Advertising Law

Seduced: For Lawyers, the Appeal of Social Media Is Obvious. It’s Also Dangerous

Illustration by Jean Francois Podevin Sean W. Conway thought he was writing an ordinary blog post. He never suspected he would wind up facing ethics charges. “I felt completely within my rights as a citizen, exposing what I thought was an injustice,” he says. It seemed to the then-35-year-old defense…

Feb 1, 2011 10:20 AM CST

5th Cir. Eases La. Attorney Ad Rules, OKs Endorsements, Some Slogans

Finding that a blanket ban on results-oriented attorney advertising violates the First Amendment, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today struck down a challenged Louisiana rule of professional conduct that prohibited testimonials and factual information about results achieved in prior representations. And a three-judge appellate panel also…

Jan 31, 2011 10:34 PM CST

Taco Bell Defends Its Beef, Says It Will Take Unspecified ‘Legal Action’

Taco Bell has a beef with the lawyers who filed a class-action suit claiming its “seasoned ground beef” isn’t as meaty as it sounds. The California class action filed by Alabama law firm Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles had claimed meat accounts for less than half of Taco…

Jan 26, 2011 4:54 PM CST

Finicky Felines Prefer Super Scoop Kitty Litter, Not Fresh Step, Federal Lawsuit Contends

Citing a competing—and, it says, superior—study of feline toileting preferences, one leading manufacturer of kitty litter has made a federal case out of another’s advertising claim that finicky cats prefer the Fresh Step brand manufactured by Clorox Co. In fact, contends Church & Dwight Co. in a lawsuit filed today…

Jan 6, 2011 1:00 AM CST

Colo. Author Faces Fla. Obscenity Case, Allegedly Sold Signed Copy of ‘Pedophile’ to Authorities

The Colorado author of The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover’s Code of Conduct has been arrested in a Florida obscenity case after allegedly selling a signed copy of his book to Polk County undercover officers. Philip Ray Greaves II was arrested at his Pueblo home on a…

Dec 20, 2010 6:54 PM CST

SCOTUS Gives Nod to 2nd Circuit OK of ‘Heavy Hitters’ Law Firm Slogan & Descriptive Trade Names

By refusing to hear an appeal of a 2nd Circuit decision earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court has apparently turned a friendly eye on the use of law firm slogans and descriptive trade names that include a bit of chest-beating, according to the Associated Press. Although it is potentially…

Dec 13, 2010 6:28 PM CST

Feds Arrest Russian ‘Spam King,’ 23, Accuse Him of Generating 10 Billion Garbage E-Mails Daily

Federal agents say they have arrested a 23-year-old Russian “spam king” allegedly responsible for generating some 10 billion unwanted e-mails daily—a third of the world’s total—from a network of infected computers. Oleg Nikolaenko was arrested in Las Vegas last month and is scheduled to appear tomorrow in federal court in…

Dec 2, 2010 10:00 PM CST

Reports: Facebook Is Close to Trademarking the Generic Word ‘Face’

Corrected: As reported earlier by TechCrunch, the Facebook social networking site is close to getting a trademark on the generic word “face.” To do so, following a notice of allowance by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, however, Facebook must not only pay a fee but file a statement of…

Nov 24, 2010 5:52 PM CST

Seeking Clients Via Facebook? In Ky., Bar May Regulate Social Media Comments

Lawyers in Kentucky who reach out to potential clients through social media such as Facebook and MySpace may see their comments regulated by the Kentucky Bar Association. The bar has proposed a regulation that would bar solicitations through social media unless lawyers pay a $75 filing fee and permit regulation…

Nov 18, 2010 11:30 AM CST

Duane Morris Demand Letter Makes Mom & Pop Shop’s Day; ‘Fudgesicle’ Now Known as Trademark Bar

Owners of a small ice cream shop in California were surprised and pleased to receive a cease-and-desist letter from Duane Morris recently, threatening legal action over an item on the Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous menu known as the fudgesicle, reports SF Weekly in its SFoodie blog. “Our first reaction was…

Nov 3, 2010 6:08 PM CDT

Dentists Sue Blogger, Say She Reneged on Deal to Pay Her Bill with Write-Up; But Later Withdraw Suit

Updated: Well-known mommy blogger Lyss Stern agreed to write a puff piece for an advertising supplement for the New York Observer to pay off a nearly $45,000 dental bill, then reneged on the deal, contends a New York lawsuit filed by a dental firm. Lowenberg & Lituchy DDS said in…

Oct 25, 2010 6:14 PM CDT

Red Bull Jettisons Space Sky Dive Due to Lawsuit

Red Bull is putting a hold on plans to sponsor a sky diver’s jump from the stratosphere because of a lawsuit that claims the energy drink company stole the idea. Parachutist Felix Baumgartner had planned to break the sound barrier and a world record with his jump out of a…

Oct 13, 2010 12:38 PM CDT

Hulk Hogan Settles Suit Over Cereal Ad Featuring ‘Hulk Boulder’ Character

Hulk Hogan has settled a lawsuit claiming Post Foods misappropriated his likeness in an advertisement for Cocoa Pebbles featuring a character called “Hulk Boulder.” Under the settlement, the commercial featuring a fight between Hulk Boulder and a victorious Bam-Bam will no longer be aired, the St. Petersburg Times reports. Other…

Sep 30, 2010 12:44 PM CDT

Lindsay Lohan Settles $100M Suit Over E*Trade’s Milkaholic Baby

Actress Lindsay Lohan has settled her $100 million lawsuit that claimed the milkaholic baby in an E*Trade ad was modeled after her. Terms of the settlement were not immediately available, Reuters reports. E*Trade spokeswoman Allison Jeannotte told Reuters in a statement, “It was a simple business decision. We always have…

Sep 21, 2010 12:28 PM CDT

Lawsuit Claims Facebook’s ‘Like’ Button Misappropriates Teen Photos

A potential class action lawsuit claims that Facebook’s “like” button converts teens into product endorsers, violating a California law that bars the use of minor’s names or photos without parental permission. When teens hit “like,” their opinion is transmitted, along with their photos, to their Facebook friends. Such an endorsement…

Aug 31, 2010 1:55 PM CDT