Tag Archives: preemption

Functionality: it’s in the bag

Posted on June 16, 2016 by rtushnet

Schutte Bagclosures Inc. v. Kwik Lok Corp., No. 12-cv-5541 (S.D.N.Y. Jun. 14, 2016)   Following up from previous post on an earlier ruling. (Thanks to an eagle-eyed correspondent who probably knows way more than anyone else wants to know about … Continue reading →

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TM Scholars’ Roundtable, part one

Posted on June 9, 2016 by rtushnet

Trademark Scholars’ Roundtable, Boston University   Session 1:  Product Design Protection and Trademark First Principles Given what we know about the costs and benefits of using trademark/unfair competition law to protect product design, is the whole enterprise worth the candle?  … Continue reading →

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Flagging supplement case revived

Posted on April 22, 2016 by rtushnet

ThermoLife Intern., LLC v. Gaspari Nutrition Inc., — Fed.Appx. —-, 2016 WL 1460171, No. 14–15180 (9th Cir.  Apr. 14, 2016)   ThermoLife sued Gaspari (GNI) false advertising under the Lanham Act and unfair competition under Arizona common law, based on … Continue reading →

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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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8th Circuit finds copyright preemption of publicity claim

Posted on February 26, 2016 by rtushnet

Dryer v. National Football League, No. 14-3428 (8th Cir. Feb. 26, 2016)   I blogged about the district court ruling and wrote an amicus brief in the appeal; now the 8th Circuit affirms the rejection of football players’ right of … Continue reading →

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Court rejects Zippo jurisdiction test but allows suit over alleged copying

Posted on January 25, 2016 by rtushnet

Kindig It Design, Inc. v. Creative Controls, Inc., — F. Supp. 3d —-, 2016 WL 247574,  No. 2:14-cv-00867 (D. Utah Jan. 20, 2016)   Mostly a personal jurisdiction ruling in this copyright/patent infringement/false advertising case brought by Kindig, which customizes … Continue reading →

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Puerto Rico registration can’t constitutionally extend elsewhere

Posted on December 17, 2015 by rtushnet

Puerto Rico Coffee Roasters LLC v. Pan American Grain Manufacturing Co., Inc., 2015 WL 8551102, No. 3:15–CV–02099 (D.P.R. Dec. 11, 2015)   P.R. Coffee Roasters, which sells “Café Rico” coffee in P.R., sued Pan American for trademark infringement, false advertising, … Continue reading →

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California claims against false use of “organic” not preempted

Posted on December 7, 2015 by rtushnet

Quesada v. Herb Thyme Farms, Inc., 2015 WL 7770635, No. S216305 (Cal. S.Ct. Dec. 3, 2015)   Labels matter to consumers, and misrepresentations on labels hurt consumers in their search for information and also disadvantage honest producers attempting to differentiate … Continue reading →

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Pairing map with EPA mileage claims can misrepresent real-world mileage

Posted on November 30, 2015 by rtushnet

Kim v. General Motors, LLC, 99 F. Supp. 3d 1096 (C.D. Cal. 2015)   Kim sued GM for misleadingly advertising EPA estimated mileage figures and numbers derived from these figures as “actual, expected mileage under normal, real world driving conditions.” … Continue reading →

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FDLI symposium: special topics

Posted on October 30, 2015 by rtushnet

Special Topics FDA Regulation of Genomic Testing and the First Amendment Barbara Evans, Professor, University of Houston Law Center   Of companies in clinical sequencing industry: 10 of 68 do sequencing only; 21 of 68 annotation and interpretation only. That … Continue reading →

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