Monthly Archives: January 2014

TM claims in DMCA notice may lead to 512(f) liability

Posted on January 27, 2014 by rtushnet

CrossFit, Inc. v. Alvies, No. 13–3771, 2014 WL 251760 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 22, 2014) CrossFit sued Alvies for trademark infringement, among other things, and Alvies counterclaimed for false advertising/unfair competition.  CrossFit moved to dismiss the counterclaims and partially succeeded.  CrossFit … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, dmca, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, trademark, unfairness | Leave a comment

Mastercard v. Nader updated

Posted on January 27, 2014 by rtushnet

Seen in Arlington, VA, Jan. 2014: Photo by Zachary Schrag. http://tushnet.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

Posted in trademark | Leave a comment

Congressional hearing on the scope of fair use

Posted on January 24, 2014 by rtushnet

Coming Tuesday to a streaming website near you. http://tushnet.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

Posted in http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post | Leave a comment

unfair competition in the news

Posted on January 24, 2014 by rtushnet

The facts described in this article about Uber’s alleged attempt to crush competitor Gett by booking and then cancelling rides seem like a pretty good candidate for application of the general unfair competition tort.  Hypo of the day: what causes … Continue reading →

Posted in unfairness | Leave a comment

Organization for Transformative Works gets a Hugo nomination

Posted on January 23, 2014 by rtushnet

For Best Related Work.  Awesome!  (I guess being Hugo-adjacent runs in the family.) http://tushnet.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

Posted in fanworks | Leave a comment

FTC goes after advertiser and ad agency for false dramatization

Posted on January 23, 2014 by rtushnet

Read all about it.  One great feature: the complaint includes the challenged ad!  The FTC at least wants us to see for ourselves. http://tushnet.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

Posted in ftc, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post | Leave a comment

Reading list: Without Copyrights

Posted on January 22, 2014 by rtushnet

Robert Spoo, Without Copyrights: Piracy, Publishing, and the Public Domain: An engaging, detailed account of trade courtesy in the US before the US recognized foreign copyrights (including the period when foreign authors could in theory get a US copyright but faced … Continue reading →

Posted in http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, reading list, right of publicity | Leave a comment

false omission claim fails for insufficiently alleged facts about crib bumper risks

Posted on January 22, 2014 by rtushnet

Corral v. Carter’s Inc., 2014 WL 197782, No. 1:13–cv–0262 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 16, 2014) Plaintiff sued Carter’s for basically the usual California claims in connection with Carter’s crib bumpers—“a strip of thin padding that is intended to affix to the … Continue reading →

Posted in california, consumer protection | Leave a comment

Innovation and inequality

Posted on January 22, 2014 by rtushnet

Matt Yglesias in Slate suggests that, if only the top 1% has disposable income, innovation will be very different from innovation in a more egalitarian state, and the only way for a mass market product to succeed will be for … Continue reading →

Posted in http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, patent, trademark | Leave a comment

Second Circuit allows one mandatory pregnancy center disclosure

Posted on January 22, 2014 by rtushnet

Evergreen Ass’n, Inc. v. City of New York, — F.3d —-, 2014 WL 184993 (2d Cir. 2014) The City appealed from a preliminary injunction against Local Law 17, which required pregnancy services centers to make certain disclosures about their services. … Continue reading →

Posted in disclosures, first amendment | Leave a comment