43(b)log: “Typosquatting isn’t false advertising” (discussion of Lands’ End v. Remy (W.D. Wis).
Trademark Application Blows LonelyGirl15’s Cover
EBay Sues Over Its ITs
From the Plaintiffs’ Lawyer Blog, we learn that eBay is suing WorldClassAuctions.com (source of the second tagline above) on 13 counts of trademark infringement (link to complaint there). EBay alleges trade dress in its home page (always an interesting theory), as well as its IT mark.
Don’t Be A Wikipedia Sock Puppet
Frank Barnako in his Internet Daily discusses “Why Wikipedia Can Be An Advertiser’s Problem,” noting that Wiki entries on branded products are placing highly on search engine results, exposing users to potentially critical information about the products. Barnako quotes PR guru Steve Rubel (different one) to the effect that brand owners should resist
GIV Soap Round-Up
Wings Group of Indonesia sues Murzah of Tanzania for infringing its rights in GIV Soap.
And on Alibaba, you can buy not only GIV Soap:
but CLV Soap as well, both from Yiwu & Zhejang Fortune Import and Export Co:
Interlocutory Injunctions In India
Business Standard: The Battle Over Injunctions by MJ Antony.
SEX Triumphs Over SEX.EU
An entity claiming rights in the trademark SEX.EU fails to dislodge the registrant of the domain name SEX.EU, who somehow showed prior rights in SEX. Via The Register.
Have It Your Way
Sign-o-matic from site protesting McDonald’s environmental policy here.
Sweet And Generous Protection For Fashion?
Thorstein Veblen, social philospher (who coined the term ‘Conspicuous Consumption’), believed that fashion cycles succeeded as they were a relief from the specific ugliness of the previous season. Cf. Oscar Wilde: “fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable we have to alter it every six months.”
On the other hand, law professors Kal Raustiala
Attention Should Be Paid To This Case
I apologize for not reporting on this case earlier.
Defendants were a not for profit organization (“NFP”) helping restaurant workers, and a restaurant owned by a workers’ cooperative, in which the NFP had a 40% interest. The NFP protested Plaintiff’s policies relating to its workers. The NFP created a hand-out that reproduced the Plaintiff’s logo