Intellectual Property

  • November 13, 2024

    Gibson Dunn 'Titan,' Ex-Solicitor General Theodore Olson Dies

    Theodore B. Olson, the founder of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP's appellate and constitutional law practice group and a former U.S. solicitor general, died Wednesday, the law firm announced.

  • November 12, 2024

    Oakland Airport Must Stop Using 'San Francisco Bay' In Name

    The Port of Oakland must stop using "San Francisco Bay" in its international airport's new name, a federal magistrate judge in California ruled Tuesday, saying in a trademark infringement suit that travelers might be confused into thinking the Oakland airport is affiliated or associated with San Francisco International Airport.

  • November 12, 2024

    Trump Taps Elon Musk To Head New 'Gov't Efficiency' Dept.

    President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a newly created "Department in Government Efficiency" for his administration come January.

  • November 12, 2024

    Future of Anti-Deepfake Federal Law Is Murky, Panel Says

    Panelists at a Los Angeles intellectual property conference that included attorneys and representatives of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the U.S. Copyright Office and Microsoft agreed Tuesday that any federal legislation on deepfake technology must strike the difficult balance of punishing bad actors without stifling innovation.

  • November 12, 2024

    Masimo Can't Tie Alleged IP Theft To Apple Profits, Expert Says

    An Apple expert witness defended the company Tuesday in a California federal bench trial over Masimo's claim that the tech giant stole pulse oximetry trade secrets for its popular smartwatch, testifying Masimo cannot tie any value to the purported secrets and that Apple's profits can't be attributed to the watch's blood oxygen features.

  • November 12, 2024

    Deal Ends Google Patent Case Soon After Start Of $22.5M Trial

    A patent trial in New York federal court ended with a settlement Tuesday, shortly after counsel for Kewazinga Corp. told jurors that the Street View feature in Google Maps infringes its patents on navigating through images, and that Google owes $22.5 million in damages.

  • November 12, 2024

    Catfished Ex-NBA Player Says Atty Stole Cash, Blew Film Deal

    A former NBA player is suing his longtime attorney for legal malpractice in Colorado state court, claiming the attorney stole his money and failed to protect his intellectual property rights while negotiating the terms of a documentary deal about his victimization in an elaborate online catfishing scheme.

  • November 12, 2024

    Justices Told Fed. Circ. Overstep Claims Are 'Simply Incorrect'

    A unit of pharmaceutical company Alvogen on Tuesday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a petition from the company whose blockbuster IBS drug it's hoping to copy, saying the "petition's fundamental premise" that the Federal Circuit went beyond its legal boundaries "is simply incorrect."

  • November 12, 2024

    Big Tech Litigant's Latest Suit Vs. Google Tossed

    A Florida federal judge has granted Google's motion to dismiss a patent infringement and antitrust suit from web development company Greenflight targeting the search giant's reverse phone number lookup, ruling that the plaintiff's phone lookup service appearing low on Google's search results doesn't amount to standing to sue.

  • November 12, 2024

    'Heat Machine' Maker's Trade Dress Win Clears 8th Circ.

    The Eighth Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a finding from a bench trial that cleared the Costco supplier behind the "Heat Machine" involved in "a complex intellectual property dispute" with the maker of the "HeatDish," a different machine that Costco also sells.

  • November 12, 2024

    Amazon Beats Speech Recognition Patent Suit Over Alexa

    A federal judge in Virginia has decided that three patents initially issued to Japanese electronics company JVCKenwood Corp. "are ineligible for patent protection," sinking a patent litigation outfit's case targeting Amazon.com Inc.'s Alexa virtual assistant brand.

  • November 12, 2024

    HIV Drug Buyers Want Gilead Product Switch Claims Revived

    Insurers and benefit plans are asking the Ninth Circuit to revive a chunk of their antitrust case against Gilead, arguing their claims that Gilead delayed generic competition to its HIV drugs by monopolizing the market should have new life.

  • November 12, 2024

    Genasys Reaches Deal With Ex-Workers In Trade Secrets Case

    Genasys Inc. has agreed to settle a suit against two former employees it accused of stealing trade secrets to form a competing business, saying they have reached a provisional deal.

  • November 12, 2024

    Huawei Urges Judge To Toss US IP Theft, Fraud Charges

    China's Huawei Technologies and its affiliates have asked a Brooklyn federal judge to dismiss the majority of a criminal indictment, slamming allegations that it tried to steal intellectual property from U.S. rivals and deceived banks and the U.S. government about its business dealings with sanctioned countries.

  • November 12, 2024

    Judge Locks Down Byju Entity's IP In Ch. 11

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge Tuesday voided transfers of an Apple App Store account linked to the insolvent U.S.-based financing arm of Indian education technology giant Byju's, as the Chapter 11 trustee overseeing one of its debtor subsidiaries rang the alarm about "bad actors" trying to make off with the unit's cash and intellectual property.

  • November 12, 2024

    Roblox, WowWee Settle Avatar Toy Infringement Case

    Online game platform Roblox Corp. has agreed to drop a suit alleging WowWee Group Ltd. sold toys based on Roblox's avatars, saying the two companies have reached a settlement to end the trademark and copyright infringement case.

  • November 12, 2024

    GOP Reps. Propose Another Bill On TRIPS Waivers

    A new bill from Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives seeks to force the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to file a report "before the negotiation of any international agreement relating to an intellectual property right."

  • November 12, 2024

    Unsatisfied With $70M UTC Win, Sandoz Appeals To 3rd Circ.

    Sandoz Inc. has moved to appeal its already $70 million-plus breach of contract damages win over biopharmaceutical firm United Therapeutics Corp., teeing up a Third Circuit request to ask for more damages and to revive antitrust claims previously tossed by a New Jersey federal court.

  • November 12, 2024

    KFC Sues Chicken Rival Church's Over 'Original Recipe' TM

    KFC lodged a trademark infringement suit seeking to stop Church's Texas Chicken from using the term "original recipe" to promote its fried chicken, saying in a complaint filed Friday in Texas federal court that the term has been synonymous with KFC's chicken for more than 50 years.

  • November 12, 2024

    Designers Can Pursue RICO Claims Against Shein In IP Suit

    A California federal judge has ruled that a group of independent designers can pursue racketeering claims against Shein Distribution Corp. and other defendants in a lawsuit where the plaintiffs accuse the online retailer of copyright and trademark infringement for allegedly copying and selling the designers' works.

  • November 12, 2024

    Penn State TM Jury Asked To Ponder Sponsorship Confusion

    A central Pennsylvania federal jury will have to weigh whether consumers are likely to be confused by a Seattle-based online retailer's use of historic logos and art associated with Pennsylvania State University, with opening arguments Tuesday promising dueling experts on consumer surveys and interpretations of trademark law.

  • November 12, 2024

    White Stripes Drop Suit Over Trump's 'Seven Nation Army' Use

    Disbanded rock band The White Stripes has agreed to drop their case targeting President-elect Donald Trump over his use of the iconic introductory riff of the Grammy-winning song "Seven Nation Army" on a social media clip without permission.

  • November 12, 2024

    Navajo Co. Says Paralegal Blocking Return Of Privileged Docs

    A Navajo Nation natural resources company is suing a former paralegal in Colorado state court to enforce a settlement requiring the return of confidential documents that she allegedly emailed to herself, accusing the paralegal of "erecting unreasonable roadblocks" to their agreement.

  • November 12, 2024

    Vidal To Leave USPTO For Private Sector

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal is stepping down from her role at the agency and will be heading back to the private sector in mid-December, she said in a Tuesday letter.

  • November 12, 2024

    Trial Consultant Agrees To Keep Ex-Employer's Biz Info Secret

    An ex-employee for jury analysis firm Jury-X has agreed to avoid using the company's confidential information while its trade secrets lawsuit unfolds, according to a stipulation filed Tuesday in North Carolina federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

  • Opinion

    'Trump Too Small' Ruling Overlooks TM Registration Issues

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision last month in Vidal v. Elster, which concluded that “Trump Too Small” cannot be a registered trademark as it violates a federal prohibition, fails to consider modern-day, real-world implications for trademark owners who are denied access to federal registration, say Tiffany Gehrke and Alexa Spitz at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice

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    The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Limited Changes In USPTO Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling overturning Chevron deference will have limited consequences for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office given the USPTO's unique statutory features, but it is still an important decision for matters of statutory interpretation, especially those involving provisions of the America Invents Act, say Andrei Iancu and Cooper Godfrey at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • Fed. Circ. Skinny Label Ruling Guides On Infringement Claims

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Amarin v. Hikma shows generic drug manufacturers must pay close attention to the statements in their abbreviated new drug application labels to put themselves in the best position in defending against an induced infringement claim, say Luke Shannon and Roshan Shrestha at Taft Stettinius.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • USPTO Disclaimer Rule Would Complicate Patent Prosecution

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's proposed changes to terminal disclaimer practice could lead to a patent owner being unable to enforce a valid patent simply because it is indirectly tied to a patent in which a single claim is found anticipated or obvious in view of the prior art, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • When Patents As Loan Collateral Can Cost You Standing

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Intellectual Tech v. Zebra Technologies shines a light on loan default provisions' implications for patent infringement litigation, as a default may inadvertently strip a patent owner of constitutional standing to sue over a patent pledged as collateral, say Joseph Marinelli and Suet L. Lee at Irwin IP.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • After Chevron

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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 37 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • How Life Science Companies Are Approaching UPC Opt-Outs

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    A look at recent data shows that one year after its launch, the European Union's Unified Patent Court is still seeing a high rate of opt-outs, including from large U.S.-based life science companies wary of this unpredictable court — and there are reasons this strategy should largely remain the same, say Sanjay Murthy and Christopher Tuinenga at McAndrews Held.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

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