The label for 99-cent bottles of “Fireball Cinnamon” states that it is a “malt beverage with natural whisky & other flavors and caramel color.” So, would the average consumer believe that the distilled spirit of whisky was an ingredient here? Anna Marquez did. And she has filed a class-action lawsuit against Sazerac Company for fraud […]
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Fourth Circuit Joins the ACPA Re-Registration Parade
The Anti-cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (“ACPA”) was intended to fill the gap between cybersquatting and the traditional likelihood of confusion analysis for trademark infringement. The ACPA applies to whether a domain name was registered in bad faith “at the time of registration of the domain name.” There is a developing circuit split over whether the […]
Floor Plans of Mice and Men: Standard Elements and Original Arrangements
For floor plans that embody an architectural work such as a single-family house, the arrangement and composition of spaces and elements in the design of the house may be protectable by copyright, but not individual standard features. Indeed, the Copyright Act defines “architectural works” as follows: An “architectural work” is the design of a building as […]
Geographically Descriptive Nickname for California is CALI
A trademark may be refused registration as primarily geographically descriptive under Section 2(e)(2) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1052(e)(2), based on the following: the primary significance of the term in the mark sought to be registered is the name of a place that is generally known to the public; the goods originate in […]
Goldfish Crackers with “0g Sugars” Not Plausibly Healthy
State consumer-protection statutes typically require some showing that members of the public have been deceived. For example, the Colorado Consumer Protection Act (“CCPA”) is the requirement that the unfair or deceptive trade practice has a significant impact on the public. C.R.S. § 6-1-105; Hall v. Walter, 969 P.2d 224, 235 (Colo. 1998); Peterson v. USAA […]