Is An Article for Educational Purpose a Commercial Publication ?

In Gordon & Breach Science Publs. v. American Inst. of Physics (859 F Supp 1521, 1523 [SD NY 1994]), the court, in applying the Federal Lanham Act and the comparable provisions under the New York General Business Law, dismissed claims challenging noncommercial publications. The court found that the article at issue, a review of scientific literature, was not commercial speech, even though it recommended some of the publisher's periodicals as better than the plaintiff's periodicals. It reasoned that the publication of the article had an educational purpose, and, thus, it was not encompassed within the commercial speech doctrine. (Supra, at 1533-1534.)