Political Campaigns & Unauthorized Music As the presidential caucuses approach so do the opportunities for political candidates to end up in the headlines for using unauthorized music in their campaigns. In nearly every campaign cycle you hear about a recording artist upset that a politician or campaign used the artist’s music without authorization. A list of notable disputes include Bruce […] Continue Reading →
Who May Bring a Federal False Advertising Suit? The Supreme Court's recent decision in Lexmark International, Inc. v. Static Control Components, Inc. prescribed the appropriate framework for determining whether a plaintiff has standing in a false advertising action under the 15 U.S.C. 1125(a). Prior to this decision, there were three competing approaches to determining whether a plaintiff has standing to bring suit under […] Continue Reading →
Public use can’t be experimental if not for purposes of the patent application In a decision last week, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment of invalidity of a patent and summary judgment to the defendant on the Plaintiff's false advertising claims. The defendant asserted the patent was invalid as obvious and by virtue of a prior public use. The district court held a […] Continue Reading →
Claim that infringing product was defendant’s “innovation” cannot support section 43(a) claim In a decision last month, the Federal Circuit reversed a district court's denial of judgment as a matter of law from a jury award of $8,054,579 under § 43(a) of the Lanham Act. The plaintiff held a patent on a type of basketball, and the defendant (against whom summary judgment of infringement was granted) advertised […] Continue Reading →
Eleventh Circuit: Unsolicited proposals insufficient to show intent to resume use of trademark In a decision Friday, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant, finding the plaintiff had abandoned its trademarks. Although the complaint consisted of both federal and state common law claims, the analysis ultimately came down to whether a valid Lanham Act claim existed, as the remaining […] Continue Reading →
Eleventh Circuit: eBay may eliminate presumption of irreparable harm in trademark cases In a recent decision, the Eleventh Circuit vacated a district court's injunction against the use of a competitor's trademarks in the meta tags of a defendant's website. The court held that while the plaintiffs had shown likelihood of success on both their trademark infringement and false advertising claims, because the district court relied on a […] Continue Reading →
Second Circuit: Advertisement can be literally false even if no explicitly false assertion made Yesterday the Second Circuit handed down a decision concerning a preliminary injunction that clarifies false advertising under the Lanham Act, especially regarding the use of images in advertisements. In an opinion containing the unlikely combination of pop icons William Shatner and Jessica Simpson, the court adopted the "false by necessary implication" doctrine and concluded that […] Continue Reading →
Splenda leaves a bitter taste in competitors’ mouths The business may be all about sweetness, but the competition can be bitter. That's the story right now in the artificial sweetener business, with much of the action centered around sucralose, the sweetener in Splenda®. The sweetener is the subject of several currently pending cases. In the first, rival sweetener maker Merisant, maker of Equal® […] Continue Reading →