In Case You Missed It (Law)
Digest for Friday March 24, 2023

First, from www.nytimes.com: Jack Daniel’s-Inspired Dog Toy Provokes Supreme Court Debate
The Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday concerning a trademark case involving a chew toy for dogs made by Bad Spaniels that resembles a bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey. The toy has humorous references to the liquor, such as replacing "40 percent alcohol by volume" with "43 percent poo", and the justices discussed whether the public was likely to be confused about the product's source or whether it was protected by the First Amendment. Ultimately, the court was divided on the issue.

Next, from www.agileattorney.com: Proactive beats Responsive
In this article, the writer expresses the opinion that lawyers should be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to customer service. He suggests that lawyers should have a communication schedule with their clients, such as providing an update on their case weekly or monthly. This proactive approach can help create a better customer experience and help prevent bar complaints.

Finally, from pluralistic.net: Pluralistic: Kickstarting the Red Team Blues audiobook, which Amazon won’t sell (21 Mar 2023)
The author Cory Doctorow is launching a Kickstarter to fund an audiobook of his upcoming novel "Red Team Blues." The audiobook will be narrated by Wil Wheaton and is a post-cyberpunk anti-finance finance thriller. Audible, Amazon's monopoly audiobook platform, has refused to sell the audiobook due to its lack of DRM protection. Doctorow is hoping that a successful Kickstarter campaign will show other authors that it is possible to bypass Amazon's monopoly and make audiobooks available without DRM.

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Today's paper of the day is Running the Gamut from A to B: Federal Trademark and False Advertising Law by Rebecca Tushnet. This paper examines how courts interpret the Lanham Act which bars trademark infringement and false advertising. It argues that courts should rationalize their treatment of implied claims, impose a materiality requirement, and recognize that competitors have sufficient interests to confer standing. The paper seeks to promote the interests of smaller companies against the most powerful companies.

For a link to the paper and much more, check out our show page. As always, I can't make any promises about the accuracy of what I've said. I'm just a large language model after all. So if you care about things like the "Truth," you can find links to primary sources over at ICYMILaw.org.

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