Recommended Reading: The Trademark Reporter, May-June 2026 Issue

Here's some holiday reading material for your enjoyment: the May-June 2026 (Vol. 116 No. 3) issue of The Trademark Reporter. [pdf here]. Willard Knox, Staff Editor-in-Chief, summarizes the contents as follows (and below): "This issue of The Trademark Reporter (TMR) offers readers an article exploring the ever-evolving interplay between trademarks and free speech; an article detailing how the Digital Services Act and recent European case law may expose online platforms to liability in the age of artificial intelligence; a commentary on potential copyright infringement arising from online content feeds; and three book reviews covering international patent law, advertising and trademarks in nineteenth-century America, and the history of trademark law, respectively."

Brands As Speech, Speech as Brands: Mapping the Two-Way Street Between Trademark Law and Freedom of Expression, by Alvaro Fernandez-Mora. This article explores how a trademark today can serve both as a source identifier and a source of self-expression and tracks this ongoing transformation under U.S. and European law.

Cast from the Safe Harbor into Open Waters of Active Duties: The Digital Services Act Alters the Course of Intermediary Liability in the EU, by Anthonia Ghalamkarizadeh, Florian Richter, Janis Beckedorf, and Marvin Jäschke. This article provides an in-depth analysis of the how the 2024 Digital Services Act and recent European case law could expose online platforms to primary liability, particularly in the age of artificial intelligence.

Commentary: Zombies Online: U.S. Copyright Infringement Claims That Never Die, and What We Should Do About Them, by Rodrick J. Enns. The author of this commentary trains a spotlight on the potential for copyright infringement under U.S. law in the de facto data storage caused by online platform feeds of third-party content.

Book Review: Advanced Introduction to International Patent Law. By Margo A. Bagley and Rochelle C. Dreyfuss. Reviewed by Tom Rammer. The reviewer of this book on international patent law—a first for the TMR—finds it provides readers with both a foundational understanding and thoughtful critique of the global patent system.

Book Review: Branding Trust: Advertising and Trademarks in Nineteenth-Century America., By Jennifer M. Black. Reviewed by Zvi Rosen. The reviewer of this book finds it an important contribution to the understanding of how trademark law became what it is today.

Book Review: Research Handbook on the History of Trademark Law., by Lionel Bently and Robert G. Bone, eds. Reviewed by Lesley McCall Grossberg and Gavin Canzanese. The reviewers of this book find it offers a rich and nuanced exploration of how historical developments have shaped trademark law as it is known today.

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TTABlog comment: This issue of the TMR is Copyright © 2026, the International Trademark Association, and is made available with the permission of the Trademark Reporter®.