Author Archives: rtushnet

failure to detail harm dooms medical food complaint despite plausible falsity

Posted on September 20, 2018 by rtushnet

Alfasigma USA, Inc. v. Nivagen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 2018 WL 4409350, No. 2:17-cv-01974-MCE-GGH (E.D. Cal. Sept. 17, 2018) Somewhat surprisingly, failure to tell a detailed harm story torpedoes this complaint; given the specific allegations of falsity, I wonder if it will … Continue reading →

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only “laconic” resellers allowed: court refuses to dismiss complaint against reseller of Chanel goods

Posted on September 20, 2018 by rtushnet

Chanel, Inc. v. WGACA, LLC, 2018 WL 4440507, No. 18 Civ. 2253 (LLS) (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 14, 2018) Depressing but unsurprising: Chanel’s claims against used goods-seller What Goes Around Comes Around proceed because WGACA may have been too forward in telling … Continue reading →

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Accurate statement that SPLC called a group a “hate group” isn’t plausibly misleading without more

Posted on September 20, 2018 by rtushnet

Liberty Counsel, Inc. v. GuideStar USA, Inc., — Fed.Appx. —-, 2018 WL 4339716 (Mem), No. 18-1157 (4th Cir. Sept. 11, 2018) Who controls procedure controls substance.  The district court granted GuideStar’s motion to dismiss Liberty’s Lanham Act false advertising claim … Continue reading →

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New verse, same as the first in Sony/Michael Jackson case

Posted on September 14, 2018 by rtushnet

Serova v. Sony Music Entertainment, 2018 WL 4356891, — Cal.Rptr.3d —-, No. B280526 (Ct. App. 2018) The court amends its opinion finding that Sony’s advertising that Michael Jackson was the performer of all the songs on the posthumous Jackson album … Continue reading →

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New verse, same as the first in Sony/Michael Jackson case

Posted on September 14, 2018 by rtushnet

Serova v. Sony Music Entertainment, 2018 WL 4356891, — Cal.Rptr.3d —-, No. B280526 (Ct. App. 2018) The court amends its opinion finding that Sony’s advertising that Michael Jackson was the performer of all the songs on the posthumous Jackson album … Continue reading →

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2 week difference leads to $10 million in damages in pregnancy estimator case

Posted on September 13, 2018 by rtushnet

Church & Dwight Co. v. SPD Swiss Precision Diagnostics GmbH, No. 14-CV-585 (AJN), 2018 WL 4253181 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 5, 2018) Church & Dwight won an injunction, affirmed by the Second Circuit, against SPD’s advertising of its “Clearblue Advanced Pregnancy Test … Continue reading →

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In plagiarism/false attribution case, use was de minimis, fair, and protected by 1A

Posted on September 13, 2018 by rtushnet

Israel v. Strassberg, 2018 WL 4290394, No. 2:15-CV-741 (D. Utah. Sept. 7, 2018) Israel entered the Ph.D. Psychology program at the University of Utah, which required a master’s thesis, and Strassberg was her advisor. Israel’s master’s thesis turned on the … Continue reading →

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In plagiarism/false attribution case, use was de minimis, fair, and protected by 1A

Posted on September 13, 2018 by rtushnet

Israel v. Strassberg, 2018 WL 4290394, No. 2:15-CV-741 (D. Utah. Sept. 7, 2018) Israel entered the Ph.D. Psychology program at the University of Utah, which required a master’s thesis, and Strassberg was her advisor. Israel’s master’s thesis turned on the … Continue reading →

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“One A Day” conveys that consumers need take only one a day, Cal. court holds

Posted on September 13, 2018 by rtushnet

Brady v. Bayer Corp., G053847, 2018 WL 4275356, — Cal.Rptr.3d —- (Ct. App. Sept. 7, 2018) Judge Bedsworth was not pulling any punches in this opinion. I’ll probably quote too much but outraged rhetoric can be fun.  To summarize: [W]hen … Continue reading →

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“One A Day” conveys that consumers need take only one a day, Cal. court holds

Posted on September 12, 2018 by rtushnet

Brady v. Bayer Corp., G053847, 2018 WL 4275356, — Cal.Rptr.3d —- (Ct. App. Sept. 7, 2018) Judge Bedsworth was not pulling any punches in this opinion. I’ll probably quote too much but outraged rhetoric can be fun.  To summarize: [W]hen … Continue reading →

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