Tag Archives: preemption

California claims against false use of “organic” not preempted

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

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

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

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

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

FDLI symposium: special topics

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

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Right of Publicity Workshop Part 3

Relationship to Copyright law/Relationship to Trademark law    Dryer v. NFL will be argued to the 8th Cir. challenged by retired NFL players to continued airing of programs recounting their exploits in actual games.  Survived a motion to dismiss.  After … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Right of publicity workshop at Yale

Right of Publicity Workshop Yale Law School Information Society Project Abrams Institute for Freedom of Expression   Chatham House rules apparently allow me to disclose my own participation, but not that of others, so I’ll just take some notes on … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dastar bars website trade dress claim that just repeats copyright allegations

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

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Don’t send misappropriation to do copyright’s job

Alaskasland.com, LLC v. Cross, No. S­15270 (Alaska Sept. 25, 2015)   A realtor group listed property adjacent to a neighboring subdivision, Susitna Shores, using three photos taken from the subdivision’s marketing materials, including one showing the subdivision’s stylized entrance sign.  … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Consumers can’t bring the claim that Pom could against Minute Maid

Stansfield v. Minute Maid Co., 2015 WL 4873685, No. 4:14cv290 (N.D. Fla. Aug. 13, 2015)   The court kicked out consumer protection claims based on the same falsity alleged in Pom Wonderful v. Coca-Cola, on the ground that they were … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Copyright infringement is channeled into (c), not state or Lanham Act claims

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

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

IPSC: Other IP

Other IP  [Insert wry commentary about “fringe” fields like advertising law]   Sarah Burstein, The University of Oklahoma College of Law Reviving Ornamentality    Fed. Cir. killed the doctrine.  Statute says new, original, and ornamental designs can get a design … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment