43(B)log

APRIL 26, 2023

25 2023) Previous district court opinion allowing Lanham Act false advertising claims to proceed against Microsoft; applying the Article III analysis that doesn’t (yet?) TocMail launched its IP-evasion product, got a patent, and then sued Microsoft for false advertising—all within two months.” TocMail, Inc.

False Advertising 59

False Advertising Advertising Advertising IP 59

43(B)log

SEPTEMBER 9, 2021

I won’t say much about that, though I do have a big question, but there are also false advertising aspects of the case. The parties compete in the market for adjustable air mattresses and related products. Baxter; 996 F.3d 3d 925 (8 th Cir. How much of this is even relevant for determining whether IIC exists?

False Advertising 59

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Trademark 59

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

AUGUST 16, 2021

11, 2021) Another timeshare versus timeshare exit false advertising case. Marketing Defendants allegedly falsely advertise timeshare exit services by promoting a legitimate process to exit timeshare contracts. This opinion considered only the marketing defendants.

False Advertising 72

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Contracts 72

43(B)log

OCTOBER 6, 2021

In re EpiPen (Epinephrine Injection, USP) Marketing, Sales Practices & Antitrust Litig., 17, 2020) A lot of stuff here; I will ignore the non-false advertising related aspects of this mostly antitrust case. Sanofi argued that none of its advertisements or promotional materials made any of these assertions.

False Advertising 45

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Marketing 45

43(B)log

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

12, 2024) The court denied certification to a proposed class of dentists/orthodontists over SDC’s allegedly false advertising for its plastic aligners/teledentistry services, based on difficulties identifying harm/causation.

False Advertising 45

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Reporting 45

43(B)log

OCTOBER 11, 2022

30, 2022) Pegasystems alleged that defendants, which compete with it in the business process management (BPM) software field, engaged in false advertising and commercial disparagement in an online report that portrayed Pegasystems unfavorably. Defendant BPM.com reported on the BPM industry. Previous discussion.)

Marketing 59

Marketing Marketing Business False Advertising 59

43(B)log

MARCH 14, 2023

The result is that FedEx routes are, as a practical matter, intangible commodities traded on a competitive market and subject to price fluctuation based on the actual or perceived value of each individual route. FedEx also points to a report by a business analyst based on data “for 100 ISP businesses.

False Advertising 59

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Business 59

Technology & Marketing Law Blog

JUNE 10, 2022

HDR offers “strategic communications” services to their clients, which includes monitoring and reporting on community sentiment/conversations about their projects. Is it false advertising for Facebook to describe the groups as “private”? Does that create a claim for false advertising?

Privacy 144

Privacy False Advertising Contracts Advertising 144

The IPKat

JUNE 13, 2022

The non-fungible part means that it is something that has unique value based on the buyer’s sentiment and/or market dynamics. In practice, what this means is that a whole new market has been opened-up as NFTs have provided a system that has enabled the sale of digital items by transforming them into collectables, such as a tweet.

Non-Fungible Tokens 140

Non-Fungible Tokens Advertising Advertising Ownership 140

43(B)log

JANUARY 11, 2023

9, 2023) Along with updating its previous decision (I didn’t see anything that affected the Lanham Act analysis of the key issue of whether a retailer can sue a supplier for false advertising), the court addressed a motion to dismiss by defendant ViaClean.

Advertising 59

Advertising Advertising False Advertising Marketing 59

43(B)log

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

Marketing, Sales Practices & Products Liab. SoClean is a dominant player in the market for medical devices that sanitize continuous positive airway pressure machines (CPAPs), which treat sleep apnea and respiratory conditions. And, they continued, SoClean was illegally marketing its devices. In re SoClean, Inc., 22-542 (W.D.

Advertising 59

Advertising Advertising Marketing Marketing 59

43(B)log

FEBRUARY 6, 2025

3, 2025) Metrasens and plaintiff KDI compete in the market for ferromagnetic detectors, used to detect magnetic items (such as iron) on a persons body or clothing before the person enters a room containing an MRI scanner. Intertek then issued a test report identifying the units by serial number and photos. Kopp Development, Inc.

Advertising 52

Advertising Advertising Marketing Marketing 52

43(B)log

JUNE 19, 2023

14, 2023) Unlimited, an “online non-authorized reseller of consumer products,” sued Red Points for defamation, tortious interference, and false advertising under state and federal law. As you might expect from these preliminaries, Red Points reported two of Unlimited’s listings on eBay as infringing and counterfeit.

False Advertising 53

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Reporting 53

43(B)log

MARCH 29, 2024

As for inadequate data, his report was “at base a literature review” considering 20 peer-reviewed publications of infant trials; he identified four studies as high quality. Gerber’s marketing team described “being challenged to find ways to push the envelope with bringing the allergy message forward.”

False Advertising 104

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Reporting 104

43(B)log

FEBRUARY 17, 2022

Was this commercial advertising or promotion? Elysium argued that Right of Assembly was “a marketing website for Tru Niagen for which ChromaDex pays commissions to Shelly Albaum for Tru Niagen customers referred through the website.” Thus, any false advertising claim would lie against Albaum, not [directly] against ChromaDex.

Advertising 80

Advertising Advertising False Advertising Marketing 80

Technology & Marketing Law Blog

JULY 25, 2021

For more on this, see my expert report in the Larsen v. If they really wanted to build their business, they could have invested that money into marketing instead of legal fees. If they really wanted to build their business, they could have invested that money into marketing instead of legal fees. Larson case.

Advertising 111

Advertising Advertising Settlement Trademark 111

43(B)log

APRIL 26, 2023

The parties compete in the market for skid steer attachments and other products. Creager sells Montana post drivers (made in China) that compete with the Texas post drivers sold by IDT (advertised as made in the USA). The parties had other disputes, including accusing each other of posting false reviews of the other.

Fair Use 64

Fair Use Advertising Advertising False Advertising 64

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

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

2, 2022) Before the jury verdict in favor of Monster’s false advertising claim was this opinion resolving evidentiary issues. They weren’t directly asked about the phrase “Super Creatine,” whether participants had prior experiences with or opinions of Bang, or whether they had seen Vital’s advertising in the market.

False Advertising 59

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Social Media 59

43(B)log

JULY 25, 2024

Portkey sued for unfair competition/reverse passing off, false advertising, and trademark infringement under the Lanham Act, as well as related state-law claims. Venkateswaran, 2024 WL 3487735, No. 23-CV-5074 (JPO) (S.D.N.Y. Maybe companies can resurrect noncompetes by prohibiting uses of their trademarks in former employees’ resumes!

Trademark Law 59

Trademark Law Trademark False Advertising Law 59

TorrentFreak

JANUARY 26, 2024

Besides the sticker promos, the plaintiffs also ran into several advertisements on Facebook and even flyers in physical stores throughout Atlanta. Flyers As shown above, these flyers advertised the IPTV streaming service as an “Authorized Retailer” for Dish and Sling, which people could “WATCH FOR $7/mo.”

Cease and Desist 117

Cease and Desist False Advertising Advertising Advertising 117

43(B)log

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

Thus, the plaintiff was not going to get a preliminary injunction against its competitor for falsely advertising 6% nicotine content. All nicotine degrades with time, so all e-cigarette products contain different amounts of nicotine than reported. It brought state and federal false advertising claims.

False Advertising 45

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Marketing 45

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

AUGUST 20, 2021

24, 2021) Plaintiffs sought class certification of their false advertising claims based on the claims that KIND falsely advertised “All Natural / Non-GMO,” “Non-GMO,” and “No Genetically Engineered Ingredients”; KIND sought to exclude expert reports. In re KIND LLC “Healthy and All Natural” Litig.,

False Advertising 45

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Litigation 45

43(B)log

SEPTEMBER 16, 2021

The court found that the alleged statements weren’t “commercial advertising” covered by the Lanham Act. Allegations: With the goal of increasing its market share, Vacasa “sent out promotional mailers to homeowners with properties located in the same geographic areas where [Plaintiff] manages vacation rental properties.”

Advertising 45

Advertising Advertising False Advertising Marketing 45

43(B)log

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

The University issued a report concluding two of the five BRBs did not satisfy American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) 341-10 requirements. The report stated, “Further development is required for improving these two BRB types.” The statement “[p]roduce capacity of over 5000 BRBs per year” was not literally false.

False Advertising 59

False Advertising Law Advertising Advertising 59

43(B)log

OCTOBER 12, 2021

In the false advertising context, a claim lacks substantiation when it is premised on the absence of evidence or inconclusive evidence; a claim is provably false when evidence contradicts or conflicts with the claim.” Some tidbits: Labrada argues that Woodard was bringing a prohibited “lack of substantiation” claim. “In

False Advertising 45

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Marketing 45

43(B)log

JUNE 14, 2022

May 25, 2022) Alcon sued Lens.com for federal and state false advertising and trademark claims. The Lanham Act false advertising counterclaim was dismissed. Alcon Vision, LLC v. Lens.com, Inc., 2022 WL 1665453, No. 1:18-cv-00407-NG-RLM (E.D.N.Y. In addition, Alcon developed U.S.-only This is hard to show.

False Advertising 72

False Advertising Trademark Advertising Advertising 72

43(B)log

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

Route sued for breach of contract, commercial disparagement and defamation per se, intentional tortious interference with contractual relations, false advertising, and contributory trademark infringement. False advertising: The comments about Route were opinion and not actionable under the Lanham Act.

False Advertising 45

False Advertising Contracts Advertising Advertising 45

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. Based on this label, do you believe that MiTek’s ADTT-TZ product has the same attributes, such as load capacity, number of required fasteners, and existence of code reports, as the DTT1Z product?

False Advertising 45

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Reporting 45

43(B)log

JUNE 15, 2022

19, 2022) The parties compete in the market for energy drinks. VPX (Vital) makes BANG, which now contains creatyl-l-leucine (CLL), “a novel ingredient marketed under the trademark ‘Super Creatine.’ … Defendants claim that CLL is more stable and more bioavailable than other forms of creatine.”

False Advertising 59

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Contracts 59

43(B)log

OCTOBER 19, 2023

I’ll focus, as usual, on the false advertising bits and ignore the securities law parts. Another theory of harm came from allegations that the executive defendants and some of the promoter/influencer defendants were selling off their tokens as they promoted them, engaging in market manipulation.

Due Diligence 64

Due Diligence False Advertising Social Media Advertising 64

43(B)log

FEBRUARY 26, 2024

23, 2024) Plaintiffs alleged that defendants conspired to inflate the US News ranking of USC Rossier School of Education by submitting inaccurate or incomplete data to US News and market the resulting ranking to the public. Instead, Plaintiffs claim that Defendants knowingly reported false data to US News.

Advertising 59

Advertising Advertising False Advertising Marketing 59

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. The parties compete in the industrial fastener market. PennEngineering’s “ceci n’est pas une Ford” theory of counterfeiting falls flat.

False Advertising 59

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Trademark 59

43(B)log

MAY 2, 2022

This is important because the proposed settlement of this class action against manufacturers/distributors of Neuriva brain-health-promotion products requires only small changes in marketing claims. This is despite the fact that the underlying complaint alleges that the products do not provide any actual tangible benefits.

Settlement 118

Settlement Advertising Advertising Marketing 118

43(B)log

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

18, 2021) Doe, a real a **e (“deeply unsympathetic,” to use the court’s terms), advertised “ASU Covid Parties” on a similarly-named Instagram account and spewed a lot of bile as well as, in its first post, using ASU’s colors. The Board sued Doe for trademark infringement and related claims; Doe defaulted.

Social Media 53

Social Media False Advertising Advertising Advertising 53