Got a Selfie With a Celebrity? Think Twice Before Using It In Ads–50 Cent v. Kogan
This is yet another blog post about 50 Cent a/k/a Curtis Jackson. This time, he “happened to be in the proximity” of the defendant’s cosmetic surgery clinic. Doing what, exactly? The opinion doesn’t say. While he was fortuitously in the…
Yet More Evidence That Keyword Advertising Lawsuits Are Stupid–Porta-Fab v. Allied Modular
Porta-Fab and Allied Modular compete in the modular building space, which has an average sales price of $32k. Allied purchased “PortaFab” as a broad match for keyword ads, showing ads like this (highlighting added): As you can see, Allied’s ad…
If the Word “Emoji” is a Protectable Trademark, What Happens Next?–Emoji GmbH v. Schedule A Defendants
Emoji Co. GmbH has registered trademarks in the dictionary word “Emoji.” They mostly are a licensing organization, and their registrations are in a wide range of classes: “from articles of clothing and snacks to ‘orthopaedic foot cushions’ and ‘[p]atient safety…
First Amendment Protects Videogame’s Depiction of Tractor’s Trade Dress–Saber v. Oovee
This case involves the Polish tractor manufacturer Kirovets’ K-700 tractor: Saber makes the videogame MudRunner. It exclusively licensed the right to depict the K-700 in its videogames, including the right to enforce the exclusive license in court. Oovee make the…
Griper’s Keyword Ads May Constitute False Advertising (Huh?)–LoanStreet v. Troia
Troia was a LoanStreet employee. He was allegedly fired for cause. Troia posted disparaging comments about LoanStreet at Glassdoor.com, Reddit.com, and Teamblind.com. He then worked to boost the posts’ visibility, including: the posts asked users to “follow [his] link and…
Who Owns a Disputed Social Media Account? – JLM v. Gutman
This is a case focusing on ownership of social media accounts. The dispute is between bridalwear designer Hayley Paige Gutman and JLM Couture, a bridalwear company. We blogged this case twice before. (See “Social Media Ownership Disputes Part II: Bridal…
Trademark Owner Fucks Around With Keyword Ad Case & Finds Out–Las Vegas Skydiving v. Groupon
I’ve often wondered about the conversations that take place between trademark owner and counsel before filing a keyword advertising lawsuit. How extensively do they discuss the risks? There’s plenty to discuss. You can get bad publicity and alienate customers (and…
1-800 Contacts Loses YET ANOTHER Trademark Lawsuit Over Competitive Keyword Ads–1-800 Contacts v. Warby Parker
1-800 Contacts first appeared on this blog on February 9, 2005, my second day of blogging. 17 years later, I’m still blogging their ignoble trademark lawsuits. 🤡 Some “highlights” of 1-800 Contacts’ trademark jurisprudence over the years: 1-800 Contacts v….
Quick Links from the Past Year, Part 3 (Trademarks)
Initial Interest Confusion It’s 2022 and we’re still dealing with this shit. SMH. Can we please just outright kill the doctrine and spend our time on more meaningful problems? * “the initial interest confusion doctrine…requires a finding of likelihood of…
Too Rusty For Krusty–Nickelodeon v. Rusty Krab Restaurant (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Prof. Alexandra Jane Roberts Remember the Fifth Circuit case from 2018 holding that a real restaurant’s name could infringe trademark rights in the name of a fictional restaurant from the TV show SpongeBob SquarePants, the Krusty Krab?…