Welcome back to Inside Track! I'm Law.com reporter Dan Clark. I hope you've all had a nice week since you last took a peek at your favorite newsletter. We're anxious to see what comes of the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, and still reeling from the Bill Cosby sentencing, but there's a lot going on in-house this week as well.

In this edition of the briefing, we take a look at the IP implications of a name changeas well as a report that is slated to alter the work environment of a professional basketball team.

Got questions or suggestions? Reach me at [email protected] or on Twitter at @DanclarkALM.

Lets jump into the news!

What's Happening-

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What's in (Changing) a Name?

Weight Watchers announced that it is dropping the “Weight” from its name, as well as the “Watchers” and will henceforth be known as WW. The company said this comes from its evolution to focus on overall health rather than just weight loss.

Michael N. Cohen, the founder and principal attorney at Cohen IP Law Group, said that when talking about legal changes around names and brands, the discussion is about trademarks.

“When companies decide to shift their name they have to establish actual use of commerce in the new name,” Cohen said.

In our conversation, Cohen said that he did some research on the company now known as WW, and found that dating back the past couple of years, the company has filed 68 trademark applications using the WW brand.

Although the question remains, what does WW actually stand for? Weight Watchers? Wellness That Works? They're not telling. What Cohen found interesting was the contrast to other companies that have gone through name changes.

“I think the interesting thing about this is the contrast to IHOP,” he said. “Whether something is a publicity stunt as opposed to something that was well thought out.”

Notably, Dunkin Donuts announced a name change this week too–it will now be known simply as “Dunkin,” thank you very much.

What remains to be seen is for the company now known as WW, is whether it will continue to use the spelled out “Weight Watchers” trademark on its products, which Cohen said is possible.

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Take A Note

Last week, Law.com reporter Sue Reisinger wrote on the findings of a report which detailed a culture of sexual harassment inside the Dallas Mavericks' organization. The report found that the team's owner, Mark Cuban, did not engage in any bad behavior, however it found that he did make some “significant errors in judgment.”

The team ended up adopting most of the 13 recommendations set out in the report. That included hiring a general counsel. The Mavericks hired Sekou Lewis, a former professional NBA player and associate at Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis.

The Mavs have also promoted numerous women into leadership positions, as recommended by the report. They've implemented a “zero tolerance” policy for bad behavior, and created a diversity and inclusion advisory council. The team further vowed to donate $10 million to organizations which support the leadership and development of women and combating domestic violence.

Jumping To A Smart Ship

Need a new gig? Law.com reporter Rhys Dipshan recently took a look at why so many in-house lawyers are jumping ship and joining artificial intelligence contract start-ups. Rhys found that many of those who leave more traditional companies for startups want a say in the future of legal operations. Here's what some of his sources told him:

➤ “I hope to be able to inspire a lot of companies who LawGeex plans to engage and is already engaging with to think of holistic solutions and think about the best way to implement the technology within the totality of their resources, both human and technological.”- Lucy Bassli, formerly of Microsoft, chief legal strategist at LawGeex.

➤“I am a creative [person], and I have much broader options available to me in this industry versus in corporate America.”- Stuart Brock, former assistant GC at Bank of America, now director at Seal Software.

Don't Miss-

Tuesday, Oct. 2 – Friday Oct. 5. It's National Cybersecurity Awareness Month in the U.S, but there's also plenty of action overseas. The Hague will be hosting the third edition of Cyber Security Week next week. Through the course of 50 events, participants will be seeking to answer the question: how do we ensure a safe cyber future? For more information check out this link.

Wednesday, October 3. Mark your calendars. Global Leaders in Law is hosting an event, Business Across Borders, in Bray, U.K. And on Wednesday, October 24. GLL will hold a session titled, Managing Risk In an Age of Disruption in New York.GLL is an invitation-only membership group offering general counsel a global platform for in-person collaboration to exchange ideas and receive advice and guidance from peers. For more information, contact Meena Heath at [email protected]. Thursday, October 4-Friday, October 5. Where can you find a group of high-powered female in-house legal leaders getting honest about the challenges that women face in the profession? Check out Women, Influence & Power in Law, a summit in Washington, D.C. There are sure to be plenty of educational and networking opportunities, and speakers include big time in-house leaders from Pfizer, MetLife, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise and more.

Sunday, October 21-Wednesday October 24. The ACC Annual Meeting is in Austin, Texas this year. Saddle on up to hear in-house lawyers speak on a variety of topics, from the first 100 days of the GDPR to pay equity and salary inquiry bans. High-powered in-housers from companies like Google, Clorox, Bayer, Honda and more will be taking the stage.

On the Move -

In Queue. A partner at Boies Schiller Flexner, Linda Burrow, has moved on from her firm job to take on the role of the director of content litigation for Netflix. Burrows has some serious experience in the world of media and IP. She has represented major movie studios, earning them motions to dismiss copyright infringement claims.

Leaving the Bank Behind. GC of Fannie Mae, Brian Brooks, said goodbye to the mortgage loan company last week when it was announced that he would become the CLO of crypto exchange Coinbase. Brooks has spent years working for traditional banks, but he'll now shift his focus to navigating legal and regulatory issues within this emerging market. He'll also be in charge of Coinbase's government affairs program.

Not Another Crypto Move. The former compliance chief of Noble Bank has joinedK2 Intelligence as managing director. Gabriel Hidalgo joined the consulting company and will advise clients on emerging crypto markets. He is the first to hold the position. Hidalgo has also served in senior compliance roles at Community Federal Savings Bank, itBit and HSBC.

Remember TiVo? Well, the former legal leader of the precursor to DVR took a job at cloud software company, 8×8. Matthew Zinn was named as the company's general counsel on Monday and will oversee the company's global legal, regulatory, privacy and compliance functions.