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14 Comm. Law. 1 (1996)

handle is hein.journals/comlaw14 and id is 1 raw text is: Media Law: Explosion of Lanham Act Cases
BY THOMAS S. LEATHERBURY

Media defense lawyers are accustomed
to encountering new liability theories
designed to circumvent the constitu-
tional strictures of defamation. These
claims began with false light privacy!
and expanded to business disparage-
ment- and negligent' and intentional
innlition of emotional distress.' As the
courts grew to view most of these addi-
tional claims as disguised libel claims
and to impose the same or more strin-

gent constitutional and common law
standards on them, plaintiffs' lawyers
continued to tweak their pleadings to
challenge not only what was published
bit also how the information wfas gath-
ered. Claims based on newsgathering
conduct, including trespass.: intrusion.
breach of contract,' tortious interfer-
ence with contracts conversion, the
Fourth Amendment's prohibition
against unreasonable searches and

seizures,' and the Racketeer Influ-
eMced and Corrupt Organizations Act
have a higher profile than ever before.
However. the plaintiffs' latest end-run
around the libel laws shifts the focus
back to content, as a growing number
of plaintiffIs seek to extend the reach of
the Lanham Act.'' demanding both
damages for and injunctions against
the use of registered and even unregis-
(ontimwd on page 16

Lanham Act Cases Explode ......................................I  Courtside: Recent Supreme Court Decisions ......... 12
From tihe Chair    . ..................................... 2  Liability for Tortious Interference .................13
Standards of Proof in Defamation Cases .... ........3    What's New in Comnuhications Law ......      ..... 19
Expert Testimony & Libel Suits ... ,..... ........8  Cameras in the Courtroom ..................      22

Illustration by Richard Laurent

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