Monthly Archives: September 2019

scientific debates can ordinarily be resolved in false advertising cases

Posted on September 23, 2019 by rtushnet

Pax Water Technologies, Inc. v. Medora Corp., 2019 WL 4390567, No. LA CV18-09143 JAK (AGRx) (C.D. Cal. Aug. 5, 2019) The parties compete in the market for water treatment technologies for municipalities, public water agencies and districts, and private parties. … Continue reading →

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“Hawaiian” plus imagery isn’t deceptive indication of origin (or is it?)

Posted on September 23, 2019 by rtushnet

Maeda v. Kennedy Endeavors, Inc., No. 18-00459 JAO-WRP, 2019 WL 4544272 (D. Hawai’i Sept. 19, 2019) Kennedy sells “Hawaiian” brand snacks; plaintiffs alleged that the name and packaging misled them into thinking that the snacks were made in Hawai’i from … Continue reading →

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Southern Poverty Law Center’s “hate group” designation isn’t false advertising, false association

Posted on September 23, 2019 by rtushnet

Coral Ridge Ministries Media, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., No. 17cv566-MHT, 2019 WL 4547064 (M.D. Ala. Sept. 19, 2019) Coral Ridge sued the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Amazon.com, and the AmazonSmile Foundation. It alleged that, “because of its religious opposition … Continue reading →

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coconut milk could mislead by claiming “no cholesterol” where it’s too high fat for that label

Posted on September 20, 2019 by rtushnet

Marshall v. Danone US, Inc., No. 19-cv-01332-RS, 2019 WL 4509045, — F. Supp. 3d — (N.D. Cal. Sept. 13, 2019) Marshall brought a putative class action alleging false advertising (the usual California claims) against Silk coconut milk, which on its … Continue reading →

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outdated website uses preserve TM infringement claim; false use of (R) doesn’t matter if it doesn’t cause harm

Posted on September 19, 2019 by rtushnet

Max Rack, Inc. v. Core Health & Fitness, LLC, 2019 WL 4451698, No. 16-cv-01015 (S.D. Ohio Sept. 17, 2019) Sloppy website maintenance likely denies defendant what otherwise would have been summary judgment victory on its ex-partner/now-competitor’s trademark infringement claims; meanwhile, … Continue reading →

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calling NBC’s lawyers: gold company can claim #1 rank by Today Show, can’t make additional misrepresentations

Posted on September 18, 2019 by rtushnet

Express Gold Cash, Inc. v. Beyond 79, LLC, 2019 WL 4394567, No. 18-cv-00837 EAW (W.D.N.Y. Sept. 13, 2019) The parties are two of the top competitors in the market for nationwide mail-in precious metals purchases. When a customer mails in … Continue reading →

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Use of under 10% of photos in catalogue raisonné was fair use

Posted on September 16, 2019 by rtushnet

De Fontbrune v. Wofsy, No. 5:13-cv-05957-EJD (N.D. Cal. Sept. 12, 2019) De Fontbrune first sued defendants in France in the late 1990s for publishing a book, The Picasso Project, which reproduced photographs of Picasso’s works. (Defendants allegedly used over 1400 … Continue reading →

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Not worth a hill of beans: can label showing mound of beans plausibly misleads

Posted on September 16, 2019 by rtushnet

Beckman v. Arizona Canning Co., 2019 WL 4277393, No. 16-cv-02792-JAH-BLM (S.D. Cal. Sept. 9, 2019) If the can shows lots of whole, plump beans, but the ingredients list puts water first, is there a plausible deception claim? The court here … Continue reading →

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ownership/control of whole company isn’t enough for individual liability under FTCA

Posted on September 13, 2019 by rtushnet

F.T.C. v. Quincy Bioscience Holding Co., 389 F. Supp. 3d 211 (S.D.N.Y. 2019) On remand from the Second Circuit, which fixed the mistaken earlier dismissal of this claim against a supplement seller, a principal gets off the hook (for now) … Continue reading →

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9th Circuit drives big hole through 230(c)(2) immunity

Posted on September 13, 2019 by rtushnet

Enigma Software Group USA, LLC v. Malwarebytes, Inc., — F.3d —-, 2019 WL 4315152, No. 17-17351 (9th Cir. Sept. 12, 2019) Section 230(c)(2) “immunizes computer-software providers from liability for actions taken to help users block certain types of unwanted, online … Continue reading →

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