Author Archives: rtushnet

court enjoins lawyer from using exaggerated/distorted animation of misfiring gun in advertising

Posted on March 31, 2026 by rtushnet

Sig Sauer, Inc. v. Jeffrey S. Bagnell, Esq., LLC, No. 3:22-cv-00885 (VAB), 2026 WL 867181 (D. Conn. Mar. 20, 2026) Bagnell, a lawyer, commissioned a graphics company to create an animation purporting to show how a P320 pistol could misfire … Continue reading →

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Court enjoins T-Mobile’s “Save over $1000” campaign for comparing apples to oranges

Posted on March 31, 2026 by rtushnet

 Cellco Partnership v. T-Mobile USA Inc., 2026 WL 867129, No. 26-cv-0972 (LAK) (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 30, 2026) Verizon sued T-Mobile for false advertising and the court granted a preliminary injunction, finding that T-Mobile’s claims that switchers could “Save Over $1,000” were … Continue reading →

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WIPIP Panel 6: Design and Brand; Protectable Subject Matter; Copyright Theory and Doctrine II

Posted on February 28, 2026 by rtushnet

A Pantone Prerogative: Defining the Privilege to Standardize Color (Felicia Caponigri) Color standards have been around for a long time. Pantone developed standards and uses its system to promote the colors; registration for the matching system and the color chip. … Continue reading →

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WIPIP Panel 5: Trademark Doctrine

Posted on February 28, 2026 by rtushnet

 The Arbitrary Myth (Dustin Marlan) Connecting the Abercrombie critique literature w/some of the critical/cultural appropriation theory. Judge Friendly says: it need hardly be added that fanciful and arbitrary terms enjoy the protection accorded to suggestive terms. Catachresis: strained metaphor—arbitrary marks … Continue reading →

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WIPIP Panel 4: Emerging Technologies

Posted on February 27, 2026 by rtushnet

The European Accent of U.S. Digital Platform Speech (Brian Downing) We are often told that self-governance by corporate platforms is better than government control, but his experience was that freedom of action wasn’t free. US gov’t defers to platforms, but … Continue reading →

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“shipping protection fee” providing no extra protection was plausibly misleading drip pricing

Posted on February 27, 2026 by rtushnet

DeMarco v. DNVB, Inc. (Thursday Boot Co.), No. 25-CV-3076 (GHW) (RFT), 2025 WL 4378637 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 5, 2025) (R&R) Thursday Boot sells shoes, apparel, handbags, and accessories on its website, which offers “free shipping and returns in the U. S.” … Continue reading →

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WIPIP Panel 3: Deepfakes, Celebrities, and Movies

Posted on February 27, 2026 by rtushnet

A Digital Right of Publicity for the AI World (Emma Perot) Prehistory: ROP covers lookalikes, soundalikes, video game avatars (at least for realism). Persona as training data. Theories of personality: users informed about use; many social media companies do not … Continue reading →

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WIPIP Panel 2: Copyright and Culture

Posted on February 27, 2026 by rtushnet

  Copyright’s Invisible Hand: Subsidizing America’s Cultural Institutions (Guy Rub) © sometimes requires payment from more intensive users, sometimes not. Exclusive rights: unbundling—buy a book to read v. buy a book to adapt to movie. Fair use is sometimes bundling: … Continue reading →

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WIPIP, BU Panel 1: Trademark Theory and Practice

Posted on February 27, 2026 by rtushnet

Trademarks, Functionality, and Competition (Glynn Lunney)          Came in late; 3d Circuit is not a good circuit for trade dress (11.8% success for claimants, almost always on functionality (71% of wins)). 5th Circuit at the other end—50% … Continue reading →

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Deadly automatic litterbox might be falsely advertised as “safe”

Posted on February 25, 2026 by rtushnet

Gomez v. PetPivot, Inc., 2026 WL 507708, No. 25-cv-5622 (LJL) (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 24, 2026) “Safe” is the kind of word that is general enough that it might be puffery, but courts think that safety is important enough that they sometimes … Continue reading →

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