Monthly Archives: July 2014

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 →

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

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 →

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

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 →

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

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 →

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

Using up most of settlement fund shows settlement is reasonable

Posted on July 16, 2014 by

Larsen v. Trader Joe’s Co., No. 11-cv-05188, 2014 WL 3404531 (N.D. Cal. July 11, 2014) This is a final settlement approval of claims based on products labeled “All Natural” or “100% Natural,” when they allegedly contained synthetic ingredients.  The settlement … Continue reading →

Posted in class actions, consumer protection, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post | Leave a comment