43(B)log

OCTOBER 11, 2023

22, 2023) Plaintiffs own Roberto Clemente’s IP rights and a registration for ROBERTO CLEMENTE for “figurines, statues and statuettes made of non-precious metal; beer cans made of non-precious metal sold empty.” (The The district court doesn’t appear to care about what the registration is for; I had to look it up.)

Licensing 49

Licensing False Advertising Advertising Advertising 49

43(B)log

OCTOBER 31, 2022

2022 WL 14813836, No. 25, 2022) Logan alleged that Facebook’s embedding tool enables third parties to infringe his copyrighted photos uploaded onto his Facebook account by embedding them to third-party websites and allowing embedding on Facebook from other websites, creating both direct and secondary liability. Meta Platforms, Inc.,

False Advertising 59

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Licensing 59

43(B)log

AUGUST 26, 2022

2022 WL 3647817, No. 24, 2022) This seems like a silly result to me, shifting the burden to comparative advertisers, but it's often much harder to get summary judgment in a trademark case than in comparable cases. Penn Engineering & Mfg. Peninsula Components, Inc., 19-513 (E.D.

False Advertising 59

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Trademark 59

Indiana Intellectual Property Law

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

MaddenCo owns Copyright Registration Number TX0009171151 entitled “The Tire Dealer System” with an effective registration date of August 26, 2022. Per Plaintiff’s website, MaddenCo is a privately held family business and has been for over 40 years.

False Advertising 52

False Advertising Confidentiality Copyright Infringement Contracts 52

43(B)log

JULY 20, 2022

Stubenrauch, 2022 WL 2793579, No. 15, 2022) The parties in this case are former business associates, which is one reason there are so many different claims. Chiusa has a copyright registration for the website obtained during this dispute. There’s a similar copyright registration for this site. 3:21-cv-00545 (M.D.

False Advertising 72

False Advertising Ownership Registration Designs 72

43(B)log

DECEMBER 16, 2022

Roup, 2022 WL 17670418, No. 12, 2022) Plaintiffs sued defendants for copyright infringement, violation of the Lanham Act, breach of contract, and violation of unfair competition law; copyright and breach of contract claims survived a motion to dismiss but the others didn’t. Tracy Anderson Mind & Body, LLC v.

Marketing 59

Marketing Marketing False Advertising Contracts 59

43(B)log

JULY 15, 2022

2022) Mostly a TM case, with some interesting stuff going on. Likewise, while a 10% drop in donations was quantifiable in money, it could also serve as evidence of irreparable harm—that “the Spence Group’s confusing statements and advertisements have undermined the distinctiveness of the College’s trademarks.” Trial Lawyers College v.

Trademark 59

Trademark False Advertising Advertising Advertising 59

43(B)log

JANUARY 13, 2023

3d -, 2022 WL 10551564, No. 18, 2022) Wolf designs and installs “vehicle wraps,” large vinyl graphics or decals applied to car bodies. But at least one copyright was allegedly timely registered as part of a group (the “at least one” signals why group registrations can be troubling—the court doesn’t yet know what was in the group).

False Advertising 72

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Registration 72

43(B)log

MARCH 18, 2022

Broidy, 2022 WL 793029, No. 4, 2022) Mosafer, a travel business that “aligns its branding with the State of Qatar,” sued several defendants for making public statements allegedly disparaging the State of Qatar and harming the Mosafer parties’ brand, which is closely aligned with the country. Mosafer Inc. 2:21-cv-06320-MCS-JC (C.D.

Law 59

Law False Advertising Social Media Branding 59

43(B)log

DECEMBER 28, 2022

3d -, 2022 WL 10128276, No. 17, 2022) Along with the headline-worthy nature of the claim (“ITALY’S #1 BRAND OF PASTA” plausibly falsely communicates Italian origin), the decision contains an extended discussion of judicial notice on a motion to dismiss v. Barilla America, Inc., 22-cv-03460-DMR (N.D.

Branding 59

Branding Brands Branding False Advertising 59

43(B)log

APRIL 15, 2024

A notice of allowance issued in 2022. The court denies a preliminary injunction on the trademark claims based on lack of likely success on the merits, but declines to dismiss either infringement or false advertising claims. GMI sent a C&D to GMP in April 2022 (whoops!)

False Advertising 64

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Marketing 64

The TTABlog

MAY 8, 2023

Unsurprisingly, the Board dismissed Professor Rebecca Curtin's opposition to registration of the mark RAPUNZEL for dolls and toy figures, finding that Curtin, as a mere consumer of fairytale-themed products, failed to prove her entitlement to a statutory cause of action. 4th 1067, 2022 USPQ2d 602, at *3 4 (Fed. The Board said no.

Registration 40

Registration False Advertising Trademark Business 40

43(B)log

DECEMBER 1, 2022

29, 2022) MGFB runs the Flora-Bama Lounge, Package and Oyster Bar on the Florida-Alabama border. MGFB has a federal registration for FLORA-BAMA for “bar and restaurant services” and several entertainment services, including “social entertainment events,” live musical performances, and “competitions for fish throwing.” Viacom Inc, No.

Artistic Work 64

Artistic Work Television Trademark Trademark Law 64

SpicyIP

DECEMBER 30, 2023

The judgement was passed in October 2022, but was uploaded in September 2023 on the High Court’s website. Further, the judgement also sets aside the 4 factor test in the 2022 Nokia v. Tech Square which was passed against a cancellation petition filed by Toyota against the registration of “Alphard” by Tech Square.

IP 112

IP Copyright Trademark Intellectual Property 112

43(B)log

FEBRUARY 28, 2022

2022 WL 562265, No. 23, 2022) Healthvana operates a health app, Healthvana, and has a trademark (registration) for use in connection with software and software as a service. But Healthvana didn’t identify any complaint related to any of the allegedly false statements. Healthvana, Inc. Telebrands Corp., Surprised?

False Advertising 64

False Advertising Marketing Marketing Branding 64