Advertising Law

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

Beyond Big Brother: Some Web Hosts Are Watching Your Every Keystroke

There’s a cost to that free content you probably enjoy on the Internet—a loss of privacy. Web hosts are watching what you read, what you say, what you buy and where you go online, via cookies and other tracking tools that enable them to assemble—and sell—detailed profiles to other companies,…

Aug 2, 2010 11:02 PM CDT

Law Firm & Angry Ex-Associate Settle Suit Over Badmouth Blog

Whether you saw it as the “horrendous cyber-assault” claimed by Levinson Axelrod or simply an ex-associate’s legitimate expression of opinion, however unflattering, about the New Jersey law firm that formerly employed him, a badmouth blog that captured public attention with its angry audacity is no more. A confidential settlement last…

Jul 26, 2010 5:53 PM CDT

99 Cents Only Stores Sued for Raising Prices

The West Coast chain of 99 Cents Only Stores is facing two lawsuits for raising the prices of its items to 99.99 cents, essentially making them cost $1. The would-be class-action suits filed last month in Los Angeles superior court claim unfair and deceptive business practices and misleading advertising, the…

Jul 22, 2010 11:55 AM CDT

Naked Cowboy Sues Female Competitor, Says She Stole His Shtick

A New York man who has made a business out of playing a guitar in Times Square while seemingly wearing very little except a cowboy hat and his shoes has filed a federal lawsuit against a female competitor. Best known as the Naked Cowboy, Robert John Burck contends that comedian…

Jul 21, 2010 7:46 PM CDT

Onetime Law Student Sues, Claims Beer Pong Prowess Wasn’t Meant for Prime Time

A Southwestern University law graduate says a beer ad featuring his beer pong trick shots was intended to be broadcast only on Danish TV, where it would remain in relative obscurity. But Scott Tipton says in a lawsuit that the ad for Carlsberg beer he made as a law student…

Jul 15, 2010 6:46 PM CDT

Does Bankruptcy Put a Gay Website’s Teen User Info Into Creditors’ Hands?

An effort by bankruptcy creditors to obtain the one valuable asset of a dying website—its database of information about 1 million subscribers and users—is raising privacy concerns both in the United States and abroad. Because the website is for XY Magazine, whose focus is on young men and teenage boys…

Jul 14, 2010 12:27 AM CDT

New Florida Bar Web Rules Ignite Firestorm; ACLU, Law Firms, Even FTC All Object

Stringent new Florida Bar rules on attorney online advertising have ignited a firestorm, attracting criticism from a sweeping array of groups including not only law firms that do business in the state but the American Civil Liberties Union and even the Federal Trade Commission. A common theme is that the…

Jul 8, 2010 7:14 PM CDT

Fla. Law Firm that Sued over ‘Don’t Settle’ Tagline Allowed to Challenge Ad Rules

A Florida lawyer in a dispute with bar officials over his law firm’s tagline may challenge the state’s attorney advertising rules, a federal appeals court has ruled. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled (PDF) last week that Jacksonville lawyer William Harrell Jr. may sue the Florida Bar…

Jun 22, 2010 1:14 PM CDT

Hulk Hogan Challenges Post Foods to a Lawsuit, Cites Humiliating Defeat in Cartoon Ad

Hulk Hogan claims in a lawsuit that a character named “Hulk Boulder” in a cartoon commercial for Cocoa Pebbles is a misappropriation of his likeness. In the commercial, a blond Hulk Boulder with a mustache takes on Flintstones characters in a wrestling match, according to stories in the Hollywood Reporter,…

May 28, 2010 3:43 PM CDT

Talking Heads Singer Sues Fla. Gov, Seeks $1M for Song Use in Attack Ad

A former lead singer for Talking Heads has sued Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, contending that he used the group’s 1985 “Road to Nowhere” song in an online attack ad against Marco Rubio without permission, reports the County Grind blog of the Broward-Palm Beach New Times. He is represented by attorney…

May 25, 2010 11:18 PM CDT