John Halski
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johnhalski.bsky.social
John Halski
@johnhalski.bsky.social
2.4K followers 3.8K following 580 posts
Partner, Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, PLLC — Trademark attorney, vinyl collector, film + concert goer, part-time jogger. All posts are mine alone. he/him/his
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johnhalski.bsky.social
John Halski @johnhalski.bsky.social · Feb 12
“TRADEMARK” IS A NOUN NOT A VERB AND THAT’S A MEANINGFUL DISTINCTION! YOU ACQUIRE TRADEMARK RIGHTS BASED ON USE OF YOUR MARK WHETHER OR NOT YOU TAKE FORMAL LEGAL STEPS LIKE REGISTRATION “TO TRADEMARK” YOUR MARK! ALTHOUGH THERE ARE GOOD REASONS TO SEEK REGISTRATION, WHICH A LAWYER CAN EXPLAIN TO YOU!
Andy Reid getting an earful from Travis Kelce
johnhalski.bsky.social
I’m old enough to remember youtu.be/ORYVCML8xeE?...
January 27, 2026 at 6:05 PM
johnhalski.bsky.social
www.npr.org/sections/the...
Donald Trump: 'I Could ... Shoot Somebody, And I Wouldn't Lose Any Voters'
The GOP presidential candidate cracked the joke at a campaign stop in Iowa on Saturday. Less than two weeks from the state's caucus, Trump had been remarking on his supporters' loyalty.
www.npr.org
January 27, 2026 at 4:00 PM
johnhalski.bsky.social
Incredible game today!

Congrats to the Hawks!
January 26, 2026 at 7:41 AM
johnhalski.bsky.social
I don’t think I truly understood megalophobia until I tried to start reading Alan Moore’s JERUSALEM.
January 25, 2026 at 8:32 AM
johnhalski.bsky.social
I am not a 2A advocate.

I’m just an American citizen wondering if the #2ndAmendment protects the right to bear arms or if bearing arms is tantamount to a death sentence.

Because as a 40-something guy who heard some people taking a certain position on the matter for some time, I’m confused.
January 25, 2026 at 8:25 AM
johnhalski.bsky.social
Perhaps the most damning thing anyone will say about ICE today.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 5d
Kristi Noem: "They responded according to their training"
January 24, 2026 at 10:59 PM
johnhalski.bsky.social
Thank you, Senator.
murray.senate.gov Senator Patty Murray @murray.senate.gov · 5d
This looks like an execution. There must be an investigation. There must be accountability.

Joining ICE does not give you license to murder.

The President is escalating the situation—and I have no faith he will stop. The Republican Congress must join us to end this. Enough.
Live: Man shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis this morning, police chief says
A video appears to shows federal agents wrestling a man to the ground then shooting him. The Department of Homeland Security said the man was armed with a gun.
www.startribune.com
January 24, 2026 at 8:42 PM
Reposted by John Halski
froomkin.bsky.social
NYT video analysis confirms victim’s gun was removed before he was shot. So he was unarmed. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/us/minneapolis-shooting-federal-agents-video.html
January 24, 2026 at 8:35 PM
johnhalski.bsky.social
Comments I have seen from a vet, reflecting on today’s actions by #ICE in #Minneapolis:
My Lt Col had an actual bounty on his head. And when an Iraqi with a concealed weapon approached us I didn’t just shoot the guy. I made him stop and throw his arms up and I kept my M16 trained on him while he was disarmed. Mixed in with civilians and children were foreign fighters with RPG’s and martyrs driving suicide car bombs, but we were still required by our rules of engagement to use the minimum amount of force necessary to make an apprehension and we were required to escalate force through levels if possible. So when the fat fuck yapping on cell phone zoomed up on our convoy, I didn’t just put 3 bullets center line where the windshield meets the hood. I fired warning shots safely in some mud where there was no one to be harmed and he stopped immediately and probably shat his pants. He didn’t deserve to die just because he was impairing our operations or because he had become oblivious to US operations. Do these assholes have a rules of engagement ROE? I’d like to see it! I guess it would be the same for all federal law enforcement, unless ICE/Border Patrol has even more super squirrel secret memos that it uses to train people and forces them to follow, but that can only be viewed in a fucking SCIF LOL
January 24, 2026 at 6:25 PM
johnhalski.bsky.social
January 23, 2026 at 2:49 PM
Reposted by John Halski
samthielman.com
I just thought everyone should see this
Dr Kareem Carr man: i wish to publish @kareem_carr Jan 21 reviewer 2: your paper is no good man: i'll do anything to improve reviewer 2: it's simple. you must read the work of the great scientist Pagliarini man: *bursts into tears* but i am Pagliarini Andre Pagliarini @apagliar Jan 21 a first: in rejecting an article I submitted to a journal, reviewer 2 noted I failed to engage the work of one Andre Pagliarini Jan 21, 2026 • 3:47 PM UTC
January 22, 2026 at 11:02 PM
johnhalski.bsky.social
I WASN'T KIDDING!!! AND THE TRADEMARK TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD AGREES WITH ME!

Okay, I'll turn down the volume and explain... In a recent decision, the TTAB casually dismissed the weight of an applicant’s expert witness by calling out that so-called expert's reference to "trademarking" as a verb. 1/3
Footnote in the TTAB decision in In re Turnkey Storage, LLC (Serial No. 97796315).
January 19, 2026 at 10:24 PM
Reposted by John Halski
ms.now
"I started repeating over and over again, 'I'm a citizen. I'm a citizen."'

Accounts from Minnesota field hearing after ICE shooting.
www.ms.now/news/ice-bac...
January 16, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Reposted by John Halski
ziibiing.com
crazy that the website that I randomly decided to put together at 10AM yesterday has had over 25k unique visitors in 24 hours.

please keep sharing with your networks.
Stand With Minnesota
A directory of places to give to as Minnesota defends itself from ICE occupation
www.standwithminnesota.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:24 PM
Reposted by John Halski
tiffanycli.bsky.social
Trademark law hypo of the day:
dinfontay.com Dave Infante @dinfontay.com · 16d
UPDATE: Jack Daniel’s parent co. Brown-Forman tells me it has nothing to do with CBS’ “Whiskey Friday” concept. “Jack Daniel’s is not involved in any such segment, nor do we have any awareness of the segment and any potential partnerships or sponsorships.”
premthakker.bsky.social Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 16d
Update — Here is what the new apparent CBS News segment "Whiskey Fridays with Tony Dokoupil" may look like:
January 14, 2026 at 3:13 PM
Reposted by John Halski
whstancil.bsky.social
Having seen several abductions up close, it is really hard to convey how much the thing they’re doing is roaming in military convoys until they see someone who is alone and isn’t white, and then jumping out in large numbers, pulling them into a van, and screeching off, all in 90 seconds or so.
ajcousins.bsky.social Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 16d
"“They specifically asked me if I knew where the Hmong families lived on my street & in the neighborhood.” Lugert-Thom responded, “I don’t know anything about that” & she said they then asked, “Well, what about the Asian families?”"

"“I was a bit shaken & a bit shocked of what I was asked to do.”"
chicagotribune.com Chicago Tribune @chicagotribune.com · 16d
A St. Paul resident says federal officers knocked on her door and asked her to identify Hmong and Asian households in her North End neighborhood last week.
January 14, 2026 at 2:31 PM
johnhalski.bsky.social
Not my house, but I know my way around.
Mystery Shack from Gravity Falls
January 14, 2026 at 2:56 AM
Reposted by John Halski
billcorbett.bsky.social
People not in Minnesota: please read this excellent summary of what life is like in Minneapolis since the murderous scum ICE swarmed here. And more are on their way. By local reporter / writer / bike dude / legend @dbrauer.net .
Text: “A friend said those of us who live in Minneapolis should write about what's going on here for folks who live elsewhere. You need to know that whether you're a Republican, Independent or Democrat, the Constitution is being violated by our federal government. This is not about catching criminals, or even deporting people. It is about punishing an entire state, including citizens, for not supporting the president. Everyone in my part of Minneapolis is affected. On our streets, ICE is stopping people of color and demanding their papers. In America. US citizens do not have to prove citizenship to ICE. Yet people are being intimidated, some cases beaten up and detained, for requiring ICE to follow the law. ICE needs a judicial warrant to enter homes. Yet there are documented cases of them ignoring the law - violating a bedrock constitutional principle. Americans of color are staying home, afraid to go to work, school, to grocery shop, or fill their cars with gas. This isn't just "illegals" or immigrants with valid work permits, it is citizens who have had their cars rammed by ICE for merely looking Hispanic. Businesses are closing. Schools are 50 percent full. When they are open, fascists are calling in bomb threats because the president decided to make us a meme. After a daycare teacher with a valid work permit (through 2030) was snatched from her workplace, parents (and grandparents) have had to organize to watch their SCHOOLS, to make sure conditional rights are observed. This is being repeated throughout Minnesota. Imagine trying to do your job or live you life while also taking volunteer shifts to make sure the federal government doesn't act extrajudicially. Because of ICE's documented abuses, neighbors have organized to monitor federal actions. This observation is legal, as long as it doesn't interfere with a valid action. Yet since ICE killed Renee Good, they are increasingly stopping this observation, breaking car windows and …”
January 13, 2026 at 10:38 PM
Reposted by John Halski
brianpjcronin.bsky.social
“Continue to mislead Americans about what is truly at stake, and you will learn that Americans are better at finding the truth than you are at burying it.”
petersagal.bsky.social Peter Sagal @petersagal.bsky.social · 16d
The letter from Bill and Hillary Clinton to James Comer explaining their refusal to testify in his Epstein investigation is really remarkable, not like any letter of this genre I've seen. It's signed by them, not a lawyer, and the arguments are not legal ones. Reprinted from their X account:
January 13, 2026 at 6:36 PM
johnhalski.bsky.social
I described the plot of DRIVE to my 7-year old, he described it as BAD GUY TAXI, and that’s how I will refer to the movie from now on.
January 12, 2026 at 4:05 PM
Reposted by John Halski
terilg.bsky.social
Good guidance. No paywall. Save it for reference.
January 11, 2026 at 10:04 PM
Reposted by John Halski
andycraig.bsky.social
Common Sense, published 250 years ago today.
Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow insolent; selected from the rest of mankind their minds are early poisoned by importance; and the world they act in differs so materially from the world at large, that they have but little opportunity of knowing its true interests, and when they succeed to the government are frequently the most ignorant and unfit of any throughout the dominions.
January 10, 2026 at 9:09 PM
johnhalski.bsky.social
I can last about ten seconds on “fka Twitter” before it becomes unpleasant to the point of unbearable.

It’s like walking into a bullhorn factory where someone left out a hundred boomboxes each playing some variation of “Skrillex remixing Limp Bizkit.”
January 11, 2026 at 12:17 AM
Reposted by John Halski
josie.zone
Renee Macklin Good's wife, Becca Good, released a statement and it moved me to sobbing tears:

archive.is/ur35j
First, I want to extend my gratitude to all the people who have reached out from across the country and around the world to support our family. This kindness of strangers is the most fitting tribute because if you ever encountered my wife, Renee Nicole Macklin Good, you know that above all else, she was kind, In fact, kindness radiated out of her. Renee sparkled. She literally sparkled. I mean, she didn't wear glitter but I swear she had sparkles coming out of her pores. All the time. You might think it was just my love talking but her family said the same thing. Renee was made of sunshine, Renee lived by an overarching belief: there is kindness in the world and we need to do everything we can to find it Where it resides and nurture it where it needs to grow Renee was a Christian who knew that all religions teach the same essential truth: we are here to love each other, care for each other, and keep each other safe and whole. Like people have done across place and time, we moved to make a better life for ourselves. We chose Minnesota to make our home. Our whole extended road trip here, we held hands in the car while our son drew all over the windows to pass the time and the miles, What we found when we got here was a vibrant and welcoming community, we made friends and spread joy: And while any place we were together was home, there was a strong shared sense here in Minneapolis that we were looking out for each other. Here, I had finally found peace and safe harbor. That has been taken from me forever. We were raising our son to believe that no matter where you come from or what you look like, all of us deserve compassion and kindness. Renee lived this belief every day. She is pure love. She is pure joy. She is pure sunshine On Wednesday, January 7th, we stopped to support our neighbors. We had whistles. They had guns. Renee leaves behind three extraordinary children; the youngest is just six years old and already lost his father. I am now left to raise our son and to continue teaching him, as Renee believed, that there are people building a better world for him. That the people who did this had fear and anger in their hearts, and we need to show them a better way. We thank you for the privacy you are granting our family as we grieve. We thank you for ensuring that Renee's legacy is one of kindness and love. We honor her memory by living her values: rejecting hate and choosing compassion, turning away from fear and pursuing peace, refusing division and knowing we must come together to build a world where we all come home safe to the people we love. E
January 9, 2026 at 4:40 PM
Reposted by John Halski
acyn.bsky.social
Swalwell: You better believe that accountability is coming. Immunity is going to be stripped. And to Kristi Noem, Tom “Cashbag” Homan, Greg Bovino—your asses are going to be in these witness chairs.
January 8, 2026 at 5:56 PM