Communications & Media Law › Consumer Protection › Intellectual Property

Advertising Law -- May 16, 2013

In This Issue: Linda Goldstein to Provide Insight on FTC’s Dot Com Dislosure Guidance at Upcoming Bloomberg BNA Webinar; “All Natural” False Ad Suits Continue, Stalled; Wake Up! FDA Considers Caffeinated Foods;...more

Facebook v. Typosquatters: Damages and Domains Awarded Under Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act

On April 30, 2013, Magistrate Judge Westmore recommended that the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California award Facebook $2.8 million in damages from typosquatters under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection...more

Judge Slams Copyright Troll Attorneys

A federal judge has referred a band of copyright troll attorneys to their respective state and federal bars for their “moral turpitude unbecoming of an officer of the court.” The judge also referred the attorneys to the U.S....more

FTC Offers FAQ Guide for Revised COPPA Rule

A 92-question and answer guide is available from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to help businesses and parents understand the new rule for the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which go into effect July 1,...more

Advertising News & Analysis - March 28, 2013

In this issue: - FTC Reopens Comment Period on Proposed Changes to EnergyGuide Labels - Venable’s Advertising Practice Named to Chambers USA Shortlist - Protect Your Brand Against New Top-Level Domain...more

New gTLDs Program: Public Comment Period on "Closed Generic" Top-Level Domains Ends March 7

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has been seeking public comments on "closed generic" top-level domain applications and the adoption of specific requirements for this type of application since Feb. 5,...more

Chicago Casino Development Authority Act - AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1739 re Internet Gaming

Illinois iGaming Bill: Chicago Casino Development Authority Act - AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1739 re Internet Gaming (Sen. Terry Link) --- On March 6th, 2013, Senate Bill 1739 was introduced in Illinois by State Senator...more

Advertising News & Analysis - February 21, 2013

In this issue: - Cordray Outlines CFPB’s 2013 Agenda - "It's My Trademark" No Defense in NAD False Advertising Challenge - This Just In: FTC Has Big Plans for 2013 - Upcoming Events An excerpt from...more

Texas’ Amended Data Breach Notification Law Is Expansive

Texas amended its existing data breach notification law which became effective on September 1, 2012. The relevant section of the law is titled “Notification Required Following Breach of Security of Computerized Data” and is...more

Advertising News & Analysis – November 29, 2012

In this issue: - Hotel Operators Receive FTC Warning Letters About Pricing Practices - FTC and CFPB Tell Mortgage Advertisers to Watch Their Ads - Differentiation Is Not Just in the Eye of the Marketer -...more

Advertising News & Analysis - October 4, 2012

In this issue: - FTC’s Green Guides: What You Need to Know - Marketing to Teens and Tweens Is Anything but Child’s Play - FTC’s Green Guides: “Qualify Those Stinkin’ Badges” - CFPB’s Start-up Style Is No...more

Libya Loses Court Battle Over Its Own ‘Libyan Embassy’ Trademark

In an interesting recent opinion, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rebuffed the Libyan Government’s bid to obtain a transfer to it of the domain name registration for libyanembassy.com from a “legalization...more

IP UPDATE: ACTA May Need a Second Act

The Internet has created a number of challenges for rights holders and the law. The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) – a plurilateral agreement that seeks to establish worldwide standards for enforcing Intellectual...more

Amerigas Propane, L.P. v. Opinion Corp. d/b/a PissedConsumer.com

Answer, Affirmative Defenses and Jury Demand

See the affirmative defenses. From BusinessInsider.com: "Propane giant AmeriGas recently sued online complaints forum Pissed Consumer for trademark infringement. "Gas company executives were presumably upset with how...more

Devere Group GMBH v. Opinion Corp. et al.

Order Dismissing Trademark Claim Against PissedConsumer.com for Failure to State a Claim

Order dismissing, for failure to state a claim under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), defamation claim pleaded as a Lanham Act trademark infringement in attempt to circumvent DMCA section 230....more

Advertising Law -- June 21, 2012

In This Issue: Status Update: Facebook Seeks to Add Children; NLRB Speaks Again on Social Media; The Happiest – and Healthiest? – Place on Earth; NYC Considering Ban on Large, Sugary Drinks; Microsoft’s IE 10 Will...more

Amerigas Propane, L.P. v. Opinion Corp. d/b/a PissedConsumer.com

Order on Motion to Dismiss

Per blogger and law professor Eric Goldman: "You may recall PissedConsumer, the site that solicits user gripes, SEOs the crud out of them, and then offers the griped business pay-to-play to downgrade the visibility of those...more

Advertising News & Analysis - May 24, 2012

In this issue: - Vote Now - CFPB Solicits Public Comment on Pre-paid Cards - FTC Judge Rules on Forbidden Claims for the Forbidden Fruit - New Insurance Helps Small Companies Defend IP - Appellate...more

VO Group, LLC v. Opinion Corp. et al.

Decision and Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Motion to Dismiss

Order and opinion on motion to dismiss complaint filed in New York Supreme Court (trial level), Kings County (i.e., Brooklyn), by timeshare sales company seeking to censor criticism of the company found on...more

Advertising Law -- March 14, 2012

In This Issue: *Manatt Partners Christopher Cole and Edward Glynn Invited to Speak at ABA Section of Antitrust Law Spring Meeting *Battle Over “Coach” Needs a Ref *The FTC’s Top 10 . . . Complaints, That Is *Fight...more

Digital Risk: All the Stuff You Never Thought About

This is an excerpt from the 2012 SXSW Interactive Panel "Data Breaches: Taking the Bull By the Horns," which highlights the critical, but often unforgotten legal points that should be undertaken when an IT security breach...more

App Developers: Get Advice on Privacy

The privacy problem with apps has been percolating for some time. Several high-profile reports have brought attention to this issue; Path’s embarassing privacy breach is just one of many cases where app developers have...more

Ascentive, LLC v. Opinion Corp.

Brief in Opposition to Plaintiff Ascentive's Motion to Dismiss its Own Complaint

In light of the December 16, 2011 Opinion and Order in this case denying plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction -- on the ground that they had failed to show a likelihood of success on the merits -- one of the...more

When Brands Let Us Down

A branding change can do more than upset an intellectual property portfolio. And a controversy over that change can be something far less than it seems -- unless it's something more...more

SUPER BOWL® trademark post XI: Consumer Reports and the super-duper exemption

The truth about SUPER BOWL trademark enforcement by the NFL and the people who are confused about it....more