NOTUS blocked from rebranding as the Star over trademark concerns

A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked NOTUS from renaming itself the Star, giving a partial win to the revived Washington Star.

U.S. District Judge Rossie Alston Jr. of Virginia granted a temporary restraining order requested by the Washington Star, a conservative daily afternoon newspaper once known in Washington, D.C. After going bankrupt in August 1981, the company is restarting operations and fighting NOTUS in court over its trademark name.

In its 19-page lawsuit filed last week, the newspaper argues its competitor cannot rebrand as the Star without infringing upon the plaintiff’s trademark rights.

The judge sided with the Washington Star, ruling that NOTUS cannot use the Star name. However, NOTUS is not legally required to remove any existing mentions of the Star from its website.

“Requiring Defendant to remove references to The Star from its websites or other materials which currently exist in the public domain would not maintain the status