Two recent actions involving sellers and marketers of cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabis prove the “wellness” industry is not always so chill.

Clint Eastwood Sues CBD Companies over False Endorsements

In the first action, Clint Eastwood filed two lawsuits in federal court in Los Angeles against CBD companies and marketers, claiming the companies promoted false news

On 9 September 2019, the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung – BMZ) introduced a new, state-regulated environmental label for “Green Button” (Grüner Knopf) certified textiles with a press release. The BMZ also launched the official Green Button website, which is available in German at www.gruener-knopf.de.

Jack Daniel’s is fighting hard to protect its iconic, all-American image against purported copycats. The famous Tennessee whiskey brand filed a lengthy complaint against Dynasty Spirits (“Dynasty”) and Buffalo Bayou Distilleries (“Buffalo Bayou”), two Texas distilleries, alleging trademark and trade dress infringement and dilution. Dynasty is responsible for the distilling and marketing of the accused

Epic Games, Inc. (“Epic”), the company behind popular video game “Fortnite,” has refused to stand down in its copyright infringement and breach of contract suit against a 14-year-old gamer. Fortnite has seen booming success as a free, online game in which players must simply consent to the Terms of Service to create an account.

The

The state of Georgia and the Code Revision Commission achieved a victory when a federal court granted their motion for summary judgment, holding that Georgia’s “Official Code of Georgia Annotated” (OCGA) was protected by copyright and Public.Resource.Org, Inc.’s duplication of the statutes online were not fair use.

The lawsuit was filed after Public.Resource.Org allegedly scanned

While the beginning of the Trump era started with debates over the size of crowds and immigration bans, last week was all about brands and their affiliation (or desire to be unaffiliated) with President Trump. Most recently, this issue came to the forefront when Under Armour’s CEO gave an interview on CNBC and called Trump

The United States Supreme Court, on September 29, 2016, granted certiorari in a case involving petitioner Simon Tam, his band, The Slants, and the band’s attempt to register their band name as a trademark. Commentators believe this case will resolve the question of whether the Lanham Act’s prohibition on the registration of disparaging or offensive

With its decision in VMG Salsoul v. Ciccone, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals created a circuit split that could greatly impact copyright infringement claims based on unlicensed music sampling.  For the advertising industry, this decision affects the risk assessment involved when creating or using music that contains “samples”.  Read on for more.

On

The tragic death of renowned recording artist Prince left many reminiscing about his meticulously crafted public image. In life, the law allowed Prince to control the commercial exploitations of his image.  At death, however, that control was lost.

Celebrities routinely harness their “images” as a means of generating revenue, relying on intellectual property and right