Intellectual Property

  • September 30, 2024

    Siemens Will Pay $104M For Stealing GE, Mitsubishi Secrets

    Siemens Energy on Monday pled guilty to wire fraud and agreed to pay $104 million to put to rest federal prosecutors' case accusing the company of misappropriating the confidential information of General Electric and Mitsubishi, a plea deal that comes after multiple former Siemens executives pled guilty in related cases.

  • September 30, 2024

    Takeda End Payors, Direct Buyers Win Antitrust Class Cert.

    A New York federal judge Monday adopted a magistrate judge's recommendation to certify two classes of direct purchasers and end payors in consolidated antitrust actions accusing Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. of unlawfully inflating the price of its diabetes treatment Actos by delaying entry of generic alternatives.

  • September 30, 2024

    Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

    The year's spookiest month is looking scary-good for appellate aficionados, as famed oral advocates joust in October over net neutrality and Uber's extraordinary bid to unravel multidistrict litigation — just two of the high-profile arguments previewed in this edition of Wheeling & Appealing. October also begins with former President Jimmy Carter turning 100, and we'll test your knowledge of his profound impact on the judiciary.

  • September 30, 2024

    Calif. Court Finds Snapchat Can Seek 'Spectacles' TM

    Following a three-day bench trial earlier this year, a California federal judge has told the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to reverse its refusal to grant Snapchat parent company Snap Inc. trademark protection covering its "Spectacles" brand of digital glasses.

  • September 30, 2024

    AI Co.'s Antitrust Claims Against Thomson Reuters Tossed

    A Delaware federal court dismissed antitrust counterclaims being brought by tech startup ROSS Intelligence in a case from Thomson Reuters alleging ROSS ripped off the Westlaw research platform for its artificial intelligence product.

  • September 30, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Keeps Patent Case Against Sony In EDTX

    The Federal Circuit on Monday rejected Sony's bid to move a patent suit against it over a newer line of wireless PlayStation 5 controllers out of a Texas federal court, finding that it failed to show that the Northern District of California was a more convenient forum.

  • September 30, 2024

    USPTO Locks In Director Review Rule, 3 Years After Arthrex

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal issued a final rule Monday on the agency's process for having the director review certain Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions, solidifying a mandate laid out by the U.S. Supreme Court three years ago. 

  • September 30, 2024

    Netflix Must Face Trimmed 'Baby Reindeer' Defamation Fight

    A California federal judge trimmed a Scottish lawyer's multimillion-dollar lawsuit alleging Netflix's popular stalker miniseries "Baby Reindeer" defamed her, tossing negligence and publicity claims but allowing the attorney's defamation and emotional distress allegations to proceed.

  • September 30, 2024

    Biz Owner Gets 18 Months For Tax Fraud On $2.8M In Income

    The owner of a metal fabrication company who admitted to neglecting to report nearly $3 million in business income to the Internal Revenue Service was sentenced to 18 months in prison, according to Connecticut federal prosecutors.

  • September 30, 2024

    Generic-Drug Co. Says To Think Again About 'Double Patenting'

    An Indian generic-drug maker wants the whole Federal Circuit to take a closer look at the issue of "double patenting," telling it that a recent panel ruling mistakenly breathed new life into pharmaceutical patents covering an anti-diarrhea drug.

  • September 30, 2024

    9th Circ. Asked To Interpret DMCA In GitHub Code Suit

    A California federal court has asked the Ninth Circuit to determine if the Digital Millennium Copyright Act requires an infringing copy be identical to the original to have an actionable claim for removing copyright management information, a key question in a case where developers sued Microsoft and GitHub for allegedly ripping off code to develop AI tools.

  • September 30, 2024

    Atari Can Pursue Copyright Claim Against State Farm Over Ad

    Atari Interactive Inc. can pursue a copyright infringement claim against State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. because the insurer featured part of the 1980s arcade game Crystal Castles in a commercial, but a Texas federal judge tossed all the other claims in the suit from the pioneering game company.

  • September 30, 2024

    BakerHostetler Says Ethics Suit Must Stay In Ga. Fed. Court

    BakerHostetler has asked a Georgia federal court not to remand a suit alleging the firm botched a patent application for a smart wardrobe system to state court, arguing that its former client's claims that the firm violated professional rules under U.S. patent law belong in federal court.

  • September 30, 2024

    Medical Device Co. Wins $25M Verdict In Poaching Trial

    Medical device company Cynosure has won a $25 million jury award following a weekslong trial in Massachusetts federal court on its claims that a rival business raided its sales and marketing talent and caused the employees to breach their noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements.

  • September 30, 2024

    J&J Exec Accused Of File Heist Wants Pause Amid DOJ Case

    A former competitive strategy director for Johnson & Johnson accused of stealing confidential files as he left the company to work for Pfizer asked a New Jersey federal court to pause the suit after learning he is under criminal investigation.

  • September 27, 2024

    7th Circ. Doubts Artist Proved French Montana Copied Work

    Two Seventh Circuit judges seemed unsure Friday that they saw enough evidence of copying to reverse rapper French Montana's summary judgment win over claims that he infringed a California producer's sound recording copyright to make his song "Ain't Worried About Nothin'."

  • September 27, 2024

    IBM Owes $19.5M In EDTX Trial Over 'Blockchain' Software

    A Texas federal jury told IBM on Friday that its blockchain software infringes two patents by a small tech developer and that it owes $19.5 million, far less than the $167 million the developer asked for.

  • September 27, 2024

    FCC Chief Quotes Taylor Swift In Tough Stance On Deepfakes

    Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel vowed during a speech Friday to take a strong position on enforcing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act against AI-generated robocalls and noted the FCC is considering new AI election-related disclosure regulations, quoting pop singer Taylor Swift who said, "The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth."

  • September 27, 2024

    Fla. Timeshare Biz Wins $1.3M Fee Award In False Ad Suit

    A Florida federal judge has awarded more than $1.3 million in attorney fees to a timeshare company that prevailed in a lawsuit against a Wyoming company over a false advertising scheme encouraging customers to stop paying for their properties, after agreeing the marketers pursued an "exceptionally weak case" that would not succeed.

  • September 27, 2024

    Kappos' Bayh-Dole Warning To Clients Draws Debate

    An advocate for lowering drug prices squared off Friday against a former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director about the potential risk of accepting government funds to develop drugs, as part of a discussion at New York University School of Law.

  • September 27, 2024

    Western Digital Wants $262M Patent Verdict Thrown Out

    Western Digital has asked a California federal court to either toss a jury's $262 million verdict against it and rule that the hard drive maker did not infringe any MR Technologies patents, or order a new trial in the dispute over technology that increases storage capacity of disk drives.

  • September 27, 2024

    Sen. Says Contractors Trying To Block DOD 'Right-To-Repair'

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has chided defense contractors for seeking to "sabotage" efforts to require them to cough up parts and data allowing the U.S. Department of Defense to repair its own equipment, while urging the DOD to take action on related restrictions.

  • September 27, 2024

    NC Biz Court Trims Pot Farm Fight With 'Amazon Of Hemp'

    An online hemp retailer has narrowed a North Carolina farm's lawsuit alleging the retailer doctored its THC reports before listing the farm's products for sale online, with a state Business Court judge finding they aren't competitors and the farm otherwise failed to show the retailer tried to pass off the hemp producer's products as its own.

  • September 27, 2024

    Disney Calls Writer's 'Moana' Copyright Theft Suit Pure Fiction

    Lawyers for The Walt Disney Co. urged a California federal judge Friday to throw out an animator and writer's lawsuit alleging the company stole his ideas for the hit movie "Moana," saying there's not a single piece of evidence meriting a jury trial.

  • September 27, 2024

    NRA, RNC Dropped From Isaac Hayes' IP Suit Against Trump

    The estate of legendary soul singer Isaac Hayes agreed Friday to voluntarily dismiss three defendants from a copyright complaint alleging former President Donald Trump has been playing the Hayes-penned song "Hold On, I'm Comin'" at campaign events without permission.

Expert Analysis

  • It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

    Author Photo

    Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

  • Breaking Down Director Review Timing At The PTAB

    Author Photo

    Attorneys at Fish & Richardson examine the complexities of director review of a Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruling, including timelines for requests and decisions, and how these factors influence related district court cases.

  • Calif. Bill, NTIA Report Illustrate Open-Model AI Safety Debate

    Author Photo

    The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s balanced recommendations for preventing misuse of open artificial intelligence models, contrasted with a more aggressive California bill, demonstrate an evolving regulatory debate about balancing democratic access to this powerful new technology against potential risks to the public, say Stuart Meyer and Fredrick Tsang at Fenwick.

  • Behind 3rd Circ. Ruling On College Athletes' FLSA Eligibility

    Author Photo

    The Third Circuit's decision that college athletes are not precluded from bringing a claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act raises key questions about the practical consequences of treating collegiate athletes as employees, such as Title IX equal pay claims and potential eligibility for all employment benefits, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Patent Lessons From 4 Federal Circuit Reversals In July

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit’s July reversal of four cases, all of which were Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions, highlights lessons for patent practitioners regarding the scope of estoppel provisions, potential issues with obtaining certain substitute claims, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • Video Game Release Highlights TM Pitfalls Of App Store

    Author Photo

    The upcoming release of poker video game Balatro in Apple's App Store underscores the tradeoff of keyword advertising and trademark protection for indie developers who, unlike corporate counterparts, lack resources but seek to maximize the reach of their game, say Parmida Enkeshafi and Simon Pulman at Pryor Cashman.

  • 5 Credibility Lessons Trial Attys Can Learn From Harris' Run

    Author Photo

    In launching a late-stage campaign for president, Vice President Kamala Harris must seize upon fresh attention from voters to establish, or reestablish, credibility — a challenge that parallels and provides takeaways for trial attorneys, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

  • Patent Owner Estoppel Questions In The Wake Of SoftView

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's seldom-litigated Rule 42.73(d)(3) on Patent Trial and Appeal Board estoppel was recently brought to the forefront in the Federal Circuit's SoftView v. Apple decision, highlighting uncertainties in this aspect of patent practice, say David Haars and Richard Crudo at Sterne Kessler.

  • Copyright Termination Opinion Departs From Long-Held Views

    Author Photo

    In Vetter v. Resnik, a federal court recently held for the first time that termination rights under Section 304 of the Copyright Act recapture domestic and foreign rights where the original grant was for "worldwide" rights — misinterpreting a basic principle of international copyright treaties, say Rebecca Benyamin and Eric J. Schwartz at Mitchell Silberberg.

  • 3 Patent Considerations For America's New Quantum Hub

    Author Photo

    Recent developments signal an incredibly bright future for Chicago as the new home of quantum computing, and it is crucial that these innovators — whose technology has the potential to transform many industries — prioritize intellectual property strategy, says Andrew Velzen at McDonnell Boehnen.

  • Fed. Circ. Ruling Creates New Rule For Certification Marks

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit's decision last month in Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac v. Cologne & Cognac Entertainment is significant in that it establishes a new standard for assessing evidence of third-party uses of a certification mark in deciding whether the mark is famous, say Samantha Katze and Lisa Rosaya at Manatt.

  • A Preview Of AI Priorities Under The Next President

    Author Photo

    For the first time in a presidential election, both of the leading candidates and their parties have been vocal about artificial intelligence policy, offering clues on the future of regulation as AI continues to advance and congressional action continues to stall, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • 11 Patent Cases To Watch At Fed. Circ. And High Court

    Author Photo

    As we head into fall, there are 11 patent cases to monitor, touching on a range of issues that could affect patent strategy, such as biotech innovation, administrative rulemaking and patent eligibility, say Edward Lanquist and Wesley Barbee at Baker Donelson.

  • Why India May Become A Major Patent Litigation Forum

    Author Photo

    India is reinventing itself with the goal of becoming a global hot spot for patent litigation, with recent developments at the Delhi High Court creating incentives for plaintiffs to assert patent rights in India, say Ranganath Sudarshan at Covington and IP litigator Udit Sood.

  • Opinion

    To Lower Drug Prices, Harris Must Address Patent Thickets

    Author Photo

    If Vice President Kamala Harris is serious about her pledge to address high drug prices, she must begin by closing loopholes that allow pharmaceutical companies to develop patent thickets that can deter generic or biosimilar companies from entering the market, says Tahir Amin at the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Intellectual Property archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!