Conflict of Laws › Communications & Media Law

FDCA Express Preemption Victory in Benecol Misbranding Class Action

A recent Third Circuit case brings good news for defendants making express preemption arguments under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) in misbranding class actions. Last week, the court affirmed the dismissal of a...more

Eastern District Of New York Holds State Statute Prohibits TCPA Class Actions

Pending before the Court was Plaintiff’s Motion to Reconsider its dismissal of a class action Complaint based on a conclusion that New York Civil Practice Law 901(b) bars TCPA class actions in federal court. Plaintiff relied...more

Michigan District Court Holds State Prohibition On Class Actions Does Not Preclude TCPA Class In Federal Court

Pending before the court was Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s TCPA claim contending Defendant sent unsolicited faxes in violation of the law. Also pending before the court was Defendant’s Motion to Strike class...more

Illinois Appellate Court Holds Four-Year Federal Catch-All Statute Of Limitations Governs Private Party TCPA Claims Brought In...

Plaintiff filed suit, placing at issue allegedly unsolicited faxes sent in violation of the TCPA. At issue was the applicable statute of limitations. Defendant’s argued that the Illinois two-year statute governing claims...more

Navigating the Patchwork: When Is European Data Privacy Law Applicable to US Companies?

Are social media companies based in the United States subject to European data privacy laws? Two recent judicial decisions – one in France and the other in Germany – arrived at different answers. The Civil Court of Paris held...more

Food Litigation Newsletter - February 2013

In This Issue: - Court Rules that Yogurt Dispute Belongs Before the FDA - Conclusory Allegations that Advertising is “False and Misleading” Fail Minimum Pleading Standards - 5-Hour Energy Authorized To Sue...more

Preemption Still Has Teeth: The FDCA Keeps California False Advertising Claims at Bay in Pom Wonderful Suit

As we have noted in prior posts (FDCA, POM, preemption), the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”) can provide a powerful tool to food companies that are hit with claims about their labeling. Yesterday, Judge Otero in the...more

Khasin v. Hershey: Unduly Narrowing the Preemptive Scope of Pom Wonderful

As we have briefly explored, the Ninth Circuit has broadly construed Buckman implied preemption of state law claims pertaining to food, drugs, and medical devices, which are regulated under the federal Food, Drug, and...more

Rogers et al v SOCAN: W(h)ither the "Making Available" Right?

Among the unanswered questions arising in the wake of the massive changes to the Canadian copyright landscape in 2012 is the issue of precisely how the two seismic forces at work (i.e., The Copyright Modernization Act and the...more

Courts Take Divergent Positions on "Disparagement" Under Advertising Injury Coverage

Within the last four months, two divisions of the California Court of Appeal’s Second Appellate District have taken different positions on the requirements for “disparage,” as that term is used in commercial liability...more

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF...

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS. The attached communication -- "Towards a comprehensive European framework for...more

Paris International Litigation Bulletin no. 4

This quarterly bulletin provides an overview of newly applicable legal provisions, recent case law and more generally the recent news in international litigation viewed from France....more

"Rejection of Perpetual, Royalty-Free, Exclusive Trademark License Permitted by Eighth Circuit Ruling: Lewis Brothers Bakeries...

The U.S. Bankruptcy Code generally limits a Chapter 11 debtor-licensor’s ability to reject intellectual property licenses, but trademark licenses are not subject to such limitations. Trademark license agreements that are...more

Advertising News & Analysis - September 6, 2012

In this issue: - Don't Miss Venable at ERA D2C - FTC Publishes Guides for Mobile Application Makers - Decision in Louboutin Case is Black & White & Red All Over - Check Yourself Before You Wreck...more

9th Circuit’s POM Wonderful Ruling Could Influence Food Class Actions

Originally published in Washington Legal Foundation on August 3, 2012. Class action lawyers looking for a shakedown have gone on a food binge. They have focused on the food industry and the ever-obliging federal court...more

He "Likes" Me, He "Likes" Me Not - Facebook's Sponsored Stories Lawsuit, Fraley v. Facebook, Changes Landscape Of Privacy...

Facebook, Inc. was sued in a class action last year over one of its advertising practices called “Sponsored Stories,” which typically consist of a Facebook Friend’s name, profile picture, and an assertion that the person...more

Two Recent Decisions From Courts of Appeals Address Important Intellectual Property Issues in Bankruptcy

In the last two weeks, the 6th Circuit and 7th Circuit Court of Appeals each issued decisions on important intellectual property issues in bankruptcy. In the first decision, the 6th Circuit held that bankruptcy's...more

Appeals Court Decision Ratchets Up Risk Factor for Those Delivering Autodialed and Prerecorded Calls

Recently, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a decision in Soppet v. Enhanced Recovery Company that could effectively impose strict liability for violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection...more

Ninth Circuit: FDA Regulations Broadly Preempt Food Labeling Claims

Last week, the Ninth Circuit issued a broad FDA preemption ruling that elbows aside federal deceptive-labeling claims in the latest slugfest between Pom Wonderful and Coca-Cola that has been going on for almost five years....more

Patterson Belknap Secures Major Win For Coca Cola: Ninth Circuit Holds False Advertising Claims Against FDA-Authorized Label Are...

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held last week that The Coca Cola Company cannot be sued under the Lanham Act over the name and labeling of a juice product that is authorized by FDA regulations. In doing so,...more

US Federal Trade Commission ruling that POM Wonderful Makes False Advertising Claims

Full text copy of the 330-age US FTC ruling that POM Wonderful’s claims about the health benefits of drinking its pomegranate juice constitute false advertising. From Courthouse News: “Pom Wonderful makes deceptive...more

POM Wonderful LLC, v. The Coca-Cola Company

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in POM Wonderful LLC, v. The Coca-Cola Company

Full text copy of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decision dismissing POM Wonderful’s Latham Act false advertising claims against Coca-Cola for the labeling used to describe its Minute Maid Pomegranate Blueberry...more

TheFlyonTheWall: A Judicial Paradox? By Robert P. LoBue

Lawyers crave structure. Give them a cause of action that has several well defined elements and you can keep them occupied for days on end, arguing about each prong. If you number the elements so they can converse in code, so...more

Class Action Complaint on 100% Natural Oil Dismissed

A federal court recently dismissed a proposed class action accusing a food company of misleadingly labeling cooking oils as 100% natural when they allegedly were made from genetically modified plants. Robert Briseno, et al....more

"Dispute Resolution - A SWOT Analysis on the Different Models and

Courts are dispute resolution venues of last resort. When a matter goes to court, disputants have relinquished their ability to resolve their differences by negotiation. The initiation of legal proceedings in a court of...more