Tag Archives: trademark

Southern Poverty Law Center’s “hate group” designation isn’t false advertising, false association

Posted on September 23, 2019 by rtushnet

Coral Ridge Ministries Media, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., No. 17cv566-MHT, 2019 WL 4547064 (M.D. Ala. Sept. 19, 2019) Coral Ridge sued the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Amazon.com, and the AmazonSmile Foundation. It alleged that, “because of its religious opposition … Continue reading →

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outdated website uses preserve TM infringement claim; false use of (R) doesn’t matter if it doesn’t cause harm

Posted on September 19, 2019 by rtushnet

Max Rack, Inc. v. Core Health & Fitness, LLC, 2019 WL 4451698, No. 16-cv-01015 (S.D. Ohio Sept. 17, 2019) Sloppy website maintenance likely denies defendant what otherwise would have been summary judgment victory on its ex-partner/now-competitor’s trademark infringement claims; meanwhile, … Continue reading →

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Does Rogers v. Grimaldi apply to false advertising claims?

Posted on September 4, 2019 by rtushnet

Dickinson v. Ryan Seacrest Enterprises, Inc., No. CV 18-2544-GW(JPRx), 2019 WL 3035090 (C.D. Cal. Mar. 26, 2019) This dispute over alleged supermodel Janice Dickinson’s appearance in a reality show is going up to the 9th Circuit.  Here, the district court … Continue reading →

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Dastar bars Lanham Act claims against unauthorized copying of photo for album cover

Posted on August 27, 2019 by rtushnet

Patterson v. Diggs, No. 18-CV-03142 (NSR), 2019 WL 3996493 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 23, 2019) Patterson is “an internationally known photographer” who took photos of “a nickel-silver casing created by nonparty Moroccan company Yahya Creation” without a written contract and without being … Continue reading →

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conventional pharmacy achieves limited relief against marijuana dispensary

Posted on August 27, 2019 by rtushnet

White Hall Pharmacy LLC v. Doctor’s Orders RX Inc, No. 19-cv-00366-KGB, 2019 WL 3939357 (E.D. Ark. Aug. 20, 2019) In this cannabis case, the court granted a preliminary injunction against a dispensary.  White Hall operates two pharmacies under the trade … Continue reading →

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District court makes up a new, worse test for TM claims against noncommercial speech

Posted on August 26, 2019 by rtushnet

Stouffer v. Nat’l Geographic Partners, LLC, 2019 WL 3935180, No. 18-cv-3127-WJM-SKC (D. Colo. Aug. 20, 2019) Stouffer, who (with his coplaintiff production company and his brother, who is not a plaintiff) produced the Wild America nature documentary series, sued National … Continue reading →

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Weight Watchers competitor wins dismissal of TM claims over “millennials are calling [it] Weight Watchers 2.0” ad

Posted on August 23, 2019 by rtushnet

Weight Watchers Int’l, Inc. v. Noom, Inc., 2019 WL 3890139, No. 18-cv-9637 (PKC) (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 19, 2019) Noom markets “weight-loss services based on nutrition and lifestyle advice dispensed through a mobile app.” It ran some ads that mentioned Weight Watchers. … Continue reading →

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Rogers question: could this art be explicitly misleading?

Posted on August 16, 2019 by rtushnet

One reason that Gordon v. Drape Creative is so concerning is that it reads “explicit” to be something other than explicit–maybe a version of falsity by necessary implication, but one that wants to pose transformativeness as the thing that avoids explicit … Continue reading →

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Bobby Brown’s failed ROP claim shows some of the cracks in the current ROP tests

Posted on August 15, 2019 by rtushnet

Brown v. Showtime Networks, Inc., No. 18 Civ. 11078 (CM) (JLC), 2019 BL 290214 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 02, 2019) Bobby Brown and the Estate of Bobbi Kristina Brown sued Showtime and the BBC (which got out of the case on jurisdictional … Continue reading →

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IPSC: Closing Plenary

Posted on August 10, 2019 by rtushnet

Stephanie Plamondon Bair, Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School Innovation’s Paradox Innovation begets innovation in a virtuous cycle … at least sometimes. Not all innovations are productive, which is fine; it’s trial and error. But some innovations may … Continue reading →

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