SAD Scheme Cases Are Always Troubling--Betty's Best v. Schedule A Defendants 😠

SAD Scheme Cases Are Always Troubling–Betty’s Best v. Schedule A Defendants 😠

Every SAD Scheme lawsuit is problematic, though the specific reasons may differ. Each lawsuit creates dozens or hundreds of individual dramas, few of which receive any public scrutiny, and usually comes at the cost of due process and the rule…

Hot Take on the Wavy Baby Decision (Guest Blog Post)

Hot Take on the Wavy Baby Decision (Guest Blog Post)

by guest blogger Christine Haight Farley Because it is grading season, when I read the Second Circuit’s per curiam decision in Vans, Inc. v. MSCHF Prod. Studio, Inc., 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 32063 (2d Cir. 2023), I already had my red grading…

Judge Pushes Back on SAD Scheme Sealing Requests

Judge Pushes Back on SAD Scheme Sealing Requests

A signature feature of SAD Scheme cases is that rightsowners typically try to seal defendants’ identities. The sealing helps rightsowners in several ways, including preserving their ability to proceed without defendant involvement, springing account and cash freezes on defendants to…

Roblox Sanctioned for SAD Scheme Abuse--Roblox v. Schedule A Defendants

Roblox Sanctioned for SAD Scheme Abuse–Roblox v. Schedule A Defendants

TIL: Roblox regularly uses the SAD Scheme. I found at least 19 cases. In the lawsuit I’m covering today, Roblox named over 250 defendants. If that’s true with the other 18 cases, Roblox may have sued 4,000+ defendants using the…

Now Available: the Published Version of My SAD Scheme Article

Now Available: the Published Version of My SAD Scheme Article

I’m pleased to share the final published version of my article, “A SAD Scheme of Abusive Intellectual Property Litigation.” The article explains how IP rightsowners are twisting the rule of law to obtain ex parte TROs that prompt online marketplaces…

Evaluating the Constitutionality of Viewpoint-Neutral Trademark Registration Laws That Do Not Restrict Speech—Vidal v. Elster (Guest Blog Post)

Evaluating the Constitutionality of Viewpoint-Neutral Trademark Registration Laws That Do Not Restrict Speech—Vidal v. Elster (Guest Blog Post)

By guest blogger Lisa Ramsey, Professor of Law, University of San Diego School of Law The Supreme Court will likely hold in Elster that Section 2(c) is consistent with the First Amendment, but will it clarify how to balance trademark…

Facebook Faces Contributory Trademark Liability for Marketplace Listings--Car-Freshner v. Meta

Facebook Faces Contributory Trademark Liability for Marketplace Listings–Car-Freshner v. Meta

This case involves the hanging “car freshener” (which usually smells worse than any odors it tries to mask) in the shape of a tree. The rightsowner has trademark registrations for the tree-shaped outline: Armed with protectable rights in tree outlines,…

In a SAD Scheme Case, Court Rejects Injunction Over "Emoji" Trademark

In a SAD Scheme Case, Court Rejects Injunction Over “Emoji” Trademark

This is a SAD Scheme case from one of my least-favorite rightsowners, Emojico. (I wrote an expert declaration about them in 2021). Emojico has trademark registrations in the word “emoji” for a ridiculously broad range of product categories–from (I’m not…

SHOP SAFE Act Reintroduced, Because Some Congressmembers Really Want to Kill Online Marketplaces

SHOP SAFE Act Reintroduced, Because Some Congressmembers Really Want to Kill Online Marketplaces

Two years ago, I covered the introduction of the SHOP SAFE Act, which would create a new species of trademark liability for online marketplaces. My 5,000 word post deconstructed the bill in detail so check it out to see what…

When Do Inbound Call Logs Show Consumer Confusion?--Adler v McNeil

When Do Inbound Call Logs Show Consumer Confusion?–Adler v McNeil

This case involves Jim Adler, a/k/a the “Texas Hammer,” a Texas lawyer who has spent $100M+ on advertising to build his brand. The defendants run a call-center service that attracts prospective legal clients and then makes compensated referrals of the…