IP & Media Law Updates

8/15/2025 1:20:32 PM

Alert: D.C. Circuit Significantly Narrows Video Privacy Protection Act

By Caren Decter Peter Devlin

The D.C. Circuit just handed a far-reaching victory to companies facing claims under the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) for their...

11/11/2024 10:10:24 PM

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...

5/29/2024 2:17:23 PM

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...

3/2/2024 11:55:51 PM

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...

12/4/2023 1:23:25 PM

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...

7/6/2023 11:53:15 AM

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...

1/27/2023 11:25:33 PM

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,...

9/26/2022 2:21:18 PM

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...

1/18/2022 1:30:36 PM

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...

1/9/2022 4:28:11 PM

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...

9/7/2021 1:01:17 PM

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...

11/20/2020 12:00:00 AM

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...

7/24/2019 10:38:04 PM

Danish Car Importer Ordered to Pay Damages to Artist Ai Weiwei in Ad Dispute

By Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz

A Danish court recently ordered car distributor Skandinavisk Motor Co. A/S to pay over $200,000 to Ai Weiwei, a contemporary artist and...

7/18/2019 8:27:56 PM

Second Circuit Upholds Ban on In-Uber Advertising

By Nicole Bergstrom

Do you find "Taxi TV" annoying? The Second Circuit does. Reversing a February 2018 decision of the District Court, the Second Circuit...