MediaPost: Scientologists Threaten Gawker Media With Legal Action Over Cruise Video:

WHEN A NINE-MINUTE VIDEO OF Tom Cruise touting the Church of Scientology hit the Web recently, the group quickly sent out takedown notices. Many publishers complied, but not Gawker Media’s Nick Denton.
Now, the notoriously litigious Scientologists have complained to Gawker that the video was pirated, and have demanded its removal. Denton argues that posting the video constitutes a fair use. “[I]t’s newsworthy, and we will not be removing it,” Denton wrote on the site last week. A spokeswoman for the Church of Scientology said the group is considering taking legal action.

Eastwood chair.JPG
From the complaint:
. . . Defendants have been manufacturing, offering for sale . . . a line of so-called “home theater chairs” one of which is called “The Eastwood.” . . . Defendants also have been manufacturing . . . “home theater chairs” named after various other living and deceased celebrities, including “The Brando,” “The Cagney,” “The Cooper,” “The Bronson” and “The Connery.”
Clint Eastwood v. Palliser Furniture, CV08-00266 (CD California Jan 16 2008).
Gorillaz has a good song named “Clint Eastwood.” “High Plains Drifter” may be my favorite of his westerns. ‘Bird,” I think, was underrated.
You’ll note that several of the movie stars listed in the complaint are dead and may wonder whether that would affect the analysis. It depends – research the term “descendability of publicity.”

Allegation form the complaint:

Defendant sare engaged in an Internet marketing business of a dubious nature. In
order to lure people to the Web sites of defendants and other entities, defendants blast untold
numbers of unsolicited SPAM e-mails to people’s e-mail accounts. These e-mail messages are
sent in a way to make them falsely appear to come directly from Bed Bath& Beyond, and make
illegal use of the BBB Marks.

Bed Bath & Beyond v. Jumpstart Technologies, Harding Innovations and Greg Tseng, 2:08-cv-00357-JLL-CCC (D NJ Jan 18 2008).

NY Times: Bits Debate: Copyright:

Throughout the debate this week on copyright issues, the question of fair use has come up repeatedly. On Wednesday, the topic for Rick Cotton, the general Counsel of NBC Universal, and Tim Wu, the Columbia law professor, was the legal concept of fair use: how much of a copyrighted work can be included in a review or other sort of work. But in many of the comments we received all week, readers have asked about their own broader sense that when they buy a CD or movie, they purchase rights that include making copies for their personal use.

The Trademark Reporter® homepage has links to the full text of these articles for INTA members:
A Search-Costs Theory of Limiting Doctrines in Trademark Law
By Stacey L. Dogan and Mark A. Lemley
The Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2006: Balanced Protection for Famous Brands
By Scot A. Duvall
Literal Falsity by Necessary Implication: Presuming Deception Without Evidence in Lanham Act False Advertising Cases
By Richard J. Leighton
Sophistication and the Sciences
By Jerre B. Swann, Sr.
Patents Compared to Trademarks: The Duty of Candor/The Avoidance of Fraud
By Tamsen Valoir and Professor David Hricik
Phoenix of Broward, Inc. v. McDonald’s Corporation: Judicious Application of the Doctrine of Prudential Standing, or Unjustified Abstention from the Proper Exercise of Jurisdiction?
By Griffith B. Price, Jr.
Are Identical Marks in the Same Field of Services Likely to Be Confused? Omicron Capital, LLC v. Omicron Capital, LLC
By Heather L. Jensen
An Introduction to the New Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Rules
By James R. Robinson and Kathleen E. McCarthy
Amicus Brief of the International Trademark Association in adidas AG and adidas Benelux BV v Marca Mode, C&A Nederlanden, H&M Hennes & Mauritz Nederlands BV and Vendex KBB Nederlanden BV
By Alan Drewsen
Dedication – Richard Taylor
By Mary McGrane

tombstone complaint.jpg
Funeral home disolves, funeral director may or may not have agreed to not use his name pursuant to a non-compete clause, uses his name with new funeral home, old funeral home uses his name, lawsuit.
Nieberg et al v. Nieberg Midwood Chapel Inc., 08 CV 00392 (SDNY Jan 16 2008).
Previous surname cases here.
Friend of the Blog Pam emails us to point out that the funeral home industry uses interesting slogans.

MSNBC: “Facebook Asked To Remove ‘Scrabulous’
Merriam-Webster tells us that SCRABBLE is derived from the Dutch word schrabbelen, or to scratch. HARDSCRABBLE suggests a ‘hard scrape’ in farming marginal land. Many U.S. dictionaries identify the board game as the first definition of the word SCRABBLE, and ‘scramble’ or ‘scribble’ as secondary definitions.

STL: Olympic Committee Says Olympic Cellars Must Turn Away Some Customers:

The crux of the story is the USOC has demanded that the winery, which has used “Olympic” in its name for 15 years, make more explicit reference to the Olympic Peninsula on its Web site and stop selling to persons who live outside western Washington if they have not visited the winery.

Boing Boing: Car Owners Are Pirates If They Distribute Pictures Of Their Own Cars:

“The folks at BMC (Black Mustang Club) automotive forum wanted to put together a calendar featuring members’ cars, and print it through CafePress. Photos were submitted, the layout was set, and… CafePress notifies the site admin that pictures of Ford cars cannot be printed. Not just Ford logos, not just Mustang logos, the car -as a whole- is a Ford trademark and its image can’t be reproduced without permission. So even though Ford has a lineup of enthusiasts who want to show off their Ford cars, the company is bent on alienating them. ‘Them’ being some of the most loyal owners and future buyers that they have. Or rather, that they had, because many have decided that they will not be doing business with Ford again if this matter isn’t resolved.”