Tag Archives: false advertising

Oklahoma’s Indian arts & crafts consumer protection law preempted by federal law

Posted on April 1, 2019 by rtushnet

Fontenot v. Hunter, No. CIV-16-1339-G  (W.D. Okla. Mar. 28, 2019) Oklahoma’s American Indian Arts and Crafts Sales Act of 1974 was amended in 2016 to exclude from its definition of “American Indian” all persons but citizens or enrolled members of … Continue reading →

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making claims against counsel’s advice could be willful for disgorgement remedy

Posted on April 1, 2019 by rtushnet

Dependable Sales & Service, Inc. v. Truecar, Inc., No. 15-cv-1742 (PKC), 2019 WL 1407440 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 27, 2019) “Plaintiffs are 108 new-car dealerships located throughout the United States.”  TrueCar is a lead generator: online, it puts consumers in contact with … Continue reading →

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claim to cure addiction can be false advertising, as can hidden bias

Posted on March 25, 2019 by rtushnet

Grasshopper House, LLC v. Clean and Sober Media LLC, 2018 WL 6133710, No. 18-cv-00923-SVW-RAO (C.D. Cal. Oct. 18, 2018) This is a dispute about addiction treatment. Counterclaim plaintiff Cliffside alleged that counterdefendant Passages violated the Lanham Act (1) by maintaining … Continue reading →

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failure to show damages from literal falsity still allowed injunctive relief

Posted on March 21, 2019 by rtushnet

Nutrition Distribution LLC v. IronMag Labs, LLC, No. CV 15-8233-R, 2018 WL 6264986 (C.D. Cal. Nov. 16, 2018( “This is a false advertising case between two competitors in the business of selling fitness supplements.” IronMag allegedly unlawfully marketed its products … Continue reading →

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survey isn’t evidence of actual deception, court says in First Amendment case w/TM relevance

Posted on March 21, 2019 by rtushnet

Express Oil Change, L.L.C v. Mississippi Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers & Surveyors, No. 18-60144 (5th Cir. Feb. 19, 2019) Just as a matter of client advocacy, it is time for these First Amendment cases about the government’s near-inability … Continue reading →

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Apple’s misleading use of “episode” to describe promo clips could lead to liability (w/o its contract)

Posted on March 20, 2019 by rtushnet

Zaragoza v. Apple Inc., 2019 WL 1171161, No. 18-cv-06139-PJH (N.D. Cal. Mar. 13, 2019) Plaintiffs sued Apple for how it sells TV seasons on its iTunes store. The home page for each season “provides general information about the season and … Continue reading →

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commercial speech requirement defeats Lanham Act claim against competing news channel

Posted on March 20, 2019 by rtushnet

Tang v. Guo, No. 17 Civ. 9031 (JFK), 2019 WL 1207859 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 14, 2019) Plaintiff Tang is a political activist, author, and “one of the leading Chinese political dissidents.” He currently runs two pro-democracy nonprofit organizations and co-founded the … Continue reading →

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consumer successfully pleads falsity for “weight management” supplement

Posted on March 19, 2019 by rtushnet

Nathan v. Vitamin Shoppe, Inc., 2019 WL 1200554, No. 17-cv-01590-BEN-KSC (S.D. Cal. Mar. 12, 2019) Vitamin Shoppe sells Garcinia Cambogia Extract with a label promising “Weight Management” and “Appetite Control.” Nathan alleged that this was false and misleading, since GCE … Continue reading →

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supplement guide isn’t “advertising or promotion” under the Lanham Act, even w/undisclosed affiliation

Posted on March 15, 2019 by rtushnet

Ariix, LLC v. NutriSearch Corp., 2019 WL 1040135, No. 17CV320-LAB (BGS) (S.D. Cal. Mar. 5, 2019) Previous iteration discussed here. Arrix competes fiercely with Usana in the nutritional supplement market.  NutriSearch publishes the NutriSearch Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements, a … Continue reading →

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False advertising & TM fail as workarounds to 230 for software blocking

Posted on March 14, 2019 by rtushnet

PC Drivers Headquarters, LP v. Malwarebytes Inc., 2019 WL 1061739, No. 18-cv-05409-EJD (N.D. Cal. Mar. 6, 2019) PC Drivers alleged that Malwarebytes’ malware detection software wrongfully categorized PC Drivers’ “technical support” software as malware or a “Potentially Unwanted Program” (PUP), … Continue reading →

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