Barry Greenbaum Publishes Article in Bloomberg Law on How AI Is Changing Trademark Creation, Clearance and Enforcement

Olshan Intellectual Property and Brand Management & Protection partner Barry Greenbaum published an article in Bloomberg Law entitled “AI Is Rewriting the Rules for Creating and Protecting Trademarks.” In the article, Barry discusses how AI is reshaping trademark strategy across the lifecycle, from name and logo generation to clearance, prosecution, monitoring and enforcement, with practical implications for legal teams and brand owners. As Barry notes, “The speed of AI-assisted clearance tools presents another major issue: a false sense of confidence.” He emphasizes that, “Documenting meaningful human creative decisions is essential, including what the team contributed and how they directed the output, not just whether AI was used.” And because trademark law depends on consumer perception, he cautions that “For GCs and outside counsel, AI can identify potential issues, but its output should never be the final determination. Human judgment should still be the deciding factor in close calls.” Barry also explains how AI is changing the enforcement landscape and marketplace dynamics. He writes, “Tracking individual listings no longer is effective. Brand owners are pivoting to strategies that track patterns across platforms.” He adds that, “They are moving faster to keep up with infringing products using real-time detection tools that monitor live marketplaces.” Despite these tools, he underscores the importance of review and judgment: “Even with these tools, human oversight is critical. Someone must verify the findings, assess the risk, and decide which action makes sense.”