Author Archives: rtushnet

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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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

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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 →

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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 →

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A Celebration of the Work of Wendy Gordon, part 3

Posted on June 14, 2019 by rtushnet

Death in Copyright: Remarks on Duration by Abraham Drassinower, University of Toronto Faculty of Law What would a rights based account of duration look like?  Really about death, not duration. Patents have a fixed term; trademark registrations also persist for a specific amount … Continue reading →

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A Celebration of the Work of Wendy Gordon, part 2

Posted on June 14, 2019 by rtushnet

Harmless Free Riding by Wendy Gordon, Boston University School of Law  (Additional related drafts from Wendy: Time and Intellectual Property After Coaseand Proximate Cause in the Law of Copyright: Linking Liability to Incentives) Common law imposes penalties on those who harm much more readily than … Continue reading →

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A Celebration of the Work of Wendy Gordon

Posted on June 14, 2019 by rtushnet

A Celebration of the Work of Wendy Gordon, Boston University School of Law A Cover Note from Wendy Workshop Schedule Intellectual Property Harms by Jessica Silbey, Northeastern University School of Law From book focusing on the idea of progress in IP law, with … Continue reading →

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photo of competitor’s product not false where it’s indistinguishable; also some design patent functionality

Posted on June 13, 2019 by rtushnet

Tactical Medical Solutions, Inc. v. KARL 2019 WL 2435859, No. 14 C 06035 (N.D. Ill. Jun. 11, 2019) TMS sued Karl and his sole proprietorship, EMI, for infringement of TMS’s design and utility patents by selling a “knockoff” version of … Continue reading →

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