It is perhaps the first time in memory that chicken and kale were the subject of comparison – as reported in the Associated Press, Chick-fil-A has gone after a Vermont artist and his mark EAT MORE KALE, alleging that there is a likelihood of confusion between this mark and Chick-fil-A’s own mark EAT MORE CHIKEN. (...) [Read More]
Monthly Archives: November 2011
In the Matter of Facebook: FTC Forces Privacy Fix
November 29, 2011
Facebook settled with the FTC today over its chameleon-like privacy policy reports Gizmodo, putting the user into the driver’s seat for privacy settings. No more Big-Daddy-Knows-Best privacy changes. FTC announced that given the long history of Facebook privacy changes and broken promises, it issued an order that Facebook be barred from making misrepresentations about the privacy of user’s (...) [Read More]
Supreme Court oral argument in Mayo v. Prometheus method patent suit almost upon us.
November 28, 2011
Next week, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the method patent infringement case of Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc. The question presented is as follows: “Whether 35 U.S.C. § 101 is satisfied by a patent claim that covers observed correlations between blood test results and patient health, so that the claim (...) [Read More]
Lady Gaga left “Speechless” after domain name dispute ruling.
November 28, 2011
Despite all of “The Fame,” even Lady Gaga doesn’t win them all. Recently, Gaga was on the losing end of a domain name dispute regarding the domain “ladygaga.org.” Gaga had brought a domain name complaint under the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ (“ICANN”) Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (“UDRP”) against a fan (...) [Read More]
Comment period ending soon on FTC’s proposed amendments to the Mail Order Rule – clarification of applicability to Internet sales.
November 28, 2011
The Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule was established to provide telephone or mail-order customers comfort as to when their merchandise would be shipped. If merchandise cannot be shipped within the time promised, the seller must either secure the customer’s consent to delay shipping or refund the customer’s payment. The FTC had concerns as to (...) [Read More]
Was A&F’s demand that the cast of The Jersey Shore cast ditch its duds Deceptive?
November 16, 2011
Ah Schadenfreude– are you what makes viewers watch reality shows? Back in September, Abercrombie & Fitch “dissed” Michael “The Situation” Sorentino in a press release issued offering a “substantial sum” if Sorentino stopped wearing A&F Duds, because “Mr. Sorentino’s association with our brand could cause significant damage to our image.” This week Sorentino has come (...) [Read More]
Hey HON, how did a trademark become a Kitchen Nightmare?
November 9, 2011
There was lots of excitement in Baltimore on Monday when Cafe Hon owner Denise Whiting held a news conference with TV reality show chef/provocateur Gordon Ramsay, in which she announced that she was relinquishing her trademark in the word “Hon”. The news conference was timed to coincide with the filming of an episode of Gordon (...) [Read More]
What is a Flash cookie and why should we worry?
November 9, 2011
Starting with the basics, what is a “Flash cookie” you ask? They are files known as LSOs (local shared objects) installed on your browser by websites that use Adobe Flash. Similar to HTML cookies (hence the Flash cookie name), an LSO stores data such as graphics, usually for user convenience so graphics and video files load more rapidly upon a (...) [Read More]
