Author Archives: rtushnet

context matters: “mineral-based” sunscreen with chemical-based active ingredients is plausibly deceptive

Posted on August 7, 2020 by rtushnet

Prescott v. Bayer Healthcare LLC, 2020 WL 4430958, No. 20-cv-00102-NC (N.D. Cal. Jun. 31, 2020) (magistrate) Plaintiffs alleged that defendants deceived consumers by labeling their sunscreens as “mineral-based” when the sunscreens contain active chemical ingredients. As the court explains,   … Continue reading →

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No contributory liability for athlete union’s endorsement of supplement

Posted on August 6, 2020 by rtushnet

DNA Sports Performance Lab, Inc. v. Major League Baseball, 2020 WL 4430793, No. C 20-00546 WHA (N.D. Cal. Aug. 1, 2020)  Courts seem to perceive people affiliated with TM/(c) infringers as more blameworthy than people affiliated with false advertisers. One … Continue reading →

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selling w/in another distributor’s exclusive territory isn’t plausibly false advertising of authorization

Posted on August 4, 2020 by rtushnet

Northern Bottling Co. v. Henry’s Foods, Inc., No. 1:19-cv-021, 2020 WL 4208526 (D.N.D. Jul. 22, 2020)  Northern is a PepsiCo bottler/distributor; it has some Exclusive Bottling Appointments that appoint Northern as PepsiCo’s “exclusive bottler, to bottle and distribute” a specific … Continue reading →

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IPSC, Trademark

Posted on July 31, 2020 by rtushnet

IPSC – Trademark Law I Moderator: Mark McKenna  Trademark Depletion in a Global, Multilingual Economy: Evidence from the European Union (abstract) Jeanne Fromer and Barton Beebe, NYU School of Law  Notes on the EU system: runs in parallel with national … Continue reading →

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The McCarthy Series: U.S.P.T.O. v. Booking.com: What the Recent SCOTUS Ruling Means for Trademark Law

Posted on July 29, 2020 by rtushnet

My notes are messed up because I had technical difficulties! But the McCarthy Institute will apparently publish video on its YouTube channel. David Bernstein, Debevoise & Plimpton: intro to case/overview.  Hal Poret: Used a Teflon survey to educate consumers about … Continue reading →

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“graham cracker” is dead metaphor, implying nothing about graham flour content

Posted on July 22, 2020 by rtushnet

Kennedy v. Mondelēz Global LLC, 2020 WL 4006197, No. 19-CV-302-ENV-SJB (E.D.N.Y. Jul. 10, 2020)  (R&R by someone I remember from my debate days, Sanket Bulsara)  Plaintiffs alleged that the terms “grahams” and “graham crackers,” along with other statements and images, … Continue reading →

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confusion over confusion: court holds that disparagement can be infringing

Posted on July 22, 2020 by rtushnet

Nutreance LLC v. Primark, LLC, 2020 WL 3892995, No. 4:18-cv-00098-SRC (E.D. Mo. Jul. 10, 2020) “This is a trademark infringement/false advertising case involving competitors in the nutritional-supplements market.” The court holds that the alleged bad conduct is actionable, but unfortunately … Continue reading →

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July 29 Webinar – The McCarthy Series: What the BOOKING.COM Ruling Means for Trademark Law

Posted on July 22, 2020 by rtushnet

I’ll be part of the panel:  On Wednesday, July 29th, at 12 noon Eastern Standard Time (9 AM PST), the McCarthy Institute will host a webinar to discuss the ramifications of the Supreme Court’s decision in USPTO. v. Booking.com B.V. … Continue reading →

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Sue Bee beats suit: “pure” survey not good enough to show deception over trace pesticide amounts

Posted on July 21, 2020 by rtushnet

Tran v. Sioux Honey Assoc., 2020 WL 3989444, No. 17-cv-00110-JLS-SS (C.D. Cal. Jul. 13, 2020)  Tran brought the usual California claims based on Sioux Honey products labeled as “Pure” and “100% Pure,” arguing that the products were mislabeled because they … Continue reading →

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expert can’t substitute for survey evidence (at least w/o experience w/consumer reactions)

Posted on July 21, 2020 by rtushnet

Kurin, Inc. v. Magnolia Medical Technol., Inc., 2020 WL 4049977, No. 18-cv-1060-L-LL (S.D. Cal. Jul. 20, 2020)  A lot going on here in this false advertising case about blood collection devices (one called Steripath); I will omit a lot of … Continue reading →

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