Author Archives: rtushnet

Harvard Law Review Symposium on Freedom of the Press

Posted on January 31, 2014 by rtushnet

Copied from Balkinization.Harvard Law Review Symposium 2014: Freedom of the PressA conference in celebration of the 50th anniversary ofNew York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964).February 15, 2014Harvard Law SchoolAustin North8:45 Breakfast9:20 Introduction:Mark TushnetHarvard Law School“Reflections on the … Continue reading →

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News for storage jars: the real scandal in Virginia is the supplement

Posted on January 30, 2014 by rtushnet

So Slate says, citing the FDA’s warning that the supplement the McDonnells helped tout is being unlawfully marketed. http://tushnet.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

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9th Circuit makes trademark fair use even more confusing

Posted on January 30, 2014 by rtushnet

Aaargh. A great case for Bill McGeveran’s claim that trademark defenses have grown so rococo that they can be detrimental to legitimate uses. Experience Hendrix L.L.C. v. Hendrixlicensing.com Ltd, Nos. 11-35858 (9th Cir. Jan. 29, 2014) Defendant Pitsicalis, who licensed … Continue reading →

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Strict liability for misleading advertising in Europe

Posted on January 29, 2014 by rtushnet

Interesting post from Lewis Silkin about the UK’s ASA versus the EU Court of Justice: the former allowed an advertiser to rely on a third party’s representations (I think that’s a bit of a simplification–the third party was the complainant … Continue reading →

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Nontransformative, commercial use of earnings call was fair

Posted on January 29, 2014 by rtushnet

Swatch Group Management Services Ltd. v. Bloomberg L.P., No. 12-2412 (2d Cir. Jan. 27, 2014) Swatch sued over Bloomberg’s 2011 posting of the recording of a conference call at which Swatch executives discussed the company’s recently released earnings report with … Continue reading →

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UK Court of Appeals rejects survey evidence in TM case, again

Posted on January 29, 2014 by rtushnet

Marks & Clerk report on this latest instance, noting the effect of deprecating surveys on limiting the costs of litigation, which is extremely important in a loser-pays system.  High court opinion in Zee v. Zeebox; IPKat discussion of appeal; I haven’t … Continue reading →

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House fair use hearing

Posted on January 29, 2014 by rtushnet

Hearing on Fair Use, House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Internet/IP Rep. Coble (subcommittee chair): Fair use is important.  North Carolina universities rely on copyright law and on fair use.  Fair use’s strength is its ambiguity/freedom for courts, but also its … Continue reading →

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Fair use hearing testimony available

Posted on January 27, 2014 by rtushnet

House website here.  Written testimony from June Besek (fair use is too big, especially with respect to Google), Peter Jaszi (no, it’s not), David Lowery (music remixes and sampling etc. aren’t fair use; licensing is perfect),  Naomi Novik (transformative works are great and need protection; … Continue reading →

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TM claims in DMCA notice may lead to 512(f) liability

Posted on January 27, 2014 by rtushnet

CrossFit, Inc. v. Alvies, No. 13–3771, 2014 WL 251760 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 22, 2014) CrossFit sued Alvies for trademark infringement, among other things, and Alvies counterclaimed for false advertising/unfair competition.  CrossFit moved to dismiss the counterclaims and partially succeeded.  CrossFit … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, dmca, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, trademark, unfairness | Leave a comment

Mastercard v. Nader updated

Posted on January 27, 2014 by rtushnet

Seen in Arlington, VA, Jan. 2014: Photo by Zachary Schrag. http://tushnet.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

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