Sean M. Monks (Partner-San Diego, CA), Richard Bortnick (Of Counsel-Philadelphia, PA), and Chelsea Gaudet (Associate-San Diego, CA) achieved dismissal with prejudice in the U.S. District Court, Central District of California on behalf of their client, a beauty product manufacturer, in a federal action alleging copyright infringement, unfair competition, and violations of the Lanham Act. The plaintiff, a leading manufacturer of beauty products and accessories, alleged that the client’s advertising for its solid shampoo and conditioner products was confusingly similar to the plaintiff’s advertising. Both companies market solid shampoo and conditioner products online, including through Amazon. The plaintiff’s advertisements feature the products placed on top of their packaging, with images of the products’ ingredients scattered below on the package. The plaintiff alleged that our client’s advertisements similarly depicted its products and ingredients and that the client’s packaging used wording in the same order, with the same words appearing in larger font. The plaintiff further alleged that the client’s products were not packaged as depicted in its advertisements and that the advertising was designed to confuse consumers into believing the products were offered by the plaintiff or purchasing the client’s products when they intended to purchase the plaintiff’s products.

The Wilson Elser team challenged the sufficiency of the complaint. The court agreed with its argument that the plaintiff failed to plausibly allege a “false statement of fact” concerning the client’s products or another’s products and, therefore, failed to state a false advertising claim under the Lanham Act. The court also concurred with the team’s argument that the copyright claims must be dismissed, agreeing that the similarities fell within a “thin” range of the copyright protection spectrum. In particular, the court agreed that the arrangement of the shampoo and conditioner products and their ingredients constituted an unprotectable idea or concept and that, although certain individual elements appeared similar, “none of these elements is subject to copyright protection when viewed in isolation.” Finally, because the first two claims failed, the court dismissed the unfair competition claim for lack of an underlying unlawful act. The plaintiff did not amend its complaint, resulting in dismissal with prejudice.