Category Archives: Uncategorized

competitor has standing to challenge use of certification mark

Savvy Rest, Inc. v. Sleeping Organic, LLC, 2019 WL 1607585, No. 18CV00030 W.D. Va. Apr. 15, 2019) The parties compete in the market for mattresses and other bedding products. Savvy Rest alleged that Sleeping Organic violated the Lanham Act by … Continue reading

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“prevailing price” regs not unduly vague, but commercial speech doctrine may still defeat them

People v. Superior Court, — Cal.Rptr.3d —-, 2019 WL 1615288, No. B292416 (Ct. App. Apr. 16, 2019) The Los Angeles City Attorney asserted claims under California consumer protection law against the real parties in interest, including J.C. Penney, alleging that … Continue reading

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class action settlement can’t surrender state agency/CFPB’s rights to recover

Consumer Protection Division v. Linton, 2019 WL 1770524, No. 2609 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. Apr. 22, 2019) The court explains: The class action settlement at issue here involves vulnerable people who were poisoned by lead in their homes. Before they … Continue reading

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CLRA redress offer requiring waiver of claims can’t defeat consumer’s right to sue

Valdez v. Seidner-Miller, Inc., 33 Cal.App.5th 600 (2019) Valdez alleged that Seidner violated the CLRA, the UCL, and Civil Code section 16321 (requiring translation of certain contracts), and committed fraud in connection with Seidner’s lease of a vehicle to Valdez … Continue reading

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Cable service provider engaged in reverse passing off of DirecTV signal (and other bad acts)

Northeast Cable Televis., LLC v. DirecTV, LLC, 2019 WL 1767066, No. 18CV2559 (N.D. Ohio Apr. 22, 2019) DirecTV’s satellite television service provides hundreds of channels. For certain kinds of multiple-unit properties (usually a hotel or motel, hospital, college dormitory, or … Continue reading

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Allegations of patent infringement could be defamatory but not false advertising

GeigTech East Bay LLC v. Lutron Electron. Co., 2019 WL 1768965, No. 18 Civ. 5290 (CM) (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 4, 2019) “What started as a garden-variety intellectual property dispute has morphed into something less conventional.” GeigTech initially sued Lutron, alleging that … Continue reading

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advertisers’ claim against Google for insufficient credits for bad clicks continues

Adtrader, Inc. v. Google LLC, 2019 WL 1767206, No. 17-cv-07082-BLF (N.D. Cal. Apr. 22, 2019) Advertisers buy ad space on Google’s AdX, while website publishers (or network partner managers (NPMs) who act for them) use AdX to sell ad space … Continue reading

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Shades of the Boston Marathon cases

Seen at the airport: 43(a) violation? Sign: Run Boston Run!  Shirt: Runner with “26.2 Boston” from Blogger http://bit.ly/2DqXEow

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Copyright Office event on copyright & sports

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TMSR, part 3

Session 3: Defining Marks in Trademark Law vs. Defining Subject Matter in Adjacent Areas of IP In formulating rules about defining marks in trademark law, what (if anything) can be learned from the longstanding debate about defining pictorial, graphic, and … Continue reading

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