Monthly Archives: September 2016

Right of publicity/passing off blast from the past

Posted on September 29, 2016 by rtushnet

From The Spirit of the Times, May 21, 1845 “Gen. Tom Thumb’s father brought suit in Paris, against the manager of a theatre, who announced a play called Tom Pouce, (Thumb,) while the General was exhibiting himself at another place. … Continue reading →

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when are state law unfair competition claims preempted?

Posted on September 29, 2016 by rtushnet

Duer v. Bensussen Deutsch & Associates, Inc., 2015 WL 11256568, No. 14-CV-01589 (N.D. Ga. Jul. 8, 2015) Very broad preemption finding makes me blog this older case that popped out of Westlaw.  Duer makes medicine dosage adherence tools suitable for … Continue reading →

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Parody product fails to squeak through the cracks in dilution/infringement claim

Posted on September 29, 2016 by rtushnet

VIP Products, LLC v. Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc., No. 14-cv-02057 (D. Az. Sept. 27, 2016) The court denied VIP’s motion for summary judgment on its declaratory judgment action against JDPI, and also kicked out a number of VIP’s defenses, leaving … Continue reading →

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Texas and 3 other states sue to block ICANN transition

Posted on September 29, 2016 by rtushnet

Read the complaint.  Let me know if you can make sense of the theory. from Blogger http://ift.tt/2dp0AT4

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Ad featuring old, mild citations against health facility was false by necessary implication

Posted on September 29, 2016 by rtushnet

Heartland of Urbana OH, L.L.C. v. McHugh Fuller Law Group, P.L.L.C., 2016 WL 5375676, 2016 -Ohio- 6959, No. 2016–CA–3 (Ct. App. Sept. 23, 2016) Heartland appealed from summary judgment granted to McHugh in Heartland’s deceptive trade practices case against McHugh, … Continue reading →

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Conversation on fan films and copyright, part 2

Posted on September 29, 2016 by rtushnet

My exchange with Henry Jenkins can be found here.  Part 1 here. from Blogger http://ift.tt/2cYKxvk

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Transformative work of the day

Posted on September 28, 2016 by rtushnet

Shot by shot recreation of photos with male and female roles reversed, in response to a sexist GQ pictorial. Transformative, but in a good way—the reverse of the mocking transformations I cataloged in My Fair Ladies. from Blogger http://ift.tt/2dklLsV

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It’s false advertising, Charlie Brown!

Posted on September 27, 2016 by rtushnet

Consider this story about “canned pumpkin” actually being squash.  False advertising, even if compliant with FDA regulations? from Blogger http://ift.tt/2ddhBBA

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Star Trek, fan films and transformative use

Posted on September 27, 2016 by rtushnet

I have a conversation with Henry Jenkins on these topics up at his blog. from Blogger http://ift.tt/2dphupF

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Advertiser’s self-voting on positive reviews as “helpful” may be false advertising

Posted on September 26, 2016 by rtushnet

Vitamins Online, Inc. v. HeartWise, Inc., 2016 WL 5106990, No. 13-CV-982 (D. Utah Sept. 19, 2016) Following up on its previous opinion, the court rules again about the possible falsity of reviews posted in exchange for undisclosed gifts of the … Continue reading →

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