43(B)log

MARCH 10, 2023

14, 2023) Plaintiffs sued defendants for state and federal trademark infringement and related claims. Plaintiff WATL is allegedly the preeminent governing body and league for the sport of axe throwing and uses the trademark “WATL” to market and publicize the axe throwing league. Cold Steel Inc., 2023 WL 2372059, No. 3d at 1177.

Fair Use 69

Fair Use False Advertising Social Media Advertising 69

43(B)log

MAY 19, 2023

WowWee’s Vice President of Brand Development & Creative Strategy, Sydney Wiseman, used her WowWee email address to create a Roblox user account and used her Roblox account to promote My Avastars dolls on social media, including videos on her TikTok account. This was enough survive the motion to dismiss.

Copying 94

Copying False Advertising Social Media Advertising 94

43(B)log

MAY 2, 2022

28, 2022) Chanel sued What Goes Around Comes Around (WGACA), alleging trademark infringement, false advertising, false association/endorsement, and related NY GBL claims for deceptive/unfair trade practices and false advertising. Until 2017, it also used the hashtag #WGACACHANEL in its social media posts.

False Advertising 59

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Social Media 59

43(B)log

FEBRUARY 3, 2024

Mary Katherine Amerine, Reasonably Careless Consumers in TM & False Advertising How do courts treat consumers in TM and false advertising cases? False advertising uses v different framework: consider the challenged ad as a whole, including disclaimers and qualifying language. Dougies for diapers.

False Advertising 49

False Advertising Contracts Branding Brands 49

43(B)log

MAY 22, 2023

May 19, 2023) Whereas the timeshare false advertising cases might be making law largely applicable to other timeshare cases, what’s going on in the strip club advertising cases might have somewhat broader implications. The district court concluded that plaintiffs’ false endorsement claims were foreclosed by Electra v.

Social Media 49

Social Media False Advertising Advertising Advertising 49

43(B)log

FEBRUARY 24, 2024

Can enshrine things like notice & takedown in © law, but that has effects on the ability to assert fair use. We know that automated systems designed to flag infringements get lots of false positives b/c they can’t recognize fair use; may also be false negatives, though that’s not the focus.

Fair Use 45

Fair Use Branding Brands Branding 45

43(B)log

JULY 21, 2023

but also narrows the issues somewhat; the larger infringement, cybersquatting, and false advertising claims can’t be resolved on summary judgment. On websites, emails, and mailers, LHB uses Axon’s Taser character, stylized word, and design marks, often in proximity to its own marks. But is it a nominative fair use?

False Advertising 52

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Social Media 52