Category Archives: Uncategorized

Hand in glove: ICE and trademark seizures

Posted on October 21, 2015 by rtushnet

More tidbits from my FOIA suit against ICE, including the revelation that they did indeed record at least one seizure of disparaging items, “Baltimore sucks” T-shirts.  (Other entries are suggestive, but too unclear to be sure what was seized without … Continue reading →

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Transformative works of the day

Posted on October 20, 2015 by rtushnet

R. Sumantri MS, from Indonesia, paints DC and Marvel superheroes juxtaposed with Asian folk and mythological characters. Here: Guan Gong vs. Iron Man, Nezha vs. Batman, and Guan Gong vs. Captain America from his China New Supreme Power series. Discovered … Continue reading →

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Right of Publicity Workshop Part 3

Posted on October 17, 2015 by rtushnet

Relationship to Copyright law/Relationship to Trademark law    Dryer v. NFL will be argued to the 8th Cir. challenged by retired NFL players to continued airing of programs recounting their exploits in actual games.  Survived a motion to dismiss.  After … Continue reading →

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Right of publicity workshop part 2

Posted on October 17, 2015 by rtushnet

How is the “right” to be reconciled with the First Amendment?     Could be part of the vast universe of communication that isn’t protected speech: Fred Schauer’s writing.  Contracts aren’t protected by 1A, etc.  Could just be market behavior. That … Continue reading →

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Right of publicity workshop at Yale

Posted on October 17, 2015 by rtushnet

Right of Publicity Workshop Yale Law School Information Society Project Abrams Institute for Freedom of Expression   Chatham House rules apparently allow me to disclose my own participation, but not that of others, so I’ll just take some notes on … Continue reading →

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Factor four: the most interesting part of the Google Books decision

Posted on October 16, 2015 by rtushnet

Authors Guild v. Google, Inc., No. 13-4829-cv (2d Cir. Oct. 16, 2015) Today’s Google Books decision breaks no new ground in terms of transformativeness.  It is perhaps most interesting in its finessing of the question “what is a derivative work?” … Continue reading →

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Dastar bars website trade dress claim that just repeats copyright allegations

Posted on October 16, 2015 by rtushnet

Touchpoint Communications, LLC v. DentalFone, LLC, No. 15-cv-05240 (W.D. Wash. Oct. 9, 2015)   Touchpoint and DentalFone are Internet dental marketing companies.  Touchpoint filed a declaratory judgment action seeking a judgment of noninfringement of DentalFone’s copyrights and trade dress/lack of … Continue reading →

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A technicolor rainbow of a case: Lisa Frank sues craft company for selling crafts

Posted on October 15, 2015 by rtushnet

Lisa Frank, Inc. v. Orb Factory Ltd., No. 15-cv-00433 (D. Az. filed Sept. 16, 2015) Lisa Frank makes tchotchkes, supplies for kids, paper goods, and the like.  Lisa Frank’s claimed trade dress is   the combination of some or all … Continue reading →

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CFP: Intermediary liability

Posted on October 13, 2015 by rtushnet

Intermediary Liability: How to Kill Content on the Internet. Thanks to statutes like Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and even the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, intermediaries in the United States are at least theoretically shielded from liability for … Continue reading →

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Right of publicity question of the day, Will Ferrell edition

Posted on October 13, 2015 by rtushnet

Here is a story about a Will Ferrell-themed bar.  Given New York’s very limited statutory right of publicity, and the fact that the menu items don’t seem to use the actor’s name, does the display of photos of him in the … Continue reading →

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