11 Nov, 2024 Can You Avoid Copyright Claims By Modifying Props Used in Your Ads? By Brian Murphy In Crystal Castles, the arcade game released by Atari in 1983, the player controls Bentley Bear, a bruin tasked with collecting gems...
29 May, 2024 Tenth Circuit Refuses to Award Profits Under Copyright Act for Unauthorized Use of Photo in Ad By Brian Murphy I Dig Texas (IDT) and Creager Services (Creager) are competitors that sell attachments for skid steer loaders, a type of heavy machinery...
02 Mar, 2024 Swimming Pool Parts Manufacturer Owes $15 Million for False Advertising By Kimberly Maynard Last week, a North Carolina federal jury charged Blueworks Corp., a swimming pool equipment manufacturer, with $14.7 million in damages...
04 Dec, 2023 Two Courts, Two Ad Campaigns, and Copyright's Idea-Expression Dichotomy By Brian Murphy Lawyers say this to clients all the time: you can’t copyright an idea; copyright protection extends only to an author's original...
06 Jul, 2023 Tracy Anderson vs. Megan Roup - Round 2 By Brian Murphy This is an update on the lawsuit between fitness guru Tracy Anderson and her former employee (and current competitor) Megan Roup, which I...
27 Jan, 2023 Massive 'Vastflux' Adware Scam Affected Millions of Phones, Thousands of Apps, Hundreds of Publishers By Bram Schumer Imagine a billboard on Sunset Boulevard. Before anything goes up, the billboard’s owner casts about looking for the highest bidder,...
26 Sep, 2022 California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act: Game Over for Advertising to Children? By Emma Smizer Greg Boyd A new California law is changing the rules governing advertising to children. The Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (“AADC”), signed into...
18 Jan, 2022 Court Finds Implied License Allowed Cannabis Brand to Use Advertising Materials Created by Freelancer By Brian Murphy Defendant Pure Spectrum CBD is a cannabis company that (according to its website) was "born in the mountains of Evergreen, Colorado" and...
09 Jan, 2022 Send In the Clowns: Sponsor Sues Jacksonville Jaguars Due to "Toxic Environment" Around Team's Brand By Brian Murphy Isn’t it rich? Roofclaim.com – a website that, as the name suggests, specializes in roof replacements – entered into a four-year...
07 Sep, 2021 The Right Tool for the Job: Fifth Circuit Revives “Texas Hammer” Trademark Lawsuit By Benjamin G. Murray In online advertising, it’s commonplace for businesses to purchase competitor trademarks as search engine keywords to get in front of...
05 Jul, 2021 Embedded Photo of Meghan Markle Doesn't Qualify for Fair Use on Motion to Dismiss By Brian Murphy Plaintiff owns the copyright in a photo of Meghan Markle, also known as the Duchess of Sussex, taken at a high school dance she attended...
21 Jun, 2021 A Legal Primer on Social Tokens By Hannah Taylor Finally wrapped your head around the Taco Bell NFT drop? Not so fast. Time to learn about “social tokens,” a rapidly-growing class of...
29 Dec, 2020 Some Tips for 2021 From the Frankfurt Kurnit Advertising Group By Jeff Greenbaum As we finish up 2020, here are some tips from members of the Frankfurt Kurnit advertising group about some of the important issues that...
20 Nov, 2020 The Winner of the Console Wars is…Light Beer? By Frances Jensen Bud Light has entered the chat. Anheuser-Busch’s popular brand of light beer, Bud Light, announced its own video game console named the...
10 Nov, 2019 Sandra Bullock & Ellen DeGeneres Lawsuit Takes on "Celebrity Endorsement Theft Industry" By Jeff Greenbaum Last week, Sandra Bullock and Ellen DeGeneres joined together to file a lawsuit in California Superior Court against unnamed affiliate...
05 Sep, 2019 Ariana Grande Sues Forever 21, Asserting Right of Publicity, Lanham Act and Copyright Claims By Jordyn Milewski This week, pop-star Ariana Grande (known for her hit songs like Thank U, Next and 7 Rings) brought suit in the Central District of...