Tag Archives: trademark

FESC: The Supreme Court of Sign Review: Reed and Its Aftermath

Posted on May 1, 2016 by rtushnet

Urja Mittal      The Supreme Board of Sign Review: Reed and its Aftermath            Discussant: Enrique Armijo   Armijo says “reaffirmed” and Mittal says “redefined” 1A doctrine.  Facial question of whether the gov’t regulation is content-based; purpose has no role in that … Continue reading →

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FESC: Trademark Registration and Free Speech

Posted on April 30, 2016 by rtushnet

Rebecca Tushnet        TheFirst Amendment Walks Into a Bar: Trademark Registration and Free Speech   Presenter: Deven Desai: Latest Trojan Horse in 1A law. §2(a) allows denial of registration for disparaging marks.  This piece of TM law is a chance to … Continue reading →

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Further results from my FOIA case against ICE

Posted on April 8, 2016 by rtushnet

With the assistance of Georgetown’s Institute for Public Representation, I sued ICE to get it to answer some questions about why its representative claimed that “X sucks” merchandise would infringe X’s trademark rights, at least where X is a sports … Continue reading →

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“Excessive use of professional reviewers” might be false advertising

Posted on April 7, 2016 by rtushnet

Interlink Products Int’l, Inc. v. F & W Trading LLC, No. 15-1340, 2016 WL 1260713 (D.N.J. Mar. 31, 2016)   The parties compete to sell showerheads; Interlink claims rights in the marks AQUASPA, AQUASTORM, AQUADANCE, and SPIRALFLO for showerheads.  It … Continue reading →

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No mark, no false designation of origin is still the rule in NY

Posted on April 6, 2016 by rtushnet

Innovation Ventures, LLC v. Ultimate One Distributing Corp., 2016 WL 1317524, No. 12-CV-5354 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 31, 2016)   The Fourth Circuit’s Belmora decision did more than create protection for foreign marks in the US; it created a conflict with a … Continue reading →

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Smokeless, no fire: tobacco advertising & TM claims dismissed

Posted on March 29, 2016 by rtushnet

VMR Products, LLC v. V2H ApS, 2016 WL 1177834, No. 2:13–cv–7719 (C.D. Cal. Mar. 18, 2016)   VMR makes electronic cigarettes under the federally registered trademarks V2CIGS and V2. V2H ApS is a Danish tobacco company that makes a smokeless … Continue reading →

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Foreign marks may be protected in the US under 43(a), Fourth Circuit rules

Posted on March 25, 2016 by rtushnet

Belmora LLC v. Bayer Consumer Care AG, No. 15-1335 (4th Cir. Mar. 23, 2016)   Disclosure: I worked on the brief for Belmora, the loser in this appeal.    Bayer (BCC) registered FLANAX in Mexico for pharmaceutical products, analgesics, and … Continue reading →

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Inconclusive investigation isn’t enough to give knowledge for contributory TM infringement purposes

Posted on March 23, 2016 by rtushnet

Spy Phone Labs LLC v. Google Inc., No. 15-cv-03756-PSG, 2016 BL 86393 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 21, 2016)   SPL registered Spy Phone as a mark (for something, I presume), and submitted its Android app, SPY PHONE Phone Tracker, to Google.  … Continue reading →

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Another poster child for a national anti-SLAPP law: dilution claims against a critic

Posted on March 23, 2016 by rtushnet

Doctor’s Data, Inc. v. Barrett, 2016 WL 1086510, No. 10 C 03795 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 21, 2016)   Plaintiff DDI sued Dr. Stephen J. Barrett, M.D., the National Council Against Health Fraud, and Quackwatch for violating §43, as well as … Continue reading →

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One Haas impersonating another is TM infringement, false advertising

Posted on March 21, 2016 by rtushnet

Haas Door Co. v. Haas Garage Door Co., No. 3:13 CV 2507, 2016 WL 1047242 (N.D. Ohio Mar. 16, 2016)   A family-owned business split, and split a trademark, and then things went bad.   Founded in 1953, Haas Door … Continue reading →

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