The Federal Trade Commission approved Omnicom Group Inc.’s approximately $13.5 billion acquisition of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG) but with strict conditions designed to prevent anticompetitive coordination in the digital advertising market, a restriction that has not been
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Anthropic and Meta Win Major, but Limited, AI Copyright Lawsuits
Recently, major technology companies, Anthropic and Meta each secured landmark victories in separate copyright lawsuits. The companies had been sued by authors and their publishers, regarding claims that these companies’ AI models were trained on copyrighted materials without claimant’s permission, in
FTC’s Unfair/Deceptive Fees Rule Takes Effect
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, 16 C.F.R. Part 464, is effective as of May 12, 2025. According to the FTC’s recent press release, the Rule “prohibits bait-and-switch pricing and other tactics used to
AI and Copyright: What a Recent Court Ruling Means for AI Creators and Intellectual Property Rights
In a significant decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently ruled that the Copyright Act of 1976 requires human authorship to register a work, affirming the district court’s denial of a copyright application for a
After Competitor’s Challenge, NAD Recommends DREO’s Discontinuance of Claims of Being the No. 1 Fan and Heater Brand
Lasko Products, LLC (“Lasko”) and the Hesung Innovation Corp./DREO Limited (“DREO”) are competitors, both specializing in the fan and heater market. Recently, Lasko filed a Fast-Track SWIFT challenge with the National Advertising Division (NAD). Fast-Track SWIFT is an expedited process
TTAB Practitioners Beware: TTAB Dismissals With Prejudice, but Without Judgment, Can Support a Claim Preclusion Defense
In a recent precedential cancellation decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) partially granted Respondent’s motion for summary judgment, holding that the parties’ stipulation that prior proceedings between them be dismissed “WITH PREJUDICE, with CONSENT of both parties, and
The U.S. Supreme Court Unanimously Rules That Successful Trademark Plaintiffs Cannot Recover Profits from Named Defendants’ Affiliates Without Suing the Affiliates Themselves
On February 26, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously vacated a nearly $43 million award in a trademark dispute that raised the question of whether a defendant’s affiliates could be held liable for payment of a disgorged profits award even
The First U.S. AI Copyright “Fair Use” Ruling Favors Copyright Owners
Yesterday, in the first U.S. ruling on the closely scrutinized question of fair use in the AI-related copyright litigation context, U.S. Circuit Judge Stephanos Bilbas, sitting in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware by designation from the
Annual Super Bowl Post
My favorite blog post of the year—where I get to assess the best commercials, track the rise in ad costs, and challenge you to identify your favorite celebrity endorsement.
This year, demand for ad space was “robust” with some 30-second
FTC’s Final Changes to COPPA Rule
Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had finalized changes to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule to set new requirements around the collection, use, and disclosure of children’s personal information, including requirements that parents