Professor Backs Dismissal Of ASU Trademark Suit Over ‘Hoax-19’ Instagram Account

Mealey's (January 21, 2022, 1:18 PM EST) -- SAN FRANCISCO — Filing an amicus curiae brief on Jan. 18 supporting a trial court’s dismissal of Arizona State University’s (ASU’s) trademark infringement lawsuit against a John Doe who created an Instagram account that used the university’s trademarks, a law professor tells the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that the account’s use of the trademarks was “absurdist mockery,” not commercial, “and thus did not implicate the Lanham Act....