Author Archives: rtushnet

Congressional hearing on the scope of fair use

Posted on January 24, 2014 by rtushnet

Coming Tuesday to a streaming website near you. http://tushnet.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

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unfair competition in the news

Posted on January 24, 2014 by rtushnet

The facts described in this article about Uber’s alleged attempt to crush competitor Gett by booking and then cancelling rides seem like a pretty good candidate for application of the general unfair competition tort.  Hypo of the day: what causes … Continue reading →

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Organization for Transformative Works gets a Hugo nomination

Posted on January 23, 2014 by rtushnet

For Best Related Work.  Awesome!  (I guess being Hugo-adjacent runs in the family.) http://tushnet.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

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FTC goes after advertiser and ad agency for false dramatization

Posted on January 23, 2014 by rtushnet

Read all about it.  One great feature: the complaint includes the challenged ad!  The FTC at least wants us to see for ourselves. http://tushnet.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

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Reading list: Without Copyrights

Posted on January 22, 2014 by rtushnet

Robert Spoo, Without Copyrights: Piracy, Publishing, and the Public Domain: An engaging, detailed account of trade courtesy in the US before the US recognized foreign copyrights (including the period when foreign authors could in theory get a US copyright but faced … Continue reading →

Posted in http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, reading list, right of publicity | Leave a comment

false omission claim fails for insufficiently alleged facts about crib bumper risks

Posted on January 22, 2014 by rtushnet

Corral v. Carter’s Inc., 2014 WL 197782, No. 1:13–cv–0262 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 16, 2014) Plaintiff sued Carter’s for basically the usual California claims in connection with Carter’s crib bumpers—“a strip of thin padding that is intended to affix to the … Continue reading →

Posted in california, consumer protection | Leave a comment

Innovation and inequality

Posted on January 22, 2014 by rtushnet

Matt Yglesias in Slate suggests that, if only the top 1% has disposable income, innovation will be very different from innovation in a more egalitarian state, and the only way for a mass market product to succeed will be for … Continue reading →

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Second Circuit allows one mandatory pregnancy center disclosure

Posted on January 22, 2014 by rtushnet

Evergreen Ass’n, Inc. v. City of New York, — F.3d —-, 2014 WL 184993 (2d Cir. 2014) The City appealed from a preliminary injunction against Local Law 17, which required pregnancy services centers to make certain disclosures about their services. … Continue reading →

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changing goodwill signalled by mark isn’t infringement

Posted on January 21, 2014 by rtushnet

Purdum v. Wolfe, No. C–13–04816, 2014 WL 171546 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 15, 2014) Kickstarter infringement dispute, which as a side note raises interesting questions of responsibility for third-party structuring of tools.  Plaintiffs Barrett Purdum, Michael Armenta, and Michael Maher are … Continue reading →

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No records, no class action against Chipotle

Posted on January 21, 2014 by rtushnet

Hernandez v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., 12-cv-05543 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 2, 2013) The court rejected a proposed class action based on Chipotle’s alleged practice of serving conventionally raised meats on occasions when “naturally raised” meats were not available, though it … Continue reading →

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