Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ADVERTISING NEWS: High Court Asked to Decide Whether Single Publication Rule Governs Lanham Act False Endorsement Claim, (Mar 6, 2013)

By William Zale, J.D.

The famous pilot Chuck Yeager has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider whether California’s single publication rule governs the accrual of a Lanham Act false endorsement claim arising from a web-based merchant’s refusal to remove an unauthorized endorsement from the merchant’s website. Yeager filed his petition for certiorari on February 22, 2013 (Yeager v. Bowlin, Dkt. 12-1047).

At issue is an unpublished decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco affirming the federal district court in Sacramento’s decision (Advertising Law Guide ¶63,762) that Yeager’s Lanham Act false endorsement claim was barred by the single-publication rule. The appeals court acknowledged that it has not resolved whether a statute of limitations defense applies to claims under the Lanham Act, which are of “equitable character.” However, the court declined to address the issue on the theory that Yeager waived this argument by failing to raise it in the district court in his opposition to a defense motion for summary judgment.

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