SpicyIP

JANUARY 30, 2024

They have sued rival restaurant chain Daryaganj for falsely taking credit for the creation of butter chicken. As reported , Monish Gujral, the managing director at Moti Mahal says “ You cannot take away somebody’s legacy … The dish was invented when our grandfather was in Pakistan.” News reports (of which there are several!

False Advertising 116

False Advertising Social Media Inventor Advertising 116

43(B)log

DECEMBER 18, 2023

15, 2023) Simpson sued its competitor MiTek for using Simpson part numbers for structural connectors/fasteners for use in the construction industry in its catalogs/other promotional material; the court here, after a nonjury trial before the magistrate judge, rather comprehensively rejects its false advertising, trademark, and copyright claims. (It

False Advertising 64

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Copyright 64

43(B)log

OCTOBER 9, 2023

21, 2023) Deetsch alleged that he owned design patents for CPAP pillow products, which the Lei defendants infringed. They also allegedly used Deetch’s image in ads and on packaging, and allegedly falsely claimed on Amazon that their pillow products “were designed in the United States but are manufactured in China.”

Advertising 72

Advertising Advertising Brands Branding 72

43(B)log

OCTOBER 6, 2021

17, 2020) A lot of stuff here; I will ignore the non-false advertising related aspects of this mostly antitrust case. The court says the usual not-good things about false advertising’s relationship to antitrust, unfortunately: Deceptive speech usually doesn’t violate antitrust laws. 17-md-2785-DDC-TJJ (D.

False Advertising 45

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Marketing 45

43(B)log

DECEMBER 15, 2023

were not designed to protect originality or creativity.” “Yet Yet that is precisely what Plaintiff seeks to protect in this case: the originality and novelty of its own cooler design.” July 25, 2014), report and recommendation adopted, No. Comment: “First printing” might therefore be different.) Blue Spike, LLC v.

False Advertising 45

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Intellectual Property 45

43(B)log

MARCH 6, 2024

1, 2024) NYU Langone sued Northwell for trade dress infringement, unfair competition and false designation of origin, and false advertising under the Lanham Act, as well as related claims under the New York GBL and New York common law. The court dismissed the complaint—the false advertising claims with prejudice.

False Advertising 59

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Reporting 59

43(B)log

FEBRUARY 17, 2022

Elysium argued that the website as a whole was a referral website for Tru Niagen, which advertised Tru Niagen at the top of every page. There’s a difference between a statement about product benefits made by Consumer Reports and the same statement by a person with an economic motive who also displayed a banner, “Buy This Product.”

Advertising 80

Advertising Advertising False Advertising Marketing 80

43(B)log

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

11, 2023) The parties compete in the design of buckling-restrained braces, which are structural devices that help buildings withstand seismic activity. The University issued a report concluding two of the five BRBs did not satisfy American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) 341-10 requirements. SME Steel Contractors, Inc.

False Advertising 59

False Advertising Law Advertising Advertising 59

43(B)log

JUNE 14, 2022

May 25, 2022) Alcon sued Lens.com for federal and state false advertising and trademark claims. 1994), “before considering consumer survey evidence, a district court must, first, determine whether the designation of geographic origin is ‘geographically descriptive.’ The Lanham Act false advertising counterclaim was dismissed.

False Advertising 72

False Advertising Trademark Advertising Advertising 72

43(B)log

AUGUST 26, 2022

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. PennEngineering claims a PEM family of marks and sued Peninsula for trademark infringement, counterfeiting, false advertising, and unfair competition.

False Advertising 59

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Trademark 59

43(B)log

APRIL 27, 2022

PG&E asked Eco to design a “cutout cover” to prevent animals from coming into contact with “cutouts,” a type of electrical device that rests atop utility poles. The resulting ECC-3, which is designed for cutouts made out of porcelain, is Eco’s most successful product and is also sold to other utility companies.

False Advertising 45

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Reporting 45

43(B)log

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

2, 2022) Before the jury verdict in favor of Monster’s false advertising claim was this opinion resolving evidentiary issues. However, they fail to show that Monster dirtied its hands to make the false advertising claims now alleged against Defendants.” Monster Energy Co. Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 2022 WL 17218077, No.

False Advertising 59

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Social Media 59

43(B)log

JANUARY 11, 2023

9, 2023) Simpson sued MiTek for Lanham Act and state law false advertising/passing off, and for copyright infringement. Each product name has a “part name” (a letter or combination of letters designating the product line) and a “model number” (additional numbers and letters that distinguish parts with different attributes).

False Advertising 45

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Reporting 45

43(B)log

AUGUST 27, 2024

PNC sued for counterfeiting, infringement, and false advertising/unfair competition under federal and Pennsylvania law. A consumer complaint cited by PNC might be relevant to false advertising, but didn’t obviously show trademark confusion: Venmo says they have lost connection with my bank – sounds like Venmo’s problem.

Advertising 52

Advertising Advertising False Advertising Designs 52

43(B)log

JULY 15, 2024

Butler found that there was no statistically significant difference in cells’ self-reported likelihood of purchasing shoes on StockX, suggesting lack of materiality. First, Nike argued, materiality was irrelevant because literally false claims are conclusively presumed to be material.

False Advertising 69

False Advertising Brands Branding Branding 69

43(B)log

JUNE 6, 2023

Enigma sued its competitor Malwarebytes for Lanham Act false advertising and NY business torts for designating its products as “malicious,” “threats,” and “potentially unwanted programs” (PUPs). The district court dismissed the complaint on the grounds that these designations were “non-actionable statements of opinion.”

False Advertising 59

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Business 59

43(B)log

MARCH 13, 2023

of respondents reported that they believed that “all of the vanilla flavor” comes from the vanilla plant; 16.6% Unilever’s criticisms boil down to a disagreement as to Dr. Dennis’ survey design choices, which go to the weight to be accorded to Dr. Dennis’ survey results and opinions when determining the merits of Vizcarra’s claims at trial.”

False Advertising 56

False Advertising Brands Branding Branding 56

43(B)log

JUNE 16, 2022

It contracts with Charities Aid Foundation of America, which in turn delivers donated funds to designated charities. For certain “celebrity experiences,” 60% of the money donated goes to CAFA to be paid to the designated charity, but for Omaze-owned campaigns, Omaze keeps 85%. Omaze now buys its own swag for contests.

False Advertising 59

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Design 59

43(B)log

SEPTEMBER 16, 2021

Meredith alleged that Vacasa “has embarked on a smear campaign surgically targeted at [Plaintiff’s] homeowner customers, designed to unfairly snuff out that competition.” The court found that the alleged statements weren’t “commercial advertising” covered by the Lanham Act.

Advertising 45

Advertising Advertising False Advertising Marketing 45

43(B)log

JUNE 3, 2024

2024) The court of appeals affirmed summary judgment in favor of KIND on Bustamante’s false advertising consumer protection class action claims based on KIND’s “All Natural” labeling. Bustamante v. KIND, LLC, 100 F.4th 4th 419 (2d Cir. Without the expert evidence, summary judgment for KIND was appropriate.

False Advertising 64

False Advertising Brands Branding Branding 64

43(B)log

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

It alleged that the Philips defendants, who make such devices, engaged in false advertising about one of SoClean’s devices in order to deflect blame for the Philips devices’ design defects. Commercial advertising or promotion: A separate problem. Recall notice: Eli Lilly & Co. Roussel Corp., 2d 460 (D.N.J.

Advertising 59

Advertising Advertising Marketing Marketing 59

43(B)log

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

9, 2021) Alleged ambiguity didn’t save AB from this false advertising claim. This was because “national” is also integral to the organic certification program, a main purpose of which was “to create a national, unified standard for organic labelling, designation, and advertising.” Suzie's Brewery Company v.

Advertising 59

Advertising Advertising False Advertising Government 59

43(B)log

JUNE 15, 2022

Defendants sell allegedly falsely advertised Cosequin canine joint health supplements, which contain glucosamine and chondroitin as the main active ingredient. Defendants’ expert reports did not show that individual issues predominated on materiality. ED CV 19-0835 FMO (SPx), 2022 WL 1600047 (C.D.

False Advertising 45

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Reporting 45

43(B)log

AUGUST 24, 2021

Russell created four sculptural works: “Medusa,” “Polyp,” “Hydra,” and “Ophelia”; there was a dispute about whether the sculptures resemble or embody natural aspects of real-life jellyfish and whether Russell intentionally designed them to look like freshwater jellyfish.

Copyright 81

Copyright Art Copying Reporting 81

43(B)log

AUGUST 27, 2024

Plaid’s consumer confusion expert, Dhar, used a “consumer journey approach,” designed to mimic what users would be seeing when deciding whether to buy or use a given product or service. This went to the claim that required evidence of damage to goodwill (that is, false advertising). Duelling marketing experts also mostly got in.

Brands 52

Brands Branding Branding False Advertising 52

43(B)log

MAY 19, 2023

In another false advertising case challenging the undisclosed presence of child and slave labor in the supply chain, the Ninth Circuit rejected the existence of any duty to disclose because “the labor practices in question. The importance of PPV is easy to overlook. Plaintiffs failed to identify a relevant “defect” in the tests.

Advertising 52

Advertising Advertising False Advertising Law 52

43(B)log

AUGUST 31, 2021

Marketing materials related to the 2016 version designate the same three valleys as “Regions of Origin,” and describes them as “premiere growing regions along Oregon’s coast.” The 2017 label also references the “coast” and includes a map of Oregon with leaves denoting the locations of the Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue Valleys.

Graphic Design 56

Graphic Design Government Designs Design 56

43(B)log

SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

In fact, the name “Shelby” comes from Carroll Shelby, a race car driver and designer for Ford in the mid-20th century. This “Limp Mode” was an intentional design choice; the coolers were removed from those two packages before launch, allegedly to increase profit margins in their volume-leading Technology package.

Advertising 45

Advertising Advertising Technology Reporting 45

43(B)log

MAY 22, 2023

Compared to the ‘rigorous’ approval process for prescription-drug labels, the TTB process ‘hinges on self reporting’ and reflects only the representations made to it by the distributor, not an endorsement of those claims.” BY VOL’ in light of the other flashier language and design of the packaging.”

Licensing 59

Licensing Law Brands Branding 59

43(B)log

SEPTEMBER 20, 2022

Nor did plaintiffs’ survey report provide a way to define a reasonable consumer’s understanding of “All Natural,” because the court excluded it. At deposition, he said he was “test[ing]” the plaintiffs’ theory of liability, but the court interpreted his answers as showing that his questions were designed to support that theory.

Litigation 59

Litigation Contracts False Advertising Reporting 59

43(B)log

APRIL 5, 2024

reported some health-related benefit, with 33.9% Again, this “amounts to a disagreement on survey methodology, rather than suggestions that a survey could not be designed to test materiality in the first place.” If they did, they got a follow-up: In this survey, only 39.8% identified immunity support. Only 71.2%

Brands 59

Brands Branding Branding Advertising 59

43(B)log

JULY 21, 2023

but also narrows the issues somewhat; the larger infringement, cybersquatting, and false advertising claims can’t be resolved on summary judgment. Axon sued for infringement of the Taser word and design marks and for holding Taser-related domain names for ransom. However, the disclaimers were not ineffective as a matter of law.

False Advertising 52

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Social Media 52

Technology & Marketing Law Blog

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

It claims to focus on “counterfeits” that could harm consumer “health and safety,” but those are both lies designed to make the bill seem narrower and more balanced than it actually is. However, this bill is itself a giant counterfeit. ” I mean, pretty much every physical product meets this definition, right?

Trademark 144

Trademark False Advertising Advertising Advertising 144

SpicyIP

OCTOBER 27, 2023

Challenges Under IP Law Dark patterns are deceptive or manipulative design elements or techniques used in user interfaces to trick users into taking actions they may not want to take. False advertising and misleading representations: Dark patterns often involve misleading representations about products, services, or offers.

Intellectual Property 52

Intellectual Property Designs Design False Advertising 52

43(B)log

APRIL 26, 2022

The trial court found Ethicon committed 153,351 violations of the Unfair Competition Law (UCL) and 121,844 violations of the False Advertising Law (FAL) and imposed a $1,250 civil penalty for each violation. But they don’t specify what constitutes a “violation,” which is decided on a case-by-case basis.

Advertising 59

Advertising Advertising Marketing Marketing 59

LexBlog IP

FEBRUARY 1, 2023

at 997-98, Rogers limited the application of the Lanham Act’s prohibition on false advertising “to apply to artistic works only where the public interest in avoiding consumer confusion outweighs the public interest in free expression. ” Id. In VIP Products v. Jack Daniels Products , 953 F.3d 3d 1170 , 1172 (9 th Cir.

Trademark 52

Trademark Intellectual Property Brands Branding 52

SpicyIP

DECEMBER 30, 2023

The third category lists notable developments on the legislative and policy side and includes important amendments, proposals for amendments, release of policy notes and reports etc. Controller of Patents & Designs Patent Office Mumbai. Controller of Patents and Designs and Raytheon Company v. In Microsoft v.

IP 124

IP Copyright Trademark Intellectual Property 124