Monthly Archives: April 2016

FESC: Trademark Registration and Free Speech

Posted on April 30, 2016 by rtushnet

Rebecca Tushnet        TheFirst Amendment Walks Into a Bar: Trademark Registration and Free Speech   Presenter: Deven Desai: Latest Trojan Horse in 1A law. §2(a) allows denial of registration for disparaging marks.  This piece of TM law is a chance to … Continue reading →

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FESC: First Amendment Theory and Coverage

Posted on April 30, 2016 by rtushnet

First Amendment Theory and Coverage Moderator: Ash Bhagwat Jane Bambauer, Derek Bambauer      Information Libertarianism Presenter: Morgan Weiland: Important ongoing debate about expansion of 1A doctrine to cover commercial and corporate speech.  Critiques existing identification of “new Lochnerism” as an explicitly … Continue reading →

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FESC: Hate Speech, Political Conversations, and Citizenship

Posted on April 30, 2016 by rtushnet

Brian Hutler    Hate Speech, Political Conversations, and Citizenship           Maggie McKinley: Tension b/t speech and protection of minorities.  Integration of distinctive communities and institutions leads to conversations, especially b/c most integrations are by force.  Exposed for some scholars the failures … Continue reading →

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Freedom of Expression Scholars Conference at Yale: Search Engines and Free Speech

Posted on April 30, 2016 by rtushnet

Heather M. Whitney & Robert Mark Simpson: Search Engines and Free Speech Coverage   Discussant: Heidi Kitrosser: Are search engine results covered by the 1A? Larger question of how we decide what’s salient is part of the paper.  Survey relevant … Continue reading →

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FTC rules don’t explain excessive redactions in FTC v. Amazon

Posted on April 29, 2016 by rtushnet

F.T.C. v. Amazon.com, Inc., NO. C14-1038-JCC (W.D. Wash. Apr. 26, 2016)   Amazon made it really easy for kids to make in-app purchases in “free” apps; the court agreed with the FTC that this was bad, denying the FTC’s request … Continue reading →

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Empirical analysis of chilling effects

Posted on April 29, 2016 by rtushnet

Jon Penney discusses his research on chilling effects, including chilling effects from DMCA takedowns and government surveillance.  The paper on government surveillance and Wikipedia is here; the abstract for the DMCA piece is here. from Blogger http://ift.tt/1T9NKF9

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Website can use DMCA safe harbor for acts of its independent contractors

Posted on April 27, 2016 by rtushnet

BWP Media USA, Inc v. Clarity Digital Group, LLC, No. 15-1154 (10th Cir. Apr. 25, 2016)     BWP owns the copyrights to various celebrity photos, and its business model appears to be lawsuit-based, at least in part.  It sued defendant … Continue reading →

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Two right of publicity possibilities in the news

Posted on April 25, 2016 by rtushnet

Corvette: Baby, that was much too fast. 1958-2016 How well would this ad fare if challenged under Jordan v. Jewel? It does inherently promote the Corvette brand, it seems to me. Mexican food so authentic Donald Trump would build a … Continue reading →

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Cal. court sensibly rejects Fourth Circuit’s GNC rule on consumer protection claims

Posted on April 22, 2016 by rtushnet

Mullins v. Premier Nutrition Corp., 2016 WL 1534784, No. 13-cv-01271 (N.D. Cal. Apr. 15, 2016) This case revisits an issue with which courts have struggled: when consumer plaintiffs plead that a product advertised as clinically proven isn’t, is that a … Continue reading →

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Flagging supplement case revived

Posted on April 22, 2016 by rtushnet

ThermoLife Intern., LLC v. Gaspari Nutrition Inc., — Fed.Appx. —-, 2016 WL 1460171, No. 14–15180 (9th Cir.  Apr. 14, 2016)   ThermoLife sued Gaspari (GNI) false advertising under the Lanham Act and unfair competition under Arizona common law, based on … Continue reading →

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