The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has agreed to settle claims with individual and business sellers of cognitive enhancement products. The FTC previously filed a claim under the FTC Act, seeking to obtain permanent injunctive relief, restitution, the refund of monies paid, and other relief in connection with the sellers’ marketing and sale of the products.
In recent years, an industry known as eSports has grown exponentially. For those who don’t know, eSports, or electronic sports, is a form of competition centered around video games. Primarily, individuals, or teams, compete in organized multiplayer video game competitions. Although people have been competing in video games since their existence, the popularity of organized
I only (very briefly) fell for one April Fools’ prank this year. Yesterday the University of Wisconsin tweeted what appeared to be a press release announcing that fans could no longer perform their “Jump Around” tradition at home football games due to concerns regarding seismic impacts. After realizing my mistake and the fact that it
Earlier this week, the European Parliament voted in favor of a directive overhauling the European Union’s online copyright rules. These controversial changes, following extensive lobbying and a 348-274 vote, implicate an intersection between regulators, content creators/authors, and internet companies like online platforms and news aggregators (think: social media sites, internet news sites). The changes seek
With the 2019 NCAA Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Tournaments in full swing, most people probably aren’t thinking “hmm, I wonder if the NCAA owns any trademarks related to the Tournament?” But, maybe they should be.
To date, the NCAA owns over twenty-four trademarks related to its annual Basketball Tournaments. Unsurprisingly, those trademarks include such
The USPTO is seeking to change its federal trademark laws for trademark applicants, registrants, and parties who have are domiciled outside the United States. The proposed change would require applicants, registrants, and parties to hire a U.S.-licensed attorney for representation at the USPTO. Additionally, U.S.-licensed attorneys representing anyone before the USPTO in trademark matters would
SCOTUS has finally resolved the copyright registration debate but in doing so has emphasized a statute of limitations issue of which we should all be aware. This post follows up on my colleague’s prior posts (and here) regarding when a copyright holder can properly file a copyright infringement lawsuit.
Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. §
In recent years, the FTC has ramped up efforts to deter deceptive marketing practices on social media and customer review websites by issuing guidelines that apply to marketers and influencers alike and instituting enforcement actions against the guidelines’ most blatant violators. These actions have largely placed the onus on brands and companies to ensure that
Yesterday the Food & Drug Administration (“FDA”) Commissioner announced a new plan for increased oversight over dietary supplements. In his statement, the Commissioner noted how much the dietary supplement market has grown and how many consumers now take a dietary supplement on a regular basis, stating that “consumers need to have access to safe, well-manufactured,
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) approved Campbell Soup Company’s (“Campbell’s”) application to trademark the word “chunky.” Campbell’s filed an application with the USPTO back in May 2018. In its application, Campbell’s cited to “massive unsolicited media coverage of chunky,” according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. The word “chunky” has been parodied