Rebecca Tushnet
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Rebecca Tushnet
@rtushnet.bsky.social

Trademark, advertising, and more

Rebecca Tushnet is an American legal scholar. She serves as the Frank Stanton Professor of First Amendment Law at Harvard Law School. Her scholarship focuses on copyright, trademark, First Amendment, and false advertising. .. more

Law 39%
Business 28%
Next week the House E&C Committee is looking to run something of a shock and awe campaign, debating at least 19 bills that they say are related to "protecting kids online." Most of which are actually about censorship and control. Don't buy the framing. It's always the same damn thing.

Reposted by Rebecca Tushnet

me: [reviewing very elaborate american girl doll trademark hypo with class]
student: professor, I’m sorry but you made an error & I feel obligated to let you know before we go further
me (nervous): I did? what was it?
student (gravely): you mixed up felicity & kirsten
Q: Have you heard this audio that Bloomberg has of Witkoff coaching the Russians on how to appeal to you?

TRUMP: That's a standard thing. He's gotta sell this to Ukraine, he's gonna sell Ukraine to Russia. That's what a dealmaker does. I haven't heard it but I heard it was standard negotiation.

Reposted by Rebecca Tushnet

First they came for the George Mason University Faculty Senate. Then they came for the U.S. Congress. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...
Trump Administration Live Updates: Democrats Say F.B.I. Investigating Them Over Illegal Orders Video
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Rebecca Tushnet

RealPage allegedly helped landlords price-fix and jack up the cost of rent.

Instead of cracking down, Trump's Justice Department struck a “deal” that lets them continue to rip off renters.

Is that the art of the deal or a sham? RealPage called it "an endorsement."
Justice Department to Settle Lawsuit Over Apartment Rental Pricing
The case had alleged that RealPage’s software allowed landlords to unfairly coordinate prices.
www.wsj.com

I've given up and am just using old CW shows
Exclusive: Republicans plan to challenge vehicle-safety mandates, such as automatic emergency braking and alarms that remind drivers a child is in the back seat.
Senate Committee to Challenge Auto-Safety Mandates That Hurt ‘Affordability’
Republicans are questioning the value of some features, such as automatic braking and rear-seat reminders.
on.wsj.com

Reposted by Rebecca Tushnet

- He stopped the policy of encouraging flu immunization in Louisiana
- Delayed reporting on a pertussis outbreak that killed two children in Louisiana.
-Promoted false information on covid vaccine harms.
He is now number 2 at CDC.
www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
Controversial Louisiana surgeon general tapped for CDC leadership role
Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham has spoken against Covid shots and ended mass vaccination campaigns. Now he's in a position to make national health decisions.
www.nbcnews.com

Reposted by Rebecca Tushnet

There are a lot of dumb trademark suits in the world. But this is just . . . nuts. Buc-ees thinks the image on the left infringes the one on the right

www.dexerto.com/entertainmen...
Buc-ees suing ‘Nut Huggers’ underwear company over cartoon squirrel trademark infringement - Dexerto
Buc-ees is suing Oklahoma brand Nut Huggers over a cartoon squirrel logo the chain claims is trademark infringement.
www.dexerto.com
MS NOW confirms: The FBI is working with Capitol Police to schedule interviews with the six Democratic lawmakers who urged service members to refuse to comply with illegal orders.
New issue of my newsletter: "The Writing Is on the Wall for Handwriting Recognition" — One of the hardest problems in digital humanities has finally been solved, and it's a good use of AI newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/the-...
The Writing Is on the Wall for Handwriting Recognition
One of the hardest problems in digital humanities has finally been solved
newsletter.dancohen.org

Reposted by Rebecca Tushnet

Gotta love the fact that the article itself has an AI summary.
groundbreaking.

Reposted by Rebecca Tushnet

Reposted by Rebecca Tushnet

After I called out the big banks for adding ANOTHER $20 billion to Trump’s Argentina bailout, their plan is on ice.

But they are still exploring a $5 billion loan – potentially guaranteed by U.S. taxpayers.

No bailout for Argentina’s rich hedge fund investors.

Reposted by Rebecca Tushnet

Zohran Mamdani chastised a Manhattan synagogue that hosted an event promoting migration to Israel and settlements in occupied territories. His stance further tested his strained relationship with pro-Israel Jews in New York.
Mamdani Response to Protest Inflames Tensions with Jewish Leaders
The mayor-elect chastised a synagogue that hosted an event promoting migration to Israel and settlements in occupied territories. His stance further tested his strained relationship with pro-Israel Jews.
nyti.ms
It’s especially ironic because the lecture is exactly about the ‘paralyzing cowardice’ of today’s elites.

About universities, corporations and media networks bending the knee to authoritarianism. /4
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.

They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1

Should a reasonable consumer have cared whether it was humans taking notes or "AI"?
Founders on LinkedIn still seem to be struggling with the difference between telling people about their humble beginnings and admitting to straight up committing fraud.

Self-tarnishment?
Any time corporate executives are in a room together and don't know they're being recorded, the transcript is like: "Christ, I hate our customers. We're agreed that we all hate our customers? Let's lie to the IRS, criminally. Did I mention the Holocaust never happened? Put more lead in our soda."
Campbell's soup VP caught on tape trashing his own brand. Oof. www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2...
Any time corporate executives are in a room together and don't know they're being recorded, the transcript is like: "Christ, I hate our customers. We're agreed that we all hate our customers? Let's lie to the IRS, criminally. Did I mention the Holocaust never happened? Put more lead in our soda."
Campbell's soup VP caught on tape trashing his own brand. Oof. www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2...
WOW! Autism Society of America, The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, the Autism Science Foundation, the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network and Autism Speaks put out a statement denouncing the CDC changing its website on vaccines
autisticadvocacy.org/2025/11/lead...
Leading Autism and Disability Organizations Statement on CDC's Vaccines and Autism Page
As national organizations dedicated to advancing the well-being of autistic individuals and partners across the disability and public health sectors, we are deeply disappointed by the latest update to...
autisticadvocacy.org

Reposted by Rebecca Tushnet

Founders on LinkedIn still seem to be struggling with the difference between telling people about their humble beginnings and admitting to straight up committing fraud.

Reposted by Rebecca Tushnet

Pete Hegseth is just a piece of shit and RFK Jr. is just a pile of weird smelling garbage.

Addiction isn’t the reason for these truths.

You’ll note lots of people have substance use problems and don’t endeavor to start wars and bring back eradicated diseases to kill many thousands of children!

Reposted by Rebecca Tushnet

ICE agent when told he's about to arrest a US citizen. Direct quote: "I DON'T CARE."
University students who were provided with a free gym card (in a randomized experiment) exercised more and had a significant improvement in academic performance. The treated students were also less likely to drop out of classes
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10....
University of Chicago Press Journals: Cookie absent
www.journals.uchicago.edu
Rep. Salazar: "We're gonna be doing a favor to us, to our children, to our economy, to our oil companies to be able to liberate. And to Venezuelans who wants to be free."
One might think this is exactly the kind of thing the separation of powers and the Speech or Debate Clause were designed to prevent. It’s positively Charles I type behavior.
Hegseth is now threatening to recall Sen. Mark Kelly to active duty in order to court martial him.
X’s New Feature Reveals Why Trust & Safety Work Was Never About The ‘Censorship Industrial Complex’

For the last few years, Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, and their allies have spent considerable energy attacking both academic researchers studying disinformation and the trust & safety teams…
X’s New Feature Reveals Why Trust & Safety Work Was Never About The ‘Censorship Industrial Complex’
For the last few years, Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, and their allies have spent considerable energy attacking both academic researchers studying disinformation and the trust & safety teams at social media platforms working to identify and remove coordinated inauthentic behavior—particularly foreign influence operations. They've insisted that any attempt to study and limit such operations is actually just "censorship" with various forms of cover, whether academic or operational.
www.techdirt.com

FWIW you can probably turn the smart features back on: www.theverge.com/news/826902/...
Google denies ‘misleading’ reports of Gmail using your emails to train AI
Google says “we do not use your Gmail content for training our Gemini AI model.”
www.theverge.com