Tag Archives: dastar

Copying before-and-after surgical photos can be false advertising despite Dastar

Posted on May 6, 2019 by rtushnet

Aesthetic Associates, Inc. v. Key West Institute for Plastic Surgery, Inc., No. 18-10059-CIV-MARTINEZ-OTAZO-REYES, 2019 WL 1922854 (S.D. Fla. Feb. 5, 2019) Plaintiff, whose principal is Dr. Portuese, sued defendants for copyright infringement, removal of CMI and false advertising in passing … Continue reading →

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Star Trekkin’ across the universe of fair use

Posted on March 21, 2019 by rtushnet

I like Star Trek better than Dr. Seuss, ok? Dr. Seuss Enters., L.P. v. ComicMix LLC, No. 16-CV-2779 JLS (BGS) (S.D. Cal. Mar. 12, 2019) DSE owns the copyrights to the works of Theodor S. Geisel, better known as Dr. … Continue reading →

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Selling copyright-infringing content isn’t trademark infringement or false advertising

Posted on February 25, 2019 by rtushnet

Joint Stock Co.“Channel One Russia Worldwide” v. Russian TV Co., 2019 WL 804506, No. 18 Civ. 2318 (LGS) (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 21, 2019) Channel One produces and broadcasts TV programming in the Russian Federation and its neighboring states, and granted third … Continue reading →

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In plagiarism/false attribution case, use was de minimis, fair, and protected by 1A

Posted on September 13, 2018 by rtushnet

Israel v. Strassberg, 2018 WL 4290394, No. 2:15-CV-741 (D. Utah. Sept. 7, 2018) Israel entered the Ph.D. Psychology program at the University of Utah, which required a master’s thesis, and Strassberg was her advisor. Israel’s master’s thesis turned on the … Continue reading →

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In plagiarism/false attribution case, use was de minimis, fair, and protected by 1A

Posted on September 13, 2018 by rtushnet

Israel v. Strassberg, 2018 WL 4290394, No. 2:15-CV-741 (D. Utah. Sept. 7, 2018) Israel entered the Ph.D. Psychology program at the University of Utah, which required a master’s thesis, and Strassberg was her advisor. Israel’s master’s thesis turned on the … Continue reading →

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Amicus seeking rehearing in Honey Badger case

Posted on August 28, 2018 by rtushnet

Mark Lemley, Mark McKenna, and I wrote a brief in support of rehearing.  Here’s hoping! from Blogger https://ift.tt/2BVQpGR

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Don’t send a trademark to do a copyright’s job, forestry edition

Posted on August 27, 2018 by rtushnet

Munro v. Lucy Activewear, Inc., No. 16-4483 (8th Cir. Aug. 9, 2018) Munro is an artist best known for his works “Field of Light” and “Forest of Light”—“large-scale, immersive, light-based installations, and exhibitions.” Lucy allegedly proposed a Lucy advertising and … Continue reading →

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The Ninth Circuit don’t care: successful Rogers defense reversed because plaintiff’s trademark is “artistic”

Posted on August 8, 2018 by rtushnet

Gordon v. Drape Creative, Inc., No. 16-56715 (9th Cir. Jul. 30, 2018) The Ninth Circuit routinely invents some new epicycle for trademark defenses; here it unfortunately mushes together Rogers and transformativeness (absent the word itself, replaced with “artistic”).  There are … Continue reading →

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False designation damages require proximate cause, dooming $250 million jury award

Posted on July 2, 2018 by rtushnet

ZeniMax Media Inc. v. Oculus VR LLC, No. 14-cv-01849 (N.D. Tex. Jun. 27, 2018) After trial of this case, the jury returned a verdict, finding in relevant part that defendants were liable for false designation of origin, basically about the … Continue reading →

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false advertising of copyright ownership of songs not preempted, court rules

Posted on November 16, 2017 by rtushnet

Carter v. Pallante, 256 F. Supp. 3d 791 (N.D. Ill. 2017) Tollie Carter sued, as relevant here, alleging that ARC, Fuji, and BMG infringed his copyrights in certain songs by selling unauthorized licenses to third parties, who in turn publicly … Continue reading →

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