Author Archives: rtushnet

ABA teleconference on irreparable harm in Lanham Act false advertising cases

Posted on December 8, 2014 by rtushnet

I’ll be participating in this teleconference, 12 pm EST on December 12.  http://tushnet.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

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A case peppered with TM and advertising issues

Posted on December 8, 2014 by rtushnet

United Tactical Systems v. Real Action Paintball, Inc., 2014 WL 6788310, No. 14-cv-04050 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 2, 2014) UTS sued RAP4 mostly over the trademark PepperBall; the court granted a preliminary injunction based on some of its claims.  Nonparty PepperBall … Continue reading →

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Religion isn’t (yet) a defense to false advertising

Posted on December 8, 2014 by rtushnet

State v. Valerie Saxion, Inc., 2014 WL 6839970, No. 02–13–00227 (Tex. Ct. App. Dec. 4, 2014) Valerie Saxion argued that her free speech (and RFRA) rights were being violated by the state’s pursuit of claims against her and her company … Continue reading →

Posted in commercial speech, consumer protection, first amendment, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post | Leave a comment

B&N almost entirely off the hook for copying backpack design

Posted on December 5, 2014 by rtushnet

Rubio v. Barnes & Noble, Inc., 2014 WL 6769150, No. 14–CV–6561 (S.D.N.Y Nov. 11, 2014) Rubio sued her alma mater, the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and Barnes & Noble, Inc. for copying her original drawing of a backpack, producing … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, dastar, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, right of publicity, standing, trademark, unfairness | Leave a comment

No free lift: ad-as-contract claim survives

Posted on December 5, 2014 by rtushnet

Kearney v. Equilon Enterprises, LLC, No. 3:14–cv–00254, 2014 WL 6769697 (D. Or. Dec. 1, 2014) Plaintiffs sued on behalf of a proposed nationwide class for breach of contract and violations of various state consumer protection statutes.  The court denied the … Continue reading →

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How do you keep them in the library after they’ve seen Google?

Posted on December 4, 2014 by rtushnet

Oral argument in the latest and possibly last round of the longstanding Authors Guild v. Google case apparently went reasonably well for Google.  I was struck by Judge Chin’s statement that his clerks use Google Books to do cite checks.  … Continue reading →

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ABA Blawg 100: submitted for your consideration

Posted on December 3, 2014 by rtushnet

I’ve already mentioned my pleasure to be on the nominated list along with my coauthor Eric Goldman’s blog (under Tech for some reason).  Others well worth checking out in/around the advertising field include All About Advertising Law (Venable) and the … Continue reading →

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Falsity of political ad irrelevant to constitutionality of public entity’s rejection

Posted on December 3, 2014 by rtushnet

American Freedom Defense Initiative v. Southeastern Pennysylvania Transportation Authority, No. 2:14-5335 (E.D. Pa. Nov. 25, 2014) Plaintiffs sued SEPTA, arguing that it violated their First Amendment rights by refusing to post an ad on buses on the grounds that the … Continue reading →

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B&B v. Hargis: just one reaction

Posted on December 3, 2014 by rtushnet

When I read the SG’s brief advocating for preclusion as an ordinary result, I was concerned that there was limited understanding of what a registration/opposition proceeding actually is compared to an infringement case.  For example, the SG assumed that in … Continue reading →

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Lack of affirmative statement dooms Lanham Act claim

Posted on December 1, 2014 by rtushnet

FMC Corp. v. Summit Agro USA, LLC, 2014 WL 6627727,  No. 14–51 (D. Del. Nov. 14, 2014) (magistrate judge) FMC and Summit Argo compete in the herbicide market.  Herbicides are sold by manufacturers to distributors, thence to retailers, thence to … Continue reading →

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