Category Archives: Uncategorized

Fandom documentary: coming July 9

Posted on June 23, 2015 by rtushnet

Donna Davies’ Fanarchy, a documentary for which I was interviewed on the law relating to fanworks, will be making its US television debut on EPIX, Thursday, July 9 at 8 pm ET.   Find out more: http://ift.tt/1GG0ctb and @FanarchyFilm. from … Continue reading →

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Reading list: advertising atypical results

Posted on June 22, 2015 by rtushnet

Ahmed E. Taha, Selling the Outlier, forthcoming in the Journal of Corporation Law. Via Public Citizen.   Advertisements for products ranging from weight-loss programs to mutual funds regularly feature the results of people who have used the product.  However, these … Continue reading →

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Next! Bonded leather maker loses false advertising claims against critics

Posted on June 19, 2015 by rtushnet

Design Resources, Inc. v. Leather Industries of America, — F.3d —-, 2015 WL 3775712 (4th Cir. June 18, 2015)   The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s summary judgment kicking out Lanham Act (and coordinate state) false advertising claims against … Continue reading →

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Thought for (pet) food: false advertising claims continue

Posted on June 19, 2015 by rtushnet

Blue Buffalo Company Ltd. v. Nestlé Purina Petcare Co., No. 15 CV 384, 2015 WL 3645262 (E.D. Mo. June 10, 2015)   Blue Buffalo sued Purina for false advertising ten of its pet food products under the Lanham Act, the … Continue reading →

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Court throws shade on TM claimant’s naked licensing

Posted on June 18, 2015 by rtushnet

Amscan Inc. v. Shutter Shades, Inc., No. 13-CV-1112 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 30, 3015)   Plaintiff Party City is a party goods retailer, and plaintiff Amscan makes party goods that it distributes to many retail outlets, including Party City.  Defendant Shutter Shades … Continue reading →

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All that is solid melts into air: photog loses claim against Nike Jordan photo and logo

Posted on June 18, 2015 by rtushnet

Rentmeester v. Nike, Inc., No. 3:15-cv-00113 (D. Ore. Jun. 15, 2015)   Rentmeester shot a photo of then-North Carolina student Michael Jordan for a 1984 issue of LIFE magazine.  Instead of a conventional gym shot, Rentmeester photographed Jordon outdoors, “on … Continue reading →

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Amicus brief in Slep-Tone about scope of Dastar

Posted on June 18, 2015 by rtushnet

Belatedly, I also participated in this amicus brief in Slep-Tone v. Canton Phoenix, now on appeal in the 9th Circuit, about an attempt to make an end run around lack of copyright ownership to assert trademark claims instead.  Thanks to … Continue reading →

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Amicus brief in TVEyes fair use case

Posted on June 18, 2015 by rtushnet

Chris Sprigman and I have written an amicus brief on behalf of certain IP professors in the Fox v. TVEyes case, in which the court is now considering several features of the TVEyes service as to which it reserved judgment … Continue reading →

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False patent marking not actionable under Lanham Act

Posted on June 17, 2015 by rtushnet

Leisure Concepts, Inc. v. California Home Spas, Inc., 2015 WL 3658190, No. 14–CV–388 (E.D. Wash. June 12, 2015)   Leisure and CHS compete in spa products, including spa cover lifters.  Leisure’s CoverMate I is protected by a patent, which it … Continue reading →

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“How can the academy best contribute to IP policy?”

Posted on June 16, 2015 by rtushnet

Moderator:      F. Scott Kieff, US International Trade Commission and George Washington University   Panelists:         Stephen Haber, Hoover Institution and Stanford University: Good policy making starts with good research. Literature on patenting lacks the serious empirical work that exists in other … Continue reading →

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