A federal judge has issued a temporary injunction barring the political news website NOTUS from moving forward with a planned rebranding effort, following a trademark infringement lawsuit filed by the legacy media brand The Washington Star. The ruling, delivered this week in Washington, D.C., halts the digital outlet’s transition into a new identity, citing potential consumer confusion between the modern startup and the historic, defunct publication.
The Weight of Historical Trademark
The Washington Star, once a dominant force in the D.C. media landscape before ceasing operations in 1981, maintains active trademark protections over its name and associated intellectual property. Representatives for the legacy brand argued that the proposed rebranding by NOTUS—a site launched by the Allbritton Journalism Institute—infringes upon these rights by attempting to leverage the historical goodwill associated with the
