When we think of trademark infringement, unions don't
typically come to mind. However, in recent headlines, three
different companies have alleged trademark infringement against
their unions. These companies, Trader Joe's, Medieval Times,
and Starbucks, have all made similar arguments alleging confusion
based upon the union's use of the company's name and/or
branding design elements. Although both the Trader Joe's and
Medieval Times cases were dismissed for failure to state a claim,
the Starbucks case is still pending after both parties filed
lawsuits. Clearly, companies should not be using trademark law to
suppress union activity and a union's use of its company's
name should be permissible via nominative fair use which generally
allows third-party use of a trademark to identify the trademark
owner's goods or services. However, where should the line be
drawn in regard to a union's use of design elements that may
appear similar to the company's logo and/or other
