M. Arthur Gensler, Jr. & Associates, Inc. v. Strabala, No. 11 C 3945, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Feb. 21, 2012) (Guzman, J.).

Judge Guzman granted defendant’s Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss plaintiff’s Lanham Act false designation of origin and false advertising claims, as well as plaintiff’s Illinois Deceptive Trade Practices Act claims.  Plaintiff alleged that defendant falsely claimed on his website that he designed numerous prominent buildings, including the Shanghai Tower and the Houston Ballet Center.  Citing Datastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., 539 U.S. 23 (2003), the Court held that “origin” as used in the Lanham Act referred to the producer of goods, not the author of a work.  Because plaintiff’s claims were based upon authorship, they were dismissed.