Author Archives: rtushnet

Study’s co-author disclaiming its use creates material issue on falsity

Posted on October 31, 2016 by rtushnet

Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Braintree Laboratories, Inc., 2016 WL 6275156, No. 13-12553 (D. Mass. Oct. 25, 2016) Previous opinion discussed here. The parties compete in the market for products used for bowel preparation before colonoscopies. Ferring alleged false advertising in … Continue reading →

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Direct, secondary liability under Lanham Act for statements targeted at foreign markets

Posted on October 31, 2016 by rtushnet

Operation Technology, Inc. v. Cyme International T & D Inc., No. SACV 14-00999,  2016 WL 6246806 (C.D. Cal. Mar. 31, 2016) Plaintiff (ETAP) alleged that defendants (CYME, IPET-CO, and Amir Aslani) violated the Lanham Act via pseudononymous, disparaging remarks made … Continue reading →

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Inapplicable studies and lost market share equal literal falsity and irreparable harm

Posted on October 31, 2016 by rtushnet

OrthoAccel Technologies, Inc. v. Propel Orthodontics, LLC, No. 4:16-CV-350, 2016 WL 6248711 (E.D. Tex. Oct. 26, 2016) OrthoAccel is a medical device company that makes dental appliances, including the AcceleDent, a hands-free dental device that uses gentle vibrations to accelerate … Continue reading →

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Republication of online articles was commercial speech and not protected by CDA

Posted on October 26, 2016 by rtushnet

Western Sugar Coop. v. Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., 2015 WL 12683192, No. CV 11-3473 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 21, 2015) More belated blogging.  The sugar industry and the corn refining industry accused each other of falsely advertising  high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).  Plaintiffs were … Continue reading →

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Third party lacked standing to challenge allegedly misleading use of abandoned mark

Posted on October 24, 2016 by rtushnet

578539 B.C., Ltd. v. Kortz, 2014 WL 12572679, No. CV 14-04375 (C.D. Cal. Oct. 16, 2014) Westlaw is doing something to surface all sorts of old cases, but this one covers an issue about abandoned marks that often comes up … Continue reading →

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Press release constituted commercial advertising or promotion

Posted on October 24, 2016 by rtushnet

Engineered Arresting Sys. Corp. v. Runway Safe LLC, No. 1:15-CV-546, 2016 WL 6087906 (W.D. Tex. Sept. 19, 2016) Engineered materials arrestor systems (EMAS) are installed at the end of airport runways in order to safely stop an aircraft that fails … Continue reading →

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At the USPTO Trademark Expo

Posted on October 21, 2016 by rtushnet

Well, here I am at the National Trademark Expo Here is a giant registration symbol character costume Musical pairing, which seems really really functional to be at a TM expo, but emphasizes its patents, copyrights, and word marks Metrorail Map … Continue reading →

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A transformative purpose fair use finding

Posted on October 20, 2016 by rtushnet

Wong v. Village Green Owners Association, No. CV 14-03803, 2015 WL 12672092 (C.D. Cal. Mar. 20, 2015) This transformative fair use case just showed up in my Westclip search.  Wong, who owned a unit in Village Green, prepared a National … Continue reading →

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Package size can be false advertising

Posted on October 20, 2016 by rtushnet

In Re: Mccormick & Company, Inc., Pepper Products Marketing & Sales Practices Litigation, 2016 WL 6078250, No. 15-cv-2188 (D.D.C. Oct. 17, 2016) Watkins, which produces black pepper, alleges that its largest competitor, defendant McCormick (which has 70% of domestic black … Continue reading →

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Transformative work of the day, Dilbert edition

Posted on October 20, 2016 by rtushnet

Dilbert is mine now: art, appropriation, and politics. from Blogger http://ift.tt/2dpVhat

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