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
“Chunky” Trademark Belongs to Campbell’s Soup
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
Commercials, Commercials, Commercials!
From beer to snacks to cars to tech, we love them all. Or, we love judging them all. Each year, we tune in to see which companies—both the old staples and the new blood—will shell out the cash for a Super Bowl ad.
Throughout breaks in the game (or cheating with an online search), we
Supreme Court Protects Expressive Works by Denying Review of Olivia De Havilland Lawsuit
Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a California court’s dismissal of actress Olivia de Havilland’s lawsuit against FX Networks. The decision sustains First Amendment protection to expressive works and free speech rights of the creators.
De Havilland had accused FX of violating her right of publicity and depicting her in a
More Product Labeling Woes
Nothing is as it seems. I previously blogged about the marketing of non-dairy products as “milk” – now it’s meat’s turn. According to a recent article in the Star Tribune, multiple states are either already regulating or considering regulating use of the term “meat” on product labels.
As explained in the article, supporters of a
Buyer, Keeper, Forever? Second Circuit Affirms Decision that Music Files Purchased Online Cannot Be Resold Online
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals returned a favorable ruling for major record companies in a copyright infringement case on December 12, 2018. The ruling came down in Capitol Records, LLC v. ReDigi Inc., a lawsuit involving an online platform (“ReDigi”) designed to enable the lawful resale of purchased digital music files. The Second
Taste Held Not Protectable Under European Copyright Laws
Earlier this month, the European Court of Justice ruled that the taste of a food product is not eligible for protection under EU copyright laws.
The ruling by European Union’s highest legal authority, which is binding on all EU member states, came in a lawsuit brought by the Dutch manufacturer of a popular spreadable cheese
The Music Modernization Act
This post is authored by Fox Rothschild associate Paul Fling:
Met with widespread support, the Music Modernization Act was signed into law on October 11, 2018. The Music Modernization Act (“MMA”) largely came about as a reaction to music streaming services’ domination of the music consumer market. In fact, streaming services such as Spotify
Update: Brand Enforcement Challenges
The General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, took effect May 25, 2018. As predicted, the GDPR has complicated access to WHOIS information (commonly used to look up the contact information for website domains for, among other things, stopping others from infringing IP rights) and given ICANN (the corporation that manages WHOIS data) a headache.
FTC Issues New Marketing Rules for Jewelry Industry
The FTC has amended its Jewelry Guides (formally, the “Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries”) which aim to help prevent deception in jewelry marketing by providing clear standards.
The Jewelry Guides, like other industry guides published by the FTC, are intended to help marketers understand their responsibilities with respect to avoiding consumer