News & Media
A&P's Corporate Crybaby Lawsuit
I heard about this story on NPR, but a big hat tip to the Citizen Media Law Project for not only reminding me of it, but for its dead-on analysis of the case. The short version, Mark D’Avella and his brother Matt D’Avella made a hilarious rap video about produce, while working at their local A&P. The video is typical
Web Commies?
Dear Lord, call Steve Dallas! The Bolsheviks still have a TLD!
Teaching Ethics
A fellow professor recently asked for a recommendation on texts or articles that would be useful for teaching ethics. I found this to be heart warming that the professor cared enough to do such research, but I wasn’t really able to offer a direct answer. My “professional responsibility” class in law school was about as useless for teaching me ethics
"You Cum Like a Girl" Rejected as Immoral and Scandalous
I am beaming with pride that John Welch, over at the TTABlog asked me to guest blog on the TTAB’s latest affirmance of a 2(a) refusal. My discussion of the case is here.
Oh Jack, Jack, Jack….
No commentary needed. Jack Thompson really is just such pure comedy all by himself. Jack Thompson Letter Thank you, Jack. Thank you for bringing laughter to my day. And, Thank you to Marty Schwimmer for posting this story first!
Injunctions vs. Free Speech? Ever heard of the Constitution?
First American eAppraiseIT v.Crowley is the latest assault on free speech in Florida. The defendant in that case publishes a website called Mortgage Fraud Watch List. From the Defendant’s website: MFWL is a database of addresses, submitted by real estate professionals from all 50 states, where a sale or refinance transaction has suspicious activity. Mortgage transactions involving these addresses should
University of Florida Police, Fascist Swine – John Kerry, Gutless Swine
When John Kerry got swiftboated, he just sat back and took it. I wondered if he was doing some politician kung fu or some Gandhi-esque passive resistance. Now I see that he is just a gutless swine. By now, everyone has seen the “Gainesville Taser” incident. (coverage here) The way the police acted, I’m surprised that they didn’t drag the
The USPTO Loves the Constitution!
USPTO Secretary Guitierrez seems to have a good grasp of the importance and beauty of our most cherished document, the U.S. Constitution. Consider this recent release: Secretary Gutierrez recently announced Constitution Day, September 17, to celebrate the anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution, and to promote public understanding and appreciation for the Constitution, its history, and its
Attorney General Nominee Mukasey on Trademarks and the First Amendment
In doing some research on the new Attorney General nominee, I discovered that he was the judge who penned the opinion in Tommy Hilfiger v. Nature Labs, LLC, 221 F. Supp. 2d 410 (S.D.N.Y. 2002). In that case, Nature Labs produced a line of “pet perfumes” whose names parodied some of the higher-end human smell-good products. Judge Mukasey wrote a
ACLU Backs Larry Craig
The ACLU entered the Larry Craig fray today by submitting an amicus brief to the Minnesota District Court urging it to allow the scandal-plagued politician to withdraw his guilty plea because the secret sting operation used to arrest him was likely unconstitutional. “The real motive behind secret sting operations like the one that resulted in Senator Craig’s arrest is not
More Schmutz on Google v. Jewtube
It seems like this is a little more of a megillah than I thought. There is more to the kemf between Google v. Jewtube than meets the eyes… it seems that I was a bissel farblondzheit!
Politician Name Cybersquatting
Marty Schwimmer reports on another Politician Domain Name Case. Apparently, the defendant in that case owns a collection of domain names that correlate to the names of local politicians. He claims that they are for dissemination of information about the candidates, but I’m not buying it. From the San Bernardino County Sun: County Supervisor Dennis Hansberger has sued to stop
Bob Marley Ringtone Case Strikes a Nasty Chord
Last month, Verizon Wireless purchased the right to be the exclusive provider of ring tones from the Bob Marley music catalog from Universal – who owns the rights to Marley’s music. The Marley estate objected, claiming Verizon failed to get permission from the singer’s family before making use of his music and likeness on its Web site. The estate threatened
Oy Vey! Google v. JewTube
As if the putzes over at Google hadn’t already engaged in enough michegaas, now they bring gebrenteh tsoores by filing this mushuggeneh trademark opposition against Jewtube! Well, I don’t want to be a paskudnyak, so to be completely accurate, they only filed a request for an extension of time to oppose, but just the same, I can’t see about what
Village People vs. hitler? (No, Village People's Record Company vs. Free Speech)
CNET reports on the latest attack on Fair Use. Some German TV station decided to poke fun at hitler (I don’t capitalize his name, sorry) and/or The Village People. (Hat tip to Bob Frank at Illuminor, LLC)
Vermont Journalist's Privilege Case
The Supreme Court of Vermont recently defined a contour of the elusive-to-define Journalist’s privilege. See Spooner v. Town of Topsham, 2007 VT 98.
Recent Cybersquatting Case – Lahoti v. Vericheck
Mike Atkins at the Seattle Trademark Lawyer does a great job discussing this case – no need for me to duplicate his efforts. Western District Finds Bad Faith in VERICHECK Cybersquatting Case.
Daytona Grand Shoots for the Supreme Court
DAYTONA BEACH — Attorneys for Lollipops Gentlemen’s Club said Thursday they will take their fight against the city’s anti-nudity ordinance to the U.S. Supreme Court. At the same time, police are gearing up to crack down on strippers and their managers who break city ordinances. The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals refused Wednesday to give Lollipops a rehearing in
Remember Terri Schiavo? Fred Thompson Can't
THE VILLAGES, Fla. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson said Thursday he doesn’t know enough about efforts by President Bush and Congress to keep Terri Schiavo alive to have an opinion on the right-to-die case that stirred national debate. Thompson was asked in an interview for Bay News 9’s “Political Connections” program if he thought Congress’ intervention to save
Fleeting Expletive = 179 Days in Jail
Yes, its Polk County again… Chris Wilson reports on Judge Dale Durrance’s latest exploits, as does the Lakeland Ledger. Joseph Javaun Woods was on probation for possession of marijuana, and was arrested for fleeing to elude a law enforcement officer. Since there was a gun in the car, he was also charged with carrying a concealed weapon and being a
