Category Archives: dastar

Dastar and design patent

Posted on September 12, 2014 by rtushnet

Deckers Outdoor Corp. v. J.C. Penney Co., No. 2:14-cv-02565 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 8, 2014) This is going to sound bigger than it is: the court grants JCP’s motion to dismiss a false designation of origin claim under Dastar because JCP, … Continue reading →

Posted in california, dastar, design patent, preemption, trademark | Leave a comment

Dastar-ing about architecture: 7th Circuit reverses dismissal of credit claim

Posted on August 22, 2014 by rtushnet

M. Arthur Gensler Jr. & Associates, Inc. v. Strabala, No. 12-2256 (7th Cir. Aug. 21, 2014) Previous coverage, wherein I was not enthusiastic about the district court decision finding that there couldn’t be a §43(a) claim based on an allegedly … Continue reading →

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Dastar and karaoke

Posted on August 21, 2014 by rtushnet

Slep-Tone Entertainment Corp. v. America’s Bar & Grill, LLC, No. 13 C 8526, 2014 WL 4057442 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 15, 2014) Slep-Tone sued defendants for violations of the Lanham Act.  Slep-Tone makes karaoke accompaniment tracks sold under the trademark “SOUND … Continue reading →

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As pure as New York snow: Bette Davis as icon and as mark

Posted on August 19, 2014 by rtushnet

Erickson Beamon Ltd. v. CMG Worldwide, Inc., No. 12 Civ. 5105, 2014 WL 3950897 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 13, 2014) EB sought a declaratory judgment of non-infringement of trademark and rights of publicity based on its “Bette Davis Eyes” jewelry collection, launched … Continue reading →

Posted in dastar, dilution, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, trademark | Leave a comment

court enjoins company’s claim to be another company’s founder

Posted on July 2, 2014 by rtushnet

Galvotec Alloys, Inc. v. Gaus Anodes Intern., LLC, 2014 WL 2918581, No. 7:13–CV–664 (S.D. Tex. June 26, 2014) Galvotec was founded in 1984 by Rogelio Garza and brothers Luis Miguel and Ramon Galvan. Gaus was founded in 2005 by a … Continue reading →

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Copyright infringement doesn’t violate the Lanham Act

Posted on March 18, 2014 by rtushnet

Masck v. Sports Illustrated, No. 13-10226 (E.D. Mich. Mar. 10, 2014) Previous discussion, in which I got exercised about the court’s misapplication of Dastar, herein corrected.  Masck took an “iconic” photo of defendant Desmond Howard, running for a touchdown during … Continue reading →

Posted in damages, dastar, dmca, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, trademark | Leave a comment

Does a copyright notice serve as an endorsement?

Posted on March 11, 2014 by rtushnet

Basquiat Estate v. Christie’s, via the Trademark Blog. Plaintiffs allege ownership of the mark BASQUIAT and copyrights in Jean-Michel Basquiat’s artwork. The Estate formed an Authentication Committee to opine on the authenticity of works attributed to him. A collector who … Continue reading →

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Dastar misunderstanding watch

Posted on February 4, 2014 by rtushnet

Fergon Architects LLC v. Oakley Home Builders, Inc., 2014 WL 340035, No. 13 C 6019 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 30, 2014) (magistrate judge) Fergon sued Oakley for copyright infringement for exceeding its license to use Fergon’s architectural works.  The contract allegedly … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, dastar, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, preemption, trademark | Leave a comment

Guest post: Betsy Rosenblatt on the case of Sherlock Holmes’ two lives

Posted on January 6, 2014 by rtushnet

Klinger v. Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd., No. 13-cv-01226 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 23, 2013)   I’m going to turn this over to Betsy Rosenblatt, current colleague/head of the legal committee of the Organization for Transformative Works and Assistant Professor of Law/Director, Center … Continue reading →

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is political use of 9/11 images fair use?

Posted on January 6, 2014 by rtushnet

North Jersey Media Group Inc. v. SarahPAC, No. 13-cv-06494 S.D.N.Y. filed Oct.7, 2013 Sarah Palin used a photo of firefighters raising a flag at Ground Zero on 9/11 in her 2013 Facebook post labeled “Never forget.”  She was sued for … Continue reading →

Posted in cmi, dastar, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post | Leave a comment