Author Archives: rtushnet

Reminder: TM scholarship roundtable

Posted on May 20, 2025 by rtushnet

The Trademark and Unfair Competition Scholarship Roundtable co-hosted by Harvard, NYU, and the University of Pennsylvania will take place this year at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. The Roundtable is designed to be a forum for the discussion … Continue reading →

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Court finds literal falsity where two supposedly distinct, rated reverse mortgage sellers are actually one

Posted on May 16, 2025 by rtushnet

Longbridge Financial, LLC v. Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, Inc., No. 24-cv-1730-DMS-VET, 2025 WL 1382866 (S.D. Cal. May 13, 2025) Mutual owns defendant Review Counsel and is the first and only advertising partner of defendant Advisory; those two have similar websites. … Continue reading →

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Lanham Act false advertising disgorgement is equitable; no jury trial required

Posted on May 12, 2025 by rtushnet

Diamond Resorts U.S. Collection Development, LLC v. Wesley Financial Group, LLC, No. 3:20-CV-00251-DCLC-DCP, 2025 WL 1334625 (E.D. Tenn. May 7, 2025) Another timeshare case! Diamond alleged that defendants engaged in “a deceptive timeshare cancellation business” that induces Diamond’s timeshare owners … Continue reading →

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Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy student writing competition

Posted on May 12, 2025 by rtushnet

 The annual Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy student writing competition is now open.  We hope you will encourage your students to submit their papers for consideration. Students are invited to submit papers that provide analysis or insights on issues at the intersection … Continue reading →

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court applies issue preclusion to a jury verdict under a different state consumer protection law

Posted on May 6, 2025 by rtushnet

Dent v. Premier Nutrition Corp., 2025 WL 1282627, No. 16-cv-06721-RS (N.D. Cal. May 2, 2025) Here, the court applies issue preclusion against Premier, makers of Joint Juice, which lost a bellwether-type trial under NY law (a ruling affirmed in relevant … Continue reading →

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Burger King’s ads may have told a whopper about burger size

Posted on May 6, 2025 by rtushnet

Coleman v. Burger King Corp., 2025 WL 1294605, No. 22-cv-20925-ALTMAN/Reid (S.D. Fla. May 5, 2025) Nineteen plaintiffs brought claims under 13 states’ laws alleging that BK falsely advertised the size/amounts of ingredients in various burgers; the court denied BKC’s motion … Continue reading →

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Publisher avoids liability for ad that allegedly disparaged plaintiff’s goods

Posted on May 5, 2025 by rtushnet

Jewel Sanitary Napkins, LLC v. Busy Beaver Publications, LLC, No. 23-cv-126-slc, 2025 WL 1220311 (W.D. Wisc. Apr. 28, 2025) Jewel makes sanitary napkins containing a layer of material called graphene that Jewel claims has health benefits, while it touts the … Continue reading →

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Sixteenth Trademark Scholars’ Roundtable Session 4: How We Got to Trademark Use 2.0

Posted on May 3, 2025 by rtushnet

Robert Burrell: use in Commonwealth systems came from strict liability for double identity—once that was extended to advertising, there are a whole lot of nonconfusing/beneficial uses of marks in advertising. TM use was brought in as a safety valve to … Continue reading →

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Sixteenth Trademark Scholars’ Roundtable Session 3 continued

Posted on May 3, 2025 by rtushnet

Midpoint discussant: Laura Heymann Is the goal consistency? Is the goal limiting principles that can end a case early? Is use the right tool? Is it a proxy? To what extent should we accept the rest of the landscape as … Continue reading →

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Sixteenth Trademark Scholars’ Roundtable Session 3: What is the Significance of Trademark Use 2.0?

Posted on May 2, 2025 by rtushnet

Introduction: Mark Lemley: What VIP actually says: Rogers test insulates from liability when use is only non-source identifying. Cardinal sin is to undermine source-indicating functioning: LV modification of mark in suitcase market implicates the core concerns of TM law. That … Continue reading →

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