Tag Archives: trademark

Robinhood’s newsletter isn’t commercial advertising

Posted on August 31, 2021 by rtushnet

Jackson v. Robinhood Markets, Inc., 2021 WL 2435307, No. 21-cv-02304-LB (N.D. Cal. Jun. 15, 2021) Jackson, known professionally as Ice Cube, sued after Robinhood used his image and a paraphrase of a line from his song “Check Yo Self” to … Continue reading →

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affiliation claim true when sent out to consumers can’t be false endorsement

Posted on August 26, 2021 by rtushnet

Klayman v. Judicial Watch, Inc., — F.4th —-, 2021 WL 3233953, No. 19-7105 (D.C. Cir. 2021) Larry Klayman founded and ran the conservative activist group Judicial Watch, but the relationship ended badly in 2003. “During the fifteen years of ensuing … Continue reading →

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“Natural” trade name can mislead consumers, court holds

Posted on August 24, 2021 by rtushnet

Early v. Henry Thayer Co., 2021 WL 3089025, No. 4:20-CV-1678 RLW (E.D. Mo. Jul. 22, 2021) Thayer markets THAYERS Natural Remedies, which are sold in drug stores, grocery stores, and other retail stores nationwide. Early sued Thayer for violations of … Continue reading →

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Overreaching and delay lead to defeat of TM owner’s claims

Posted on August 18, 2021 by rtushnet

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Inc. v. Rushmore Photo & Gifts, Inc., 2021 WL 1176242, No. CIV. 11-5052-JLV (D.S.D. Mar. 29, 2021) This is part of a long-running trademark case, now over 10 years old. After a jury verdict for SMRI and … Continue reading →

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Alleging sponsorship/endorsement confusion can’t defeat clear nominative fair use

Posted on August 16, 2021 by rtushnet

Pasadena Tournament of Roses Ass’n v. City of Pasadena, 2021 WL 3553499, No. 2:21-CV-01051-AB-JEMx (C.D. Cal. Jul. 12, 2021) For over a century, PTRA has hosted the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game as part of its annual New Year’s … Continue reading →

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Lexmark applies to false endorsement, defeats noncelebrity claim (for now)

Posted on August 12, 2021 by rtushnet

Abrahams v. Simplify Compliance, LLC, 2021 WL 1197732, No. 19-3009 (RDM) (D.D.C. Mar. 30, 2021) From 1985 to 2003, Plaintiff Daniel Abrahams contracted with the Thompson Publishing Group (“TPG”) to author a series of publications related to the Fair Labor … Continue reading →

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IPSC: Copyright and Trademark

Posted on August 12, 2021 by rtushnet

Panel 17 – Copyright Substantial Similarity Crossprogrammed with my panel; I came here first because I had more experience with the first paper in the other panel. Clark D. Asay, An Empirical Study of Copyright Law’s Substantial Similarity Test 1005 … Continue reading →

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IPSC: Copyright & Trademark

Posted on August 4, 2021 by rtushnet

Panel 2 – Copyright Enforcement: Faye Fangfei Wang, Resolving Copyright-related Cases Over the Internet with the Assistance of Artificial  Intelligence in Europe Automated notice and takedown/Content ID with appeal mechanism as an example of how the new European rules are … Continue reading →

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Michael Jordan’s ROP claims against ads in the SI special issue on him

Posted on April 14, 2021 by rtushnet

 I just heard this discussed on a GALA (Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance, recommended for international updates) event, and fortuitously I’d decided to get my hands on a copy of the actual special issue. One thing I hadn’t realized from the … Continue reading →

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Recent reading: on brands and sumptuary codes

Posted on April 12, 2021 by rtushnet

Inspired by Kali Murray’s great comments at this past week’s Race and IP conference, some notes from recent reading: Virginia DeJohn Anderson, Creatures of Empire: How Domestic Animals Transformed Early America Relevant to TM and sumptuary laws (addressed in Barton Beebe’s … Continue reading →

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