If a competitor started using your brand name tomorrow and you had to go to court to stop them, would you actually win? Trademark attorney Jessica Eaves Mathews walks through the five factors that really determine whether a business can successfully defend its brand, and most founders are surprised by how many of them they’re missing.

In this video, Jessica breaks down why federal trademark registration changes everything about your legal position, why mark strength on the distinctiveness spectrum matters using the 2025 UGG genericity ruling as a cautionary tale, and why documented proof of your first use in commerce is often the deciding factor in a priority dispute. She explains the doctrine of laches, why failing to enforce your trademark against known infringers can weaken or bar your own claims later, using Starbucks’s aggressive enforcement as an example of legal necessity rather than corporate bullying. She closes with real case outcomes, including Chanel’s four million dollar win and Adidas’s loss against Thom Browne, showing how fact-specific these disputes really are.

What’s covered:

• Why federal registration creates a massive legal advantage
• The distinctiveness spectrum and the 2025 UGG ruling
• Why dated documentation of your brand’s use matters so much
• The doctrine of laches and why enforcement is a legal obligation
• Real case outcomes showing how likelihood of confusion actually plays out

If this raised questions about your own brand, book a free consultation: https://www.leveragelegalgroup.com/contact/