By Alissa Del Riego* Edited by Miriam Weiler Editorial Policy The FTC’s new Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (“the guidelines”), regulating blog postings that endorse products, take effect December 1, 2009. These guidelines represent the first time since 1980 that the FTC has updated its policies to adapt to new social media and the ever-growing presence of advertisement on the Internet. The guidelines seek to provide consumers with enough information to allow them to distinguish ... Read More...

First Circuit Explains Judgment Against File-Sharer Tannenbaum By Eric Engle  – Edited by Miriam Weiler Sony BMG Music Entertainment et al. v. Tannenbaum, Case No. 07cv11446-NG (Dist. Mass., Dec. 7, 2009) Memorandum and Order The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts elaborated on its July 27 summary judgment against Joel Tannenbaum, holding that file sharing for personal use was not presumptively fair under the Fair Use doctrine.  In so holding, the court suggested that Tannenbaum could have escaped ... Read More...

Federal Circuit Affirms Muscle Supplement Patent Invalid as Anticipated by Prior Art Advertisement By Ian B. Brooks – Edited by Miriam Weiler Iovate Health Sciences, Inc. v. Bio-Engineered Supplements & Nutrition, Inc., No. 2009-1018 (Fed. Cir. November 19, 2009). Slip Opinion The Federal Circuit affirmed the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas decision invalidating Iovate Health Sciences’ U.S. Patent 6,100,287 (“’287”) as anticipated under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b). The Federal Circuit held that the advertisement for Iovate’s protein ... Read More...

Supreme Court Holds that FDA Regulation Does Not Preempt State Tort Claim By Caitlyn Ross – Edited by Miriam Weiler Wyeth v. Levine Supreme Court of the United States, March 4, 2009, No. 06-1249 Slip Opinion On March 4th, the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed the judgment of the Vermont Supreme Court, holding that federal drug labeling regulations do not preempt state failure-to-warn lawsuits.  The Supreme Court held that compliance with FDA labeling requirements did not preempt Levine’s ... Read More...

Maryland’s Highest Court Adopts Dendrite Standard for Unmasking Anonymous Forum Posters in Defamation Actions By Evan Kubota –- Edited by Miriam Weiler Independent Newspapers, Inc. v. Brodie Court of Appeals of Maryland, February 27, 2009, No. 63 Opinion On February 27th, the Court of Appeals of Maryland reversed a lower court’s order compelling discovery of the identities of five anonymous Internet forum posters in a defamation action. The court had granted certiorari on its own initiative.  While the court’s holding ... Read More...