common word rather than a trademark. Marvel and DC still own other related trademarks, but the case shows how even registrations that have been around for decades can come under scrutiny.

Jack Daniel’s trademark disputes

Jack Daniel’s wasn’t thrilled when author Patrick Wensink released a book cover that closely resembled the company’s iconic whiskey label. Instead of firing off a typical cease-and-desist letter, however, the distiller took a far friendlier approach. The letter asked Wensink to consider changing the cover and even offered to help pay for the update.

Wensink shared the letter publicly, and it quickly went viral. Many people praised Jack Daniel’s for protecting its trademark without resorting to heavy-handed legal tactics.

Years later, Jack Daniel’s found itself before the U.S. Supreme Court in a separate trademark dispute involving a dog toy designed to parody its famous bottle. The Court ruled that parody doesn’t automatically place a product beyond the reach of trademark law, making the case an important one for businesses that rely on parody or satire in their branding.

Together, the disputes show that trademark owners have considerable flexibility in how they enforce their rights. Sometimes a friendly conversation is enough and can even be handled by an in-house marketing team. Other times, companies are willing to take a case all the way to the Supreme Court.

Wrigley’s Doublemint

Not every trademark application succeeds. Wrigley ran into trouble in Europe when it sought a Community-wide trademark for “Doublemint.” Regulators concluded that consumers could view the name as a straightforward description of the product rather than a distinctive brand name.

The decision drew comparisons to Procter & Gamble’s “Baby-Dry” trademark, which European courts allowed because the unusual word combination was considered distinctive enough to differentiate the product as a brand. “Baby-Dry” was viewed as distinctive, while “Doublemint” was seen as describing the product itself.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts v. GoDaddy.com Inc.

In 2010, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences sued GoDaddy, arguing that the domain registrar profited from nearly 300 domain names that were confusingly similar to its Academy Awards trademarks. The dispute centered on domains such as “2011Oscars.com,” many of which were enrolled in GoDaddy’s parked-pages program and displayed advertising when domain owners had not configured their own websites.

The court ultimately agreed that many of the domains were confusingly similar to the Academy’s trademarks. However, GoDaddy was able to prevail because the Academy couldn’t prove the company had acted in bad faith or intentionally sought to profit from trademark infringement.

The case is a reminder that trademark disputes aren’t always black and white. Even when a trademark owner can show that names are confusingly similar, other factors may influence the outcome.

Louis Vuitton v. Louis Vuiton Dak

A luxury fashion house and a fried chicken restaurant might seem like unlikely courtroom rivals, but Louis Vuitton and South Korean restaurant Louis Vuiton Dak ended up in an international trademark dispute. Louis Vuitton prevailed after a court ruled that the restaurant’s name and logo were too similar to the luxury brand’s trademarks.

The restaurant later tried to sidestep the ruling by changing its name to “chaLouisvui tondak.” The move didn’t work. A South Korean court ordered the owner to pay 14.5 million won, about $12,500 at the time, for 29 days of noncompliance.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway is that trademark disputes aren’t always between direct competitors — and famous brands often receive broader protection, even when the businesses serve completely different markets.

“Don’t mess around when there’s a famous mark like Louis Vuitton at play; those markholders vigorously protect their IP,” advised Mika Mooney, trademark attorney and founder of Mika Mooney Law. “In such a case, they’re entitled to a broader scope of protection, even in the absence of confusion or competition. The famous mark is afforded greater protection from any use that may dilute its distinctiveness.”

Famous copyright cases that shaped intellectual property law

Trademarks aren’t the only form of intellectual property businesses need to protect. While trademarks cover brand identifiers such as names, logos and slogans, you’d apply for a copyright to protect original creative works, including books, music, films and software. 

The cases below helped shape how courts approach copyright disputes and continue to influence how businesses use and share content today.

• Sony v. Universal (1984): Long before streaming services existed, the entertainment industry was battling a different technology: the VCR. Universal City Studios and Walt Disney Productions sued Sony, arguing that Betamax video recorders enabled consumers to make unauthorized copies of copyrighted television programs. The Supreme Court ultimately sided with Sony, ruling that companies can create technologies with legitimate uses even if some customers use them to infringe on copyrights. The decision helped clear the way for future technologies that record, store and share media.
• Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises (1985): The Nation magazine published excerpts from President Gerald Ford’s unpublished memoir without permission before its scheduled release. The publication included material that Time magazine had paid to publish exclusively, prompting Time to cancel its agreement with the book’s publisher, Harper & Row. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Harper & Row, finding that the public’s interest in the story didn’t outweigh the publisher’s copyright protections. The case remains an important example of the limits of fair use.
• Authors Guild v. Google (2015): Google scanned more than 20 million books to create a searchable database, a move that sparked years of litigation with the Authors Guild. The organization argued that Google was violating copyright law by copying books without permission. The courts ultimately allowed the project to move forward. Questions about fair use, digitization and searchable online content still often trace back to this case.

How businesses can avoid trademark infringement

Most trademark disputes don’t start in a courtroom. They start when a business launches a name, logo or slogan without realizing someone else may already have rights to it. A little research upfront can help prevent costly problems down the road. Here are some actionable ways to avoid trademark problems:

Research trademarks before you launch.

Before filing a trademark application, make sure your proposed name, logo or slogan isn’t already in use. That means looking beyond exact matches and checking for names that sound similar, look similar or could create confusion in the marketplace.

Kristin Grant, founder and managing partner at Grant Attorneys at Law, said many business owners make the mistake of searching only for exact matches.

“When conducting a trademark clearance search, even marks with different spellings but similar pronunciations or appearances could pose problems,” Grant advised. “For example, ‘Kafey Korner’ and ‘Cafe Corner,’ used in relation to related goods or services, could be considered confusingly similar despite the spelling differences.”

Mark Trenner, patent attorney and founder of Trenner Law Firm, also recommends searching for existing trademarks before filing an application.

“The US Trademark database is free and offers several ways to search pending and registered trademarks, including Basic and Expert modes and various filters and tools such as searching design codes for designs and logos,” Trenner explained.

Register your trademark early.

You don’t have to register a trademark to gain rights to it. In many cases, businesses acquire limited common-law rights simply by using a name, logo or slogan in commerce. However, federal registration with the USPTO provides broader protection and can make it easier to enforce your rights if a dispute arises.

Trademark registration is often worth considering when you’re:

• Starting a new business
• Launching a new product or service
• Building a recognizable brand
• Expanding into new markets

Darrell White, partner at Kimura London & White LLP, recommends planning ahead rather than waiting until after a launch. “While the process is largely administrative, having a professional who understands procedural nuances and office actions can make the difference between a successful registration and a rejection,” he said.

Trademark applications can take months to process, and there is no standard fast-track option. Filing early can help reduce the risk of delays when introducing new branding, products or services.

Monitor your trademark.

Registering a trademark isn’t the end of the process. Businesses should periodically monitor the marketplace for names, logos and branding that may be confusingly similar to their own.

Monitoring can be as simple as setting up Google Alerts for your business name, checking trademark databases for new filings and keeping an eye on competitors in your industry. The sooner you spot a potential issue, the easier it may be to address it before it grows into a larger dispute.

Mark Fairlie contributed to this article. Source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.