Author Archives: rtushnet

Alleging that unauthorized reseller sells old product defeats first sale defense

Unite Eurotherapy, Inc. v. Walgreen Co., Case No.: 16-cv-01706, 2017 WL 513008 (S.D. Cal. Feb. 7, 2017) Unite sells boutique hair care products through authorized resellers and its own website. Unite alleged distribution agreements with all of its resellers, allowing … Continue reading

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calling a rival “imitation” is neither defamatory nor confusing

Baltimore Sports & Social Club, Inc. v. Sport & Social, LLC, 2017 WL 526499, No. 16–cv–02953 (D. Md. Jan. 6, 2017)   BSSC logo Sport & Social logos BSSC initiated suit, claiming that Sport & Social’s use of the marks … Continue reading

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WIPIP, part 5

Zvi S. Rosen, The Lost (and Found) Copyright Records Before July 1870, copyright registrations were at each federal district court.  Form of oath dictated by statute; also deposited title page.  Deposit records; assignment records; indexes; misc. other records.  Process: register … Continue reading

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WIPIP, part 4

Mark McKenna & Jessica Silbey, Investigating Design: An Empirical Study of Industrial Design and IP Protection Interviews & institutional analysis. Hypothesis generating—anti-copying/copying practices, etc. Buccafusco: consider who’s in the sample—don’t limit to self-identified designers. Following career trajectories of design school … Continue reading

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WIPIP, part 3

Carys J. Craig, Relying on (User) Rights-Talk: On Copyright Limits and Rhetorical Risks Many ways to limit ©; here focusing on defenses/exceptions, the ideal type of which is fair use. If our goal is to constrain ©, what should we … Continue reading

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WIPIP, part 2

H. Brian Holland, We Are All Cyborgs Now: A Cognitive Theory of the Third-Party Doctrine Once upon a time there were categorical protectsion for private papers against search & seizure. Courts then ruled that personal property was no longer categorically … Continue reading

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WIPIP part one

Works-in-Progress Intellectual Property Colloquium Boston University School of Law Opening Plenary [missed beginning due to travel] Timothy K. Armstrong, Symbols, Systems, and Software as Intellectual Property: Time for CONTU, Part II? Functionality is still a problem. Altai seemed to work … Continue reading

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P&G fails to clean up “natural” suit over baby wipes

Brenner v. Procter & Gamble Co., No. 16-1093, 2016 WL 8192946 (C.D. Cal. Oct. 20, 2016) Brenner sued on behalf of a putative nationwide class and a California subclass of those who purchased Pampers “Natural Clean” Baby Wipes.  The individual … Continue reading

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Latest additions to my collection

Etsy is a font of interesting objects, including dollhouse miniatures, handmade jewelry, and even soaps (which would make good party favors for IP events, just sayin’).  Transformative works? jewelry for teaching defenses by dollhouse miniatures handbag soaps closeup on Chanel … Continue reading

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use of P’s jewelry in D’s ad is regular passing off, not reverse passing off

Brighton Collectible, LLC v. Believe Production, Inc., 2017 WL 440255, No. 15-cv-00579 (C.D. Cal. Jan. 30, 2017) Brighton sued Believe for infringing Brighton’s copyright in a jewelry design and also engaging in false designation of origin/unfair competition.  In particular, Brighton … Continue reading

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