Author Archives: rtushnet

Insurer’s Lanham Act claim against broker proceeds through necessary implication theory

Posted on February 3, 2014 by rtushnet

New Jersey Physicians United Reciprocal Exchange v. Boynton & Boynton, Inc., No. 12–05610, 2014 WL 317179 (D.N.J. Jan. 28, 2014) Plaintiff NJ PURE sued defendants for false advertising under the Lanham Act, libel, slander, and violations of the NJ Insurance … Continue reading →

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Matthew Rimmer on fair use

Posted on February 3, 2014 by rtushnet

Matthew Rimmer takes a closer look at fair use, with reference to Naomi Novik’s testimony at the recent congressional hearing.  One reaction I’ve seen to the hearing, which is something I noticed at the time, is that there weren’t any … Continue reading →

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Sony data breach case stripped down but not gone

Posted on January 31, 2014 by rtushnet

In re Sony Gaming Networks And Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, No. 11md2258, 2014 WL 223677 (S.D. Cal. Jan. 21, 2014) Venkat Balasubramani’s take.  These consolidated cases arose from a criminal intrusion into Sony’s online gaming system. Plaintiffs alleged that … Continue reading →

Posted in california, consumer protection, contracts, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, standing | Leave a comment

Digital Copyright book: discount offer from publisher

Posted on January 31, 2014 by rtushnet

Description from the publisher: NEW 4TH EDITION Digital Copyright Law and Practice By Simon Stokes   The first edition of this book in 2002 was the first UK text to examine digital copyright together with related areas such as performers’ rights, … Continue reading →

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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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