Baldassare (“Baldo”) Vinti co-heads Proskauer’s Intellectual Property Litigation Group.
Baldo’s practice focuses on litigating patent, false advertising, trade secret, life sciences, trademark and contractual matters in federal and state courts and before the International Trade Commission. He is a seasoned trial attorney responsible for all aspects of litigation, including Markman hearings, appeals before the Federal Circuit, case preparation and strategy, depositions, motion practice, and settlement negotiations. He has represented clients in high-stakes matters involving a broad range of technologies, including medical devices, diagnostics, immunoassays, prosthetics, pharmaceuticals, dental implants, electronic medical records systems, encryption technology, wound dressings, digital video compression, electronic book delivery and security systems, mobile media technologies, navigation and location-based services, bandwidth management, bar code scanning, lasers , and other technologies. Baldo has represented numerous major corporations, including Arkema S.A., British Telecommunications PLC, Church & Dwight Co., Inc., Henry Schein, Inc., Maidenform Brands Inc., Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Ossur North America Inc., Panasonic Corp., Sony Corp., Welch Foods, Inc., and Zenith Electronics LLC.
In addition, Baldo regularly handles transactional work, including intellectual property due diligence, licensing, intellectual property structural transactions, patentability studies, infringement/non-infringement opinions, and client counseling in intellectual property matters.
Baldo is an author and frequent commentator on patent issues pertaining to medical devices and a host of other intellectual property topics, and has been quoted in the National Law Journal, Bloomberg BNA, Law360, Westlaw Journal and Inside Counsel magazine. He is also a regular contributor of articles published in Medical Product Outsourcing magazine that deal with the medical device industry.
Baldo served as a judicial intern for Hon. John E. Sprizzo of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and for Hon. Charles A. LaTorella of the New York Supreme Court.
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This week the FTC announced that it finalized its revisions to the Endorsement Guides, which give advertisers guidance on ensuring that their use of endorsements or testimonials complies with the FTC Act. At the same time, the FTC also announced an updated accompanying guidance document, “FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People are Asking.” While the revised … Continue Reading
Judge Richard Seeborg of the Northern District of California recently dismissed a putative class action alleging that Sprout Foods’s nutritional claims on its baby and toddler food labels misled consumers into believing that the products provide physical health benefits. In their complaint, plaintiffs alleged that the products are “harmful both nutritionally and developmentally” due to … Continue Reading
It has been almost forty years since Bruce Springsteen first famously celebrated being “Born in the USA.” From an advertising industry perspective, this song’s lasting popularity is no surprise; as advertisers know, “Made in the USA” is often a selling point for American industries. The FTC knows this too. In late 2021, the FTC finalized … Continue Reading
Last month, the FTC announced that it reached a $62 million proposed settlement with Opendoor Labs, related to the Commission’s investigation of the company’s representations in advertising to prospective home sellers. Opendoor is an online real estate business in the “iBuying” (or “instant buying”) space. iBuying companies use algorithms to determine a home’s value and … Continue Reading
Judge Cathy Seibel of the Southern District of New York recently dismissed a putative class action lawsuit challenging various environmental impact and animal welfare claims made by Allbirds in ads for its wool shoes. In doing so, the court determined that plaintiff’s allegations, which largely consisted of criticisms of the wool industry in general, did … Continue Reading
2021 saw well over 500 new class actions in the advertising space. With the number of these cases increasing, it is more important than ever for businesses to stay on top of the latest trends, including the types of products and claims that are being targeted. Our full report, available here, goes into detail on … Continue Reading
With more than 80 closed cases, 2021 was another unprecedented year at the National Advertising Division and National Advertising Review Board. Proskauer’s False Advertising Group closely tracks these decisions from the advertising industry’s self-regulation system to stay apprised of the latest developments and trends, and has compiled a guide providing case summaries, with our insights … Continue Reading
Cryptocurrency, social media, and celebrity or influencer endorsements have all been top of mind recently, including for advertisers. A newly filed lawsuit is asking a federal court to consider the intersection of these areas, with potential implications for advertisers looking to expand into the cryptocurrency space. EthereumMax executives (“Executive Defendants”) and a few well-known celebrities, … Continue Reading
Judge Rachel Kovner of the Eastern District of New York recently dismissed a putative class action challenging Whole Foods Market’s label claims that its Oats & Flax Instant Oatmeal contains “dehydrated cane juice solids” and is “100 % Whole Grain – 18g or more per serving.” Plaintiffs alleged these labels communicate that the oatmeal is … Continue Reading
In this final installment of our “On Notice” series about the FTC’s Notice of Penalty Offenses Concerning Endorsements, we discuss when and how to properly disclose the existence of a material connection between an advertiser and an endorsing party. Per the FTC’s Notice of Penalty Offenses, “[i]t is an unfair or deceptive trade practice to … Continue Reading
Continuing our “On Notice” series about the FTC’s Notice of Penalty Offenses Concerning Endorsements, we address the FTC’s prohibition against using testimonials to (1) make or imply unsubstantiated or otherwise deceptive performance claims even if such testimonials genuinely reflect the endorser’s own experience, and (2) misrepresent explicitly or implicitly that the experience described by endorsers … Continue Reading
In Yamasaki v. Zicam, LLC, Case No. 21-cv-2596 (N.D. Cal. 2021), Plaintiff alleged certain Zicam® cold remedy products were falsely advertised as “clinically proven to shorten colds.” On this basis, Plaintiff sought to represent a putative class of California consumers for seven different Zicam products. Zicam, represented by Proskauer, moved to dismiss Plaintiff’s amended complaint … Continue Reading
Continuing our series on the FTC’s Notice of Penalty Offenses Concerning Endorsements, this post considers the FTC’s statement that it is unlawful under Section 5 of the FTC Act “for an advertiser to continue to advertise an endorsement unless the advertiser has good reason to believe that the endorser continues to subscribe to the views … Continue Reading
Continuing our series on the FTC’s Notice of Penalty Offenses Concerning Endorsements, this post considers the issues of falsely attributed, mischaracterized, and fabricated endorsements – practices that the FTC highlighted in its Notice as unfair or deceptive. In particular, the FTC stated that: It is an unfair or deceptive trade practice to make claims which … Continue Reading
The FTC recently held a workshop titled “Bringing Dark Patterns to Light,” a recording of which can be found at the following link. The workshop centered around exploring the effects of digital “dark patterns” on consumers and the marketplace. The term “dark patterns” refers to a range of potentially deceptive website design tactics that can … Continue Reading
The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action alleging Trader Joe’s misled consumers by representing its Alkaline Water product as “ionized to achieve the perfect balance.” In rejecting plaintiff’ allegations that the advertising referred to balancing the consumer’s internal pH rather than the balanced pH of the product itself, the Court … Continue Reading
With more than 100 closed cases, 2020 was another busy year at the National Advertising Division and National Advertising Review Board. Proskauer’s False Advertising Group closely tracks these decisions from the advertising industry’s self-regulation system to stay apprised of the latest developments and trends, and has compiled a guide providing case summaries, with our insights … Continue Reading
While 2020 was an eventful year in the world of advertising law, it feels wrong to begin any type of “year in review” without acknowledging the global events of this year, and the challenges they have brought to every individual in one way or another. In our role, we are often in a position of … Continue Reading
In a decision that will have repercussions for consumer false advertising lawsuits, a Ninth Circuit panel recently ruled in a Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) case that all class members must have standing at the trial stage of a class action for monetary damages. Ramirez v. TransUnion, LLC, 951 F.3d 1008 (9th Cir. 2020).… Continue Reading
