Category Archives: commercial speech

Student athletes lose another right of publicity claim

Posted on June 11, 2015 by rtushnet

Marshall v. ESPN Inc., No. 14-01945 (M.D. Tenn. Jun. 4, 2015)   Current and former student athletes who played NCAA football or basketball sued college conferences, networks, and licensors for violating their rights of publicity and foreclosing them from the … Continue reading →

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4th Circuit adopts Rogers, lifts injunction against disparaging reference to NAACP

Posted on May 21, 2015 by rtushnet

Radiance Foundation, Inc. v. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, No. 14-1568 (4th Cir. May 19, 2015)   The Radiance Foundation published an article online entitled “NAACP: National Association for the Abortion of Colored People” that criticized the … Continue reading →

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District court largely upholds mandatory GE disclosures

Posted on May 4, 2015 by rtushnet

Grocery Manufacturers Assoc. v. Sorrell, 2015 WL 1931142, No. 5:14–cv–117 (D. Vt. Apr. 27, 2015)   Relax, we’ll be here for a while.   Vermont passed a law, Act 120, requiring that manufacturers and retailers identify whether raw and processed … Continue reading →

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ANA conference: native advertising

Posted on April 3, 2015 by rtushnet

The Natives Are Restless: Legal Perspectives On Native Advertising   John P. Feldman, Partner, Reed Smith LLP: ads have been considered deceptive for not disclosing they are ads/source.  Native ads = sponsored content formatted to fit seamlessly into modern media. … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, commercial speech, conferences, disclosures, first amendment, ftc, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post | Leave a comment

And another commercial advertising or promotion case, no competition required

Posted on March 20, 2015 by rtushnet

Educational Impact, Inc. v. Danielson, No. 14–937, 2015 WL 381332 (D.N.J. Jan. 28, 2015)   EI sued Charlotte Danielson and other entities for breach of contract, violations of the Lanham Act, unfair competition, tortious interference, and unjust enrichment.  Per the … Continue reading →

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commercial advertising or promotion post-Lexmark

Posted on March 20, 2015 by rtushnet

Tobinick v. Novella, No. 9:14–CV–80781, 2015 WL 1191267 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 16, 2015)   Steven Novella wrote two articles criticizing the practice of Edward Tobinick, “a doctor who provides medical treatment to patients with ‘unmet medical needs’ via two institutes—‘Edward … Continue reading →

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art collector lacks remedy against foundation’s claim of inauthenticity

Posted on March 11, 2015 by rtushnet

Bilinski v. Keith Haring Foundation, Inc., 2015 WL 996423, No. 14cv1085 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 6, 2015)   Keith Haring was a “prolific artist and social activist whose work responded to the New York City street culture of the 1980s.”  Plaintiffs alleged … Continue reading →

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Pregnancy clinic ads are commercial speech

Posted on March 2, 2015 by rtushnet

First Resort, Inc. v. Herrera, No. C 11-5534 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 20, 2015)      The court rejected a facial challenge to San Francisco’s Pregnancy Information Disclosure and Protection Ordinance, “aimed at ensuring that indigent women facing unexpected pregnancies are not … Continue reading →

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Court misapplies FTDA, not TDRA, to political speech

Posted on March 2, 2015 by rtushnet

Hershey Co. v. Friends of Steve Hershey, 2015 WL 795841, No. WDQ–14–1825. (D. Md. Feb. 24, 2015)   Disappointing ruling on political speech and infringement now supplemented by flat-out wrong ruling on dilution.  Hershey sued the Friends of Steve Hershey … Continue reading →

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Affiliates are advertiser’s agents

Posted on January 5, 2015 by rtushnet

American Bullion, Inc. v. Regal Assets, LLC, 2014 WL 7404597, No. CV 14–01873 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 30, 2014)   Regal sought reconsideration of the court’s grant of a preliminary injunction on false advertising claims, which was granted in part.  American … Continue reading →

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