Author Archives: rtushnet

two Zillow false advertising cases, divergent outcomes

Posted on September 13, 2021 by rtushnet

REX – Real Estate Exchange Inc. v. Zillow Inc., No. C21-312 TSZ, 2021 WL 3930694 (W.D. Wash. Sept. 2, 2021) Rex sued Zillow and the National Association of Realtors for antitrust and false advertising violations. Surprisingly, the antitrust claims survive, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“tested” can misleadingly imply high performance on test

Posted on September 13, 2021 by rtushnet

Carder v. Graco Children’s Products, Inc., — F.Supp.3d —-, 2021 WL 3909953, No. 2:20-CV-00137-LMM (N.D. Ga. Aug. 31, 2021) Plaintiffs from fifteen states alleged that Graco made false and misleading representations about two models of children’s car seats, specifically marketing … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Reading list: The Confusion Test in European Trade Mark Law

Posted on September 13, 2021 by rtushnet

Ilanah Fhima & Dev S. Gangjee, The Confusion Test in European Trade Mark Law (2019) A very helpful overview. From a US perspective, offers real insights into how a system of registration primacy differs from a system of use primacy. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

tortious interference claim from false advertising survives, but why bother?

Posted on September 10, 2021 by rtushnet

Logistick, Inc. v. AB Airbags, Inc., — F.Supp.3d —-, 2021 WL 2433944, No. 3:21-cv-00151-BEN-MDD (S.D. Cal. Jun. 15, 2021) Logistick sells disposable load bars which are used to secure cargo freight during transport. AB allegedly began advertising for a similar … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

expert admissibility, literal falsity receive close review in drug disposal case

Posted on September 10, 2021 by rtushnet

In re C2R Global Manufacturing, Inc., No. 18-30182-beh, 2021 WL 1347193 (E.D. Wis. Bkrcy. Mar. 30, 2021) Previous denial of injunctive relief. There are a number of opinions in this case—the judge spent time on this rather unusual false advertising … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

slack fill and “healthy” claims unite in one case

Posted on September 10, 2021 by rtushnet

Stewart v. Kodiak Cakes, LLC, 2021 WL 1698695, No. 19-cv-2454-MMA (MSB) (S.D. Cal. Apr. 29, 2021) Plaintiffs alleged that Kodiak was liable for “(1) non-functional slack fill and (2) deceptive marketing practices” for its pancake and waffle mixes. Defendant misleadingly … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

getting friends to leave fake reviews isn’t enough for direct liability

Posted on September 10, 2021 by rtushnet

BHRS Gp., LLC v. Brio Water Technol. Inc., 2020 WL 9422352, No. 2:20-CV-07652-JWH-JCx (C.D. Cal. Dec. 14, 2020) BHRS, which makes water cooler products, sued its competitor Brio for state and federal false advertising and trade libel.  BHRS alleged that … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

IIC decision also says some things about false advertising: materiality may not be presumed from literal falsity

Posted on September 9, 2021 by rtushnet

Select Comfort Corp. v. Baxter; 996 F.3d 925 (8th Cir. 2021) You probably know that the court of appeals sent this case back for retrial on an initial interest confusion theory. I won’t say much about that, though I do … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Journalism about investment isn’t commercial speech

Posted on September 9, 2021 by rtushnet

Crash Proof Retirement, LLC v. Price, 2021 WL 1387501, No. 2:20-cv-05906-JDW (E.D. Pa. Apr. 13, 2021) Competing in the marketplace of ideas can ground a defamation claim, but not a false advertising claim. Crash Proof, which offers retirement planning counseling, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Microsoft dodges some false advertising claims based on its security offerings

Posted on September 9, 2021 by rtushnet

Tocmail Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., 2020 WL 9210739, No. 20-60416-CIV-SMITH (S.D. Fla. Nov. 6, 2020) From the deepest depths of backlog: Tocmail alleged that Microsoft’s deceptive promotions of its cyber-security service, Safe Links, constituted false advertising and contributory false advertising. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment