Top Internet Law Developments of 2019
…v. Redbubble offered a glimmer of hope, but it’s illusory. Redbubble defeated direct trademark liability only by outsourcing its key functions; and a secondary trademark claim against Redbubble, or a…
More Evidence That IP Law Protects Individual Emoji Depictions–Nirvana v. Marc Jacobs
…enough to grant a motion to dismiss. Trademark. The court similarly cannot reject a trademark infringement claim: The Complaint sufficiently alleges likelihood of confusion as to the source of the…
Section 230 Helps Search Engine Defeat “Right to Be Forgotten” Lawsuit–Mosha v. Yandex
Looking holistically at the broad arc of Internet Law history, I could make a good case that the EU’s Right to Be Forgotten marked the beginning of the end of…
IP/Internet/Antitrust Professor Amicus Brief in 1-800 Contacts v. FTC
…A Bad Business Decision For Trademark Owners * Florida Proposes to Ban Competitive Keyword Advertising by Lawyers * More Confirmation That Google Has Won the AdWords Trademark Battles Worldwide *…
Another Competitive Keyword Advertising Lawsuit Fails–Dr. Greenberg v. Perfect Body Image
…clicks, and ten conversions. Stephen sued Perfect Body for trademark and related claims. The magistrate judge grants summary judgment to Perfect Body. Lanham Act. The purported trademark is a surname,…
1H 2019 Quick Links, Part 6 (Privacy, E-Commerce, & More)
…which Defendants “exercise high levels of control.” Plaintiff further alleges that Defendants are “involved in the day-to-day operation, control, marketing, and design of [the marketplaces].” For example, Plaintiff specifically alleges…
1H 2019 Quick Links, Part 3 (Trademarks)
…confusion alone can supply the predicate for a Lanham Act claim, it has broadly recognized that liability for trademark infringement can arise where a defendant’s misuse of a mark causes…
Using Third Party Trademarks as Hashtags Creates an Implied Association–Align v. Strauss (Guest Blog Post)
…trademark; second, only so much of the mark or marks may be used as is reasonably necessary to identify the product or service; and third, the user must do nothing…
Allegedly Defamatory Tweet About Non-Resident Insufficient to Confer Jurisdiction
…was no “evidence that [defendant] marketed or circulated the article to people in Michigan specifically as opposed to [defendant’s] readers generally.” [Vangheluwe v. Got News]. The court rejected the plaintiff’s…
Rounding Up Three Recent Keyword Advertising Cases–Comphy v. Amazon & More
…preliminary injunction. Trademark Scope. Comphy has a trademark registration for selling to “health spas.” Amazon sells direct to consumers, which is outside the scope of the trademark registration. Furthermore, the…