Monthly Archives: July 2014

Reading list: social media flagging

Posted on July 25, 2014 by

Kate Crawford and Tarleton Gillespie, What is a flag for? Social media reporting tools and the vocabulary of complaint, 4 New Media Society (2014).  One of the points I most liked: [F]lags speak only in a narrow vocabulary of complaint. … Continue reading →

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FTC announces settlement with "official" ticket seller that wasn’t

Posted on July 24, 2014 by

Details at the FTC’s site.  I was interested in this because usually the FTC leaves alone cases in which a business victim is a likely plaintiff; it makes sense to use government resources to go after defendants who otherwise would … Continue reading →

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Trademark exceptionalism wins another round in Maryland

Posted on July 24, 2014 by

Hershey Co. v. Friends of Steve Hershey, 2014 WL 3571691, No. WDQ–14–1825 (D. Md. July 17, 2014) Thanks to prodding from Eric Goldman for me to blog about it, here’s a case where we learn that the only constraint on … Continue reading →

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Pom doesn’t change preclusion analysis for medical devices

Posted on July 23, 2014 by

Catheter Connections, Inc. v. Ivera Medical Corp., 2014 WL 3536573, No. 2:14–CV–70 (D. Utah, July 17, 2014) The parties compete in the medical device market for infection-control devices.  At issue here are disinfectant caps incorporated into intravenous (IV) lines that … Continue reading →

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regulating TM owner’s confusing use of TM doesn’t violate First Amendment

Posted on July 23, 2014 by

AEP Texas Comm. & Indus. Retail Ltd. P’ship v. Public Util. Comm’n, 2014 WL 3558763, No. 03–13–00358–CV, — S.W.3d – (Tex. Ct. App. July 17, 2014) A complicated regulatory background is the setting for this case about the evidence required … Continue reading →

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FTC goes after misleading certification mark

Posted on July 22, 2014 by

Here’s some discussion of the FTC’s complaint from the FTC itself, with a link to the proposed settlement.  Unsurprising takeaway: If you purport to certify products as “Made in the USA,” it is a good idea to do some verification … Continue reading →

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Georgetown Law’s new Center on Privacy and Technology

Posted on July 21, 2014 by

Learn more here. All my colleagues who worked on this deserve congratulations–Professors Julie Cohen, David Vladeck, Laura Donohue and Angela Campbell worked tirelessly for this achievement. http://tushnet.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

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trademark beats copyright at surviving motion to dismiss

Posted on July 21, 2014 by

Gorski v. Gymboree Corp., 2014 WL 3533324,  No. 14-CV-01314 (N.D. Cal. July 16, 2014) Via Eric Goldman.  Gorski and Gymboree both make shirts that feature the phrase “lettuce turnip the beet.” Gorski sued for copyright and trademark infringement; Gorski owns … Continue reading →

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allegations about fake reviews can support false advertising claim

Posted on July 21, 2014 by

American Bullion, Inc. v. Regal Assets, LLC, 2014 WL 3516252, No. CV 14–01873 (C.D. Cal. July 15, 2014) The parties compete to sell gold and other precious metals as retirement investments.  Plaintiff (ABI) advertises online using third-party affiliates, who get … Continue reading →

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Uber/under: false advertising and association claims against Uber continue

Posted on July 16, 2014 by

Yellow Group LLC v. Uber Technologies Inc., No. 12 C 7967, 2014 WL 3396055 (N.D. Ill. July 10, 2014) Taxi medallion owners, taxi affiliations (taxi dispatch services), and livery service providers sued Uber, alleging that it competed unfairly by misrepresenting … Continue reading →

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