First Amendment

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A federal appeals court has agreed to put on hold a Texas social media law, HB 20, that restricts content moderation actions on social media platforms. The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals announced that it was granting a September request from social media platforms to block enforcement of the law as trade associations appeal…

In the first iteration of what is expected to be a hot constitutional issue, a Federal court in New York upheld New York’s ban on ballot-box selfies. The court found the law triggered strict scrutiny as the result of its suppression of voters’ political expression, but that it was sufficiently narrowly tailored to further compelling…

The U.S. Supreme Court denied nonprofit Patriotic Veterans, Inc.’s petition for review of Indiana’s ban on the use of technology that automatically dials residential phone numbers and plays prerecorded messages. Patriotic Veterans, based in Illinois, uses this “robocall” technology to disseminate pre-recorded messages about political candidates’ positions on issues affecting veterans.  In 2010, however, the…

In a previous post, we analyzed the battle over the trademark COMIC CON, which is owned by the San Diego Comic Convention (SDCC) but has been used by over 100 other comic book convention organizers.  SDCC brought suit against one of these alleged infringers, Dan Farr Productions, in 2014, but failed to secure summary…

Last month, the Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc, upheld a California “tied house” law prohibiting manufacturers and wholesalers from providing anything of value to retailers in exchange for advertising their alcohol products.

Retail Digital Network, LLC, (“RDN”) an advertising agency that placed advertisements in wine and spirit retail stores, alleged that alcohol manufacturers and wholesalers…

Earlier this week, a unanimous but fractured Supreme Court ruled that a controversial provision in the Lanham Act prohibiting the registration of trademarks that disparage “persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols” violates the First Amendment. This decision may be most remembered for the impact it may have on the NFL’s Washington Redskins,…

Last week, a D.C. District Court declined to find the Federal Trade Commission’s decision to extend robocalling restrictions to telemarketing calls that use “soundboard” technology unconstitutional or in violation of any procedural rules. The Soundboard Association, a telecommunications interest group, argued that the FTC rule was unconstitutional because the FTC bypassed the notice-and-comment requirements typically…

Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld an Indiana statute banning robocalls, concluding that the statute was evenly applied in an effort to prohibit unsolicited calls made without a recipient’s consent regardless of the content of the message or the identity of the caller. Patriotic Veterans, Inc. brought suit arguing…

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…