Author Archives: rtushnet

Inconceivable: allegedly made-up price comparison allows consumer suit

Posted on August 25, 2016 by rtushnet

Chester v. TJX Cos., 2016 WL 4414768, No 5:15-cv-01437 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 18, 2016) When an opinion begins with the quote, “You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means,” it’s not going to … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Cthulhu the functional?

Posted on August 19, 2016 by rtushnet

Jake Linford has recently expounded in detail about the descriptive or even functional characteristics of certain sounds, making certain “coined” words more useful in marketing.  Here’s a great example from Michael Saler, As If: Modern Enchantment and the Literary Prehistory … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Fashion weak: fashion show fails to enjoin New York Fashion Week name

Posted on August 18, 2016 by rtushnet

Fashion Week, Inc. v. Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc., 2016 WL 4367990, No. 16-cv-5079 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 12, 2016) FWI sued CFDA for trademark dilution, unfair competition and false designation of origin, and trademark infringement based on use of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

Cookie crumbles: court refuses to dismiss (c) claim based on facts of plaintiff’s life

Posted on August 18, 2016 by rtushnet

Eggleston v. Daniels, No. 15-11893, 2016 WL 4363013 (E.D. Mich. Aug. 16, 2016) Sophia Eggleston alleged that her self-characterization in her 2009 memoir The Hidden Hand was the uncredited inspiration for the character Loretha “Cookie” Lyon on the FOX television … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

6th Circuit rejects college players’ Lanham Act, ROP claims

Posted on August 17, 2016 by rtushnet

Marshall v. ESPN, No. 15-5753 (6th Cir. August 17, 2016) Plaintiffs claimed that, as college football and basketball players, they had publicity rights in their names and images as used in TV broadcasts.  “Whether referees, assistant coaches, and perhaps even … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

6th Circuit rejects college players’ Lanham Act, ROP claims

Posted on August 17, 2016 by rtushnet

Marshall v. ESPN, No. 15-5753 (6th Cir. August 17, 2016) Plaintiffs claimed that, as college football and basketball players, they had publicity rights in their names and images as used in TV broadcasts.  “Whether referees, assistant coaches, and perhaps even … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

ISP fails to dismiss (c) and CMI claims based on watermarked photo

Posted on August 17, 2016 by rtushnet

Goldstein v. Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc., 2016 WL 4257457, No. TDC-15-2400 (D. Md. Aug. 11, 2016) Goldstein is a professional photographer who registered a copyright in a 2007 photograph he took of the Silver Spring Metro Station, which appears … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Amicus in LV v. My Other Bag

Posted on August 17, 2016 by rtushnet

Chris Sprigman and I organized a law professors’ brief supporting My Other Bag in LV’s appeal from the well-reasoned district court opinion.  Open call for anyone defending against a dilution claim: it’s time for the straight-up First Amendment challenge, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Reading list: Rothman on (c)/right of publicity conflicts

Posted on August 16, 2016 by rtushnet

Jennifer Rothman, The Other Side of Garcia: The Right of Publicity and Copyright Preemption, Columbia Journal of Law & the Arts, Vol. 39, No. 3, 2016. Abstract: This essay is adapted from a talk that I gave on October 2, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

CustomMade doesn’t know about USOC’s anti-free-speech stance

Posted on August 15, 2016 by rtushnet

Or has taken Nick Fury’s excellent approach.  Consider this email below: pure truth, from all that appears.  Even assuming SFAA is still good law, shouldn’t the First Amendment protect this speech? From the Olympics to the jeweler’s bench: Nana Smith competed … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment