Tag Archives: dastar

I don’t go into yours, you don’t go into mine: copyright preempts Dirty Dancing trademark claim

Posted on March 15, 2016 by rtushnet

I don’t go into yours, you don’t go into mine: copyright preempts Dirty Dancing trademark claim   Lions Gate Ent. Inc. v. TD Ameritrade Servs. Co., No. cv 15-05024  (C.D. Cal. Mar. 14, 2016)   Lions Gate sued TD for … Continue reading →

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Court mashes up Dastar and commercial speech doctrine to protect book from Lanham Act

Posted on December 7, 2015 by rtushnet

Keel v. Axelrod, No. 15-1507, 2015 WL 7733973 (E.D. Pa. Dec. 1, 2015)   Political operative David Axelrod wrote a book, Believer: My Forty Years in Politics. Frank Keel, a political and media consultant, sued under state and federal law … 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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Copyright infringement is channeled into (c), not state or Lanham Act claims

Posted on August 19, 2015 by rtushnet

Quadratec, Inc. v. Turn 5, Inc., 2015 WL 4876314, No. 13–6384 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 13, 2015)   The parties compete to sell removable soft tops and other aftermarket parts and accessories for Jeep vehicles. Quadratec alleged that it invests substantial … Continue reading →

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Another circuit agrees that Dastar-barred claims can’t be repled as false advertising

Posted on August 7, 2015 by rtushnet

Kehoe Component Sales Inc. v. Best Lighting Products, Inc., — F.3d —-, No. 14–3347, 2015 WL 4635824 (6th Cir. Aug. 5, 2015)   Best asked Kehoe (“Pace”) to make specialized lighting products for Best.  After Pace made enough units to … Continue reading →

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Photo finish: allegedly unauthorized (c) sublicensing isn’t false designation of origin

Posted on August 3, 2015 by rtushnet

Photographic Illustrators Corp. v. Orgill, Inc., 2015 WL 4572296, No. 14-11818 (D. Mass. July 29, 2015)   PIC specializes in commercial photography.  It took photos of lighting fixtures manufactured by nonparty OSI.  Defendants Orgill and Farm & City Supply distribute … Continue reading →

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What claims work when D allegedly drives P down in Google rank through copying?

Posted on July 17, 2015 by rtushnet

Ryoo Dental, Inc. v. Han, 2015 WL 4208580, No. 15–308 (C.D. Cal. Jul. 9, 2015)   Ryoo Dental, a dental practice, had a website to promote its services, and allegedly spent considerable sums on “search engine optimization fees, photographing, editing, … Continue reading →

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Dastar-barred claims can’t be repled as false advertising claims

Posted on July 14, 2015 by rtushnet

Friedman v. Zimmer, No. 15-502 (C.D. Cal. Jul. 10, 2015)   Richard Friedman sued Hans Zimmer and others, alleging that the score to 12 Years a Slave infringed his copyright to a composition, To Our Fallen.  Friedman also alleged violation … 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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