By Simon N. Pulman Consumption of online video continues to grow at a rapid pace. Online video ad revenue is projected to reach nearly $5 billion in 2016, while premium streaming video distributors including Netflix, Hulu Plus and Yahoo are stepping up their licensing and commissioning of original content. Most industry observers believe that online

By Simon N. Pulman The use of “native advertising” online has grown at a considerable pace over the past two years, with some studies projecting that it could account for five billion dollars in spending by 2017 – far outpacing the growth of traditional online display ads. Such is the economic (and some might say

In POM Wonderful LLC v. The Coca-Cola Company, the US Supreme Court resolved much of the uncertainty surrounding the intersection of unfair competition claims under the Lanham Act relating to food labels and the strictures of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).  These two federal statutes cross paths in cases where a food

High Court Resolves Circuit Split on “Prudential Standing” to Bring False Advertising Claims Under the Lanham Act:  Lexmark Int’l, Inc. v. Static Control Components, Inc., No. 12-873 (2014) In what has become rare in recent years, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion, this one deciding the proper test for what is often called “prudential”

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued new guidelines this week for media outlets, advertisers, brands, celebrity brand spokespeople and other parties advertising products online. The report, titled “.com Disclosures: How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising,” builds upon the FTC’s previous report on digital marketing practices, issued in 2000. In addition to emphatically clarifying

Facebook recently unveiled “Graph Search,” an innovation designed to help users find and connect their friends by their interests, shared history, and past activity on the social networking platform. The new feature, which will begin beta testing soon, greatly expands the search capabilities of the Facebook platform in a move some commentators speculate may help

Kim Seng Co. v. J & A Importers, Inc., 810 F. Supp. 2d 1046 (C.D. Cal. 2011) In Kim Seng Co. v. J & A Importers, Inc., a California District Court considered the copyrightability of a food display. Kim Seng Co., (“Kim Seng”), a Chinese-Vietnam food supply company sued another Chinese-Vietnam food supplier, J &

The Topps Company recently released a set of “American Heroes” trading cards which include well-known politicians, actors, athletes, scientists and events. Famed astronaut Buzz Aldrin attempted to block the release of certain cards believing the cards improperly incorporate his name, likeness and image in a commercial manner. The cards in question include the famous “Visor

In a lawsuit against the band Green Day, by Derek Seltzer (an L.A. Based Artist), the U.S. District Court Judge ruled in favor of Green Day in a motion for summary judgment on the basis of their fair use defense. Seltzer accused Green Day of violating his intellectual property rights through their unauthorized use of,