Category Archives: first amendment

BBB claims about its own ratings process not protected by First Amendment

Posted on July 22, 2015 by rtushnet

Caribbean Cruise Line, Inc. v. Better Business Bureau of Palm Beach County, Inc., No. 4D13-3916 (Fla. Ct. App. June 3, 2015) Expect more detailed analysis from Ann Lipton soon.   CC received an F grade from BBB and sued for … Continue reading →

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

Reading list: Christine Jolls on visual disclosures

Posted on July 7, 2015 by rtushnet

Christine Jolls, Debiasing Through Law and the First Amendment, 67 Stan. L. Rev. 1411 (2015): Law often compels the disclosure of information in particular—and, increasingly today, in visual—forms. Some judges conclude that such modern disclosure requirements break with the First … Continue reading →

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Can you patent the Barbra Streisand effect?

Posted on June 2, 2015 by rtushnet

Lawyer sues EFF over its stupid patent of the month award. http://tushnet.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

Posted in defamation, first amendment, patents | Leave a comment

I intervene in SanMedica v. Amazon to disclose clickthroughs

Posted on May 26, 2015 by rtushnet

Kind of a busy day.  With the invaluable help of Public Citizen, I filed a motion to intervene and unseal in the SanMedica case, in which the court redacted the number of clickthroughs received by Amazon as a result of its … Continue reading →

Posted in first amendment, my lawsuits, trademark | 1 Comment

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 →

Posted in commercial speech, dilution, first amendment, trademark | Leave a comment

Garcia v. Google reversed; many sigh in relief

Posted on May 19, 2015 by rtushnet

Garcia v. Google, Inc., No. 12-57302, — F.3d – (9th Cir. May 18, 2105) (en banc)   Judge McKeown wrote the majority opinion. Garcia was fooled into taking part in a movie that turned out to be the awful Innocence … Continue reading →

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NPR on The Slants, with appearance by me

Posted on May 9, 2015 by rtushnet

Link to the show is here. http://tushnet.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

Posted in first amendment, trademark | Leave a comment

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 →

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

2(a) avoids First Amendment challenge, for now

Posted on April 21, 2015 by rtushnet

In re Tam, — F.3d –,  No. 2014-1203 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 20, 2015)   The Federal Circuit affirmed the refusal to register THE SLANTS for entertainment (a band) because it was disparaging, with “additional views” from one judge suggesting that … 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