Monthly Archives: June 2019

Court formulates survey question in consumer protection case

Posted on June 27, 2019 by rtushnet

Moorer v. Stemgenex Medical Group, Inc., No. 16-cv-2816-AJB-NLS, 2019 WL 2602536 (S.D. Cal. Jun. 25, 2019) This “complex and troubling case” involves allegedly false advertising of stem cell treatments; the court found it “narrowly” certifiable and—unusually—specified the consumer survey questions … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

law firm raises significant 1A questions over nursing home-specific advertising law

Posted on June 27, 2019 by rtushnet

Wilkes & McHugh, P.A. v. LTC Consulting, L.P., — S.E.2d —-, 2019 WL 2570982 (Ga. Jun. 24, 2019) Georgia revised its anti-SLAPP law to be more like California’s (though apparently without the exception for commercial advertising) and the state supreme … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

failure to show causation dooms duelling flange false advertising claims

Posted on June 26, 2019 by rtushnet

Boltex Mf’g Co. v. Galperti, Inc., 2019 WL 2568338, No. H-17-1439 (S.D. Tex. Jun. 21, 2019) This is a false advertising and unfair competition case about normalization, “a costly heat treatment process that changes the physical composition of carbon steel … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

The probiotic worm turns: previous PI loser wins $15 million in Lanham Act case

Posted on June 26, 2019 by rtushnet

De Simone v. VSL Pharmaceuticals, Inc., No. TDC-15-1356, 2019 WL 2569574 (D. Md. Jun. 20, 2019) Previous discussions.  The parties compete in offering a probiotic product; De Simone used to license his formulation to VSL, then went out on his … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Supreme Court and the Tone Argument (Iancu v. Brunetti)

Posted on June 25, 2019 by rtushnet

Iancu v. Brunetti, No. 18–302, 588 U.S. — (Jun. 24, 2019) Unlike in Tam, we get an opinion for the Court (and unanimity that the bar on registering “immoral” marks is unconstitutionally viewpoint-based), which manages to find consensus by (1) … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

lack of specifics, even with certification involved, dooms falsity claim

Posted on June 20, 2019 by rtushnet

Hydro-Blok USA LLC v. Wedi Corp., 2019 WL 2515318, No. C15-671 TSZ (W.D. Wash. Jun. 18, 2019) Wedi and Hydro-Blok compete in the market for construction materials and sealants for use in bathroom systems, including showers. Wedi accused Hydro-Blok of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

variety in superiority claims can add up to disparagement

Posted on June 20, 2019 by rtushnet

Deerpoint Group, Inc. v. Agrigenix, LLC, 2019 WL 2513756, No. 18-CV-0536 AWI BAM (E.D. Cal. Jun. 18, 2019) Deerpoint sued Agrigenix for violating the Lanham Act and California’s UCL via false advertising, violating California and federal trade secret law, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Trade dress question of the day, all out of bubble gum edition

Posted on June 20, 2019 by rtushnet

Do the makers of Bazooka have a valid claim against this … whatever it is?  (Toy handed out at a birthday party, apparently known by preteens as a “squishy.”) from Blogger http://bit.ly/31OfwUH

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Uncommon sense on the presumptions granted by registration

Posted on June 17, 2019 by rtushnet

Uncommon, LLC v. Spigen, Inc., No. 18-1917 (7th Cir. Jun. 11, 2019) The PTO has sometimes found “capsule” merely descriptive of cellphone cases, but it also allowed Uncommon to register CAPSULE for such cases in 2013.   (A prior registration for … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

A Celebration of the Work of Wendy Gordon, part 4

Posted on June 15, 2019 by rtushnet

A Natural Right to Copy by Glynn Lunney, Texas A&M University School of Law Thanks to the great women who encouraged intellectual honesty in topics and analysis of topics, not just Gordon but also Litman, Samuelson, others.  Gordon doesn’t agree w/how far … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment