State legal cannabis businesses are used to the specter of the federal government in the rear view mirrors of their lives and businesses. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that cannabis remains federally illegal. And it’s not so much the case anymore that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) or Department of Justice
It has been a tough stretch for Portland-based Cura Partners, Inc. (“Cura”) and its parent company, Massachusetts-based Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (“Curaleaf.”) Cura produces the popular Select brand of THC vaping products and was declared Oregon’s first “cannabis unicorn.” In May of 2019, Cura announced its sale to Curaleaf for more than $1 billion in an
On July 22, 2020, Clint Eastwood filed two separate lawsuits in federal court in Los Angeles against three CBD manufacturers and marketing companies that posted fabricated online articles falsely claiming that Eastwood endorsed CBD products, as well as ten online CBD retailers that allegedly manipulated search results to make it appear that he had endorsed
Over the last couple of years, our firm has seen a massive uptick in cannabis-related trademark litigation, and have handled many of these disputes on behalf of our clients, both as stand-alone matters and in conjunction with partnership disputes. Here are a few of the trademark disputes we’ve covered recently (our blog archives are full
Even before COVID-19 entered our lives, it was clear that more and more businesses were realizing the importance of engaging with consumers online. Now, as most are forced to limit their in-person activities or shut them down altogether, we are seeing an even sharper trend in businesses investing in their online presence – especially with
The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (“2018 Farm Bill”) legalized hemp by removing hemp and its derivatives from the definition of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”). The 2018 Farm Bill also provided a detailed framework for the production of hemp and directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) to promulgate regulations and permitted
Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote about the uptick in cannabis business suing one another for trademark infringement (as opposed to non-cannabis companies suing cannabis companies, which happens a lot and which you can read about here, here, and here). The example at hand was the litigation between Harvest Dispensaries Cultivation & Production Facilities,
If you aren’t familiar with the TCPA, you should familiarize yourself with this important statute that is currently sparking a ton of litigation in the cannabis industry. The TCPA stands for the Telephone Consumer Protection Act – a statute that was passed in 1991 to fight the incessant “robocalls” that were plaguing consumers at the
Earlier this month the Canadian Federal Court handed retail toy store Toys “R” Us a victory in its trademark lawsuit alleging “depreciation of goodwill,” among other causes of action including trademark infringement and “passing off,” against B.C., Canada-based dispensary, Herbs “R” Us. For reference, the two logos can be seen above. Toys “R” Us was
Recently, I mentioned that except for Champ v. Commissioner, no cannabis company has ever won an Internal Revenue Code § 280E case. One of the more famous setbacks was a 2018 case known as Harborside v. Commissioner, which expressly found IRC § 280E constitutional. That decision started with the memorable line that: “[Harborside] owns what
