“It’s a thing,” I told my husband, when we opened the second holiday card featuring a photo of an extended family, all sporting red and black checked pajamas. “It’s buffalo check.” He looked confused.

The vibrant new color mixes seamlessly with your existing enamelware. Over the past 40 years, MacKenzie-Childs has perfected its hand-painted tea kettles and whimsical ceramic and enamel tableware.

In an unusual trademark case concerning a blue-and-white checked pattern used on bed linen, the Danish Maritime and Commercial High Court has ruled in favour of Hästens Sengar AB, which sued the ...