Monthly Archives: November 2013

Posner likes trademarks, hates surveys

Posted on November 22, 2013 by rtushnet

Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC v. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., No. 13‐2559 (7th Cir. Nov. 14, 2013) This is a classic Posner trademark opinion, with a combination of skepticism and credulity (about his favored theory of trademark) whose … Continue reading →

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Copyright talking points and the TPP

Posted on November 20, 2013 by rtushnet

Mike Masnick has the story–which also qualifies for “transformative use of the day,” since it involves reproducing the talking points (likely an unpublished work no less!) in full in order to rebut them.  I particularly like his deconstruction of “nothing … Continue reading →

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Name your own price, then pay more: Court upholds Priceline’s model

Posted on November 19, 2013 by rtushnet

Freeman v. Priceline.com, Inc., 2013 WL 5946069, B242653 (Cal. Ct. App. Nov. 7, 2013) The court of appeals upheld a ruling getting Priceline off the hook for promising one price and delivering another, because the terms and conditions said that … Continue reading →

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possible internet, eBay sales into US insufficient for jurisdiction

Posted on November 19, 2013 by rtushnet

Gibson Brands Inc. v. Viacom Intern. Inc., 2013 WL 5940826, No. CV 12–10870 (C.D. Cal. Nov. 5, 2013) Gibson sued Viacom and JHS over a ukulele bearing the image of SpongeBob Squarepants formed in a V shape that allegedly infringed … Continue reading →

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I’m at io9

Posted on November 19, 2013 by rtushnet

I did Ask a Law Professor Your Questions about Fan Fiction and Mash-ups at io9 yesterday. http://tushnet.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

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defamation via Twitter, TM infringement via LinkedIn

Posted on November 18, 2013 by rtushnet

AvePoint, Inc. v. Power Tools, Inc., 2013 WL 5963034, No. 7:13CV00035 (W.D. Va. Nov. 7, 2013) AvePoint sued Power Tools (aka Axceler) and Burns (Axceler’s regional VP of sales for Western North America) for defamation, breach of contract, trademark infringement, … Continue reading →

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PTO/NTIA comments: remix

Posted on November 18, 2013 by rtushnet

Comments submitted to NTIA/PTO: I’m not going to cover all of them or the non-remix parts like the discussions of digital first sale.  For remix, along with the Organization for Transformative Works’ comment there are these:   ASCAP: Current doctrine is … Continue reading →

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It’s a cookbook!

Posted on November 18, 2013 by rtushnet

50 Shades of Chicken.  (If you got the title of my post, you are my people.) http://tushnet.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

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Foreign Policy covers fanworks

Posted on November 18, 2013 by rtushnet

Foreign Policy asks: Why is the Chinese Internet obsessed with writing gay Sherlock Holmes fanfiction?I answer: because the Chinese are people?  People who sometimes go to jail for loving slash.  (Though a commenter claims that the problem was that the … Continue reading →

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Some days Starbucks gets the bear, some days the bear gets Starbucks

Posted on November 15, 2013 by rtushnet

Starbucks Corp. v. Wolfe’s Borough Coffee, Inc., No. 12‐364‐cv (2d Cir. Nov. 15, 2013) The district court found that defendant’s Mister Charbucks and Charbucks Blend coffee wasn’t likely to dilute Starbucks’ mark. The court of appeals affirmed on the third … Continue reading →

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