Intellectual Property

  • June 13, 2024

    'Trump Too Small' Opinion Leaves Some Justices, Attys Vexed

    In denying a bid to register "Trump Too Small" as a trademark for apparel, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously concluded Thursday there was no free speech violation. But Justice Clarence Thomas' opinion leaning on tradition to justify prohibiting names as marks without an individual's consent left some justices and attorneys dissatisfied.

  • June 13, 2024

    Canadian Businessman Cops To Stealing Tesla Trade Secrets

    A Canadian businessman residing in China pled guilty in New York federal court to scheming to sell secret battery manufacturing technology that belongs to Tesla, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday.

  • June 13, 2024

    Samsung Wants $26M Fees In IP Case Ended By Misconduct

    Samsung told a Texas federal judge that it plans to ask for about $26 million in attorney fees after he threw out infringement litigation that hinged on confidential documents that he ruled were stolen by the tech giant's former employees.

  • June 13, 2024

    Equipment Maker Looks To Chill Ice Creamery's Use Of Its IP

    A company that holds a patent for making ice cream using cryogenics has accused a Florida franchisor of falsely claiming to operate under a patent, saying in Washington federal court that the dessert purveyor has even been charging franchisees an "intellectual property fee."

  • June 13, 2024

    Jury Finds Infringement In Chart Copyright Case

    A Washington federal jury on Thursday found that a software company infringed copyright registrations for a teaching chart, awarding leadership consulting company Enterprise Management Ltd. $8,000 but finding that the infringement was not willful.

  • June 13, 2024

    Full Fed. Circ. Rejects Rehearing Bids In Xifaxan Case

    The Federal Circuit has shot down bids for rehearing filed by both sides in a case involving an April decision that prevents an Alvogen unit from releasing a generic version of Bausch Health's diarrhea and brain disorder drug Xifaxan until 2029.

  • June 13, 2024

    Theater Co. Cites Prior Ruling Against Cruise Biz In IP Suit

    A Louisiana theatrical production company is urging a Florida state court to rule in its favor on damages in a lawsuit alleging Celebrity Cruises Inc. continued to use intellectual property beyond licensing agreements, saying the issue was already ruled on in a previous lawsuit between the same parties.

  • June 13, 2024

    1st Circ. Urged To Back TM Loss For Family Of Late MLB Star

    A Puerto Rico agency planning a sports district in honor of late Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente has pressed the First Circuit to uphold the agency's dismissal from a trademark lawsuit filed by the baseball legend's family alleging unauthorized use of his name and likeness.

  • June 13, 2024

    Express Picks Stalking Horse Bidder As Ch. 11 Buyer

    A stalking horse bidder offering $136 million in cash for the assets of clothing retailer Express Inc. will be the buyer in the debtor's competitive sale process, after its offer was deemed to be the only qualified bid to acquire the assets as a going-concern.

  • June 13, 2024

    Teva Wins Pause Of Order Ousting Patents From Orange Book

    A New Jersey federal judge ordered on Thursday a 30-day stay of his Monday ruling that a handful of patents covering Teva-brand asthma inhalers were improperly listed in the federal Orange Book, saying he wanted the matter to reach the Federal Circuit in the most orderly way possible.

  • June 13, 2024

    4th Circ. Revives Bacardi Fight Over Expired TM Renewal

    The Fourth Circuit on Thursday revived Bacardi's lawsuit challenging the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's decision to renew an expired trademark registration for Havana Club rum, finding such registration renewals can be reviewed by the courts.

  • June 13, 2024

    GOP Lawmakers Want China Patent Data Amid Tech Pact Talks

    Republican lawmakers are urging the U.S. Commerce Department to provide a full accounting of whether the U.S. government has funded research that resulted in Chinese patents, arguing they need the data to assess potential national security risks as the Biden administration negotiates a new science and technology agreement with China.

  • June 13, 2024

    Chegg Directors, Auditor Beat Academic Cheating Lawsuit

    Delaware's Court of Chancery has issued a failing grade to a stockholder of online book and study aid giant Chegg Inc. who accused the company of operating as a cheating service for students, dismissing the case for lack of supporting facts.

  • June 13, 2024

    House Re-Ups Bill Targeting Counterfeit Online Goods

    Federal lawmakers should approve a proposal to tackle the explosion of counterfeit goods sold online that are harmful to the safety of consumers, according to the leader of the U.S. House of Representatives' subcommittee that centers on intellectual property issues.

  • June 13, 2024

    Meta Facing Complaint Over Plans To Train AI With User Data

    A Norwegian consumer protection group has hit Meta with a legal challenge over its plans to deploy its users' data — including images and posts — to train artificial intelligence models.

  • June 13, 2024

    Dechert Backs Special Master In Airline Mogul's Hacking Suit

    Dechert LLP has said a special master got it right when she largely denied an airline tycoon's numerous bids to access allegedly privileged information in his suit seeking to prove an international hacking conspiracy, asking a North Carolina federal judge to affirm the decision.

  • June 13, 2024

    Justices Say 'Trump Too Small' TM Denial No Speech Violation

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday concluded "Trump Too Small" cannot be a registered trademark because it would violate a federal prohibition on using a living person's name without their consent, ruling against a California attorney who said using the phrase should be considered protected political speech.

  • June 12, 2024

    Tillis Told Drug Patents Are Too Complex For Easy Answers

    When and how generic drugs enter the marketplace varies widely among different drugs and isn't necessarily related to how many patents are covering those drugs, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said Wednesday in a report requested by a top member of the U.S. Senate's Intellectual Property Subcommittee.

  • June 12, 2024

    Texas Judge 'Exasperated' By Parties In Skiplagged Suit

    An "exasperated" Texas federal judge on Wednesday ordered American Airlines and airfare search engine Skiplagged Inc. into mediation after the parties ran into their sixth discovery dispute in litigation around Skiplagged's alleged unauthorized ticket sales, saying the court didn't want to referee "countless discovery disputes used as litigation tactics."

  • June 12, 2024

    Hytera Tried 'End Run' Around Court's Power, Motorola Says

    Hytera Communications should not be able to get around an antisuit injunction that forced it to end Chinese litigation addressing mobile radio trade secrets, Motorola Solutions told the Seventh Circuit on Tuesday, arguing that Hytera must be stopped from doing an "end run" around the American case against it.

  • June 12, 2024

    Microsoft Faces EDTX Patent Suit Over AI Supercomputer

    Microsoft has been hit with a patent infringement lawsuit in the Eastern District of Texas over its artificial intelligence supercomputer by a business led by a German lawyer who once ran the patent licensing outfit IPCom.

  • June 12, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Affirms PTAB Ax Of Slide-To-Unlock Patent

    The Federal Circuit has quickly disposed of an appeal over an administrative board ruling that wiped out language in a patent asserted in a small Swedish smartphone company's litigation against Apple and Samsung over claims its founder was the first to develop a "slide to unlock" feature.

  • June 12, 2024

    School Says Declaration Bares Quinn Emanuel Lies In IP Feud

    Columbia University has told the Federal Circuit that a declaration from a former Norton Lifelock Inc. computer scientist shows that the company's former lawyers at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP are lying about his refusal to testify in the school's decade-long $600 million patent case in Virginia federal court.

  • June 12, 2024

    House IP Panel Eyes Transparency For Litigation Funders

    A congressional committee on Wednesday began discussing whether to require more transparency of third-party litigation funding agreements to stem what lawmakers say are abusive patent lawsuits and national security concerns if hostile foreign governments meddle with cases anonymously.

  • June 12, 2024

    Samsung Competitor Can't Get Quick Win On Laches Claim

    Mojo Mobility couldn't convince a Texas federal magistrate judge to recommend it get partial summary judgment in its suit accusing Samsung of infringing wireless charging patents, rejecting Mojo's attempt to stake the decision on part of the patent prosecution process.

Expert Analysis

  • Storytelling Strategies To Defuse Courtroom Conspiracies

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    Misinformation continues to proliferate in all sectors of society, including in the courtroom, as jurors try to fill in the gaps of incomplete trial narratives — underscoring the need for attorneys to tell a complete, consistent and credible story before and during trial, says David Metz at IMS Legal Strategies.

  • Aldi Design Infringement Case Highlights Assessment Issues

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    The forthcoming English Court of Appeal decision in Marks and Spencer v. Aldi, regarding the alleged infringement of design rights, could provide practitioners with new guidance, particularly in relation to the relevant date for assessment of infringement and the weight that should be attributed to certain design elements in making this assessment, say Rory Graham and Georgia Davis at RPC.

  • Opinion

    9th Circ. Should Overturn The Miles Davis Tattoo Ruling

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    A California district court made several missteps that led to a finding that celebrity artist Kat Von D's Miles Davis tattoo did not infringe copyright, and the Ninth Circuit should overturn the decision because recent U.S. Supreme Court guidance was ignored and the jury did not receive adequate instruction, says Brian Moriarty at Hamilton Brook.

  • Generative AI Raises IP, Data Protection And Contracts Issues

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    As the EU's recent agreement on the Artificial Intelligence Act has fueled businesses' interest in adopting generative AI tools, it is crucial to understand how these tools utilize material to generate output and what questions to ask in relation to intellectual property, data privacy and contracts, say lawyers at Deloitte Legal.

  • Exporters Should Approach Self-Disclosure With Caution

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    A January Bureau of Industry and Security memorandum created an abbreviated process for disclosing export control violations that lack aggravating factors, but deciding which disclosure method to utilize remains a complex strategic undertaking to which companies must give careful consideration, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Is Compulsory Copyright Licensing Needed For AI Tech?

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    The U.S. Copyright Office's inquiry into whether Congress should establish a compulsory licensing regime for artificial intelligence technologies that are trained on copyrighted works has received relatively little attention — but commenters recently opposed the regime under three key themes, say Michael Kientzle and Ryan White at Arnold & Porter.

  • EDNY Ruling Charts 99 Problems In Rap Lyric Admissibility

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    A New York federal court’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Jordan powerfully captures courts’ increasing skepticism about the admissibility of rap lyrics as evidence in criminal trials, particularly at a time when artists face economic incentives to embrace fictional, hyperbolic narratives, say attorneys at Sher Tremonte.

  • 3 Principles For Minimizing The Risk Of A Nuclear Verdict

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    In one of the latest examples of so-called nuclear verdicts, a single plaintiff was awarded $2.25 billion in a jury trial against Monsanto — revealing the need for defense attorneys to prioritize trust, connection and simplicity when communicating with modern juries, say Jenny Hergenrother and Mia Falzarano at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.

  • SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap

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    As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.

  • Opinion

    Patent Waiver For COVID Meds Would Harm US Biopharma

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    If the Biden administration backs the World Trade Organization in waiving patent rights on COVID-19 treatments, it would negatively affect the U.S. biopharmaceutical industry and help foreign competitors, without necessarily expanding global access to COVID-19 care, says clinical pathologist Wolfgang Klietmann.

  • NCAA's Antitrust Litigation History Offers Clues For NIL Case

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    Attorneys at Perkins Coie analyze the NCAA's long history of antitrust litigation to predict how state attorney general claims against NCAA recruiting rules surrounding name, image and likeness discussions will stand up in Tennessee federal court.

  • Key Considerations For Evaluating An AI Vendor

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    As artificial intelligence technology advances across industries, businesses can mitigate risks, while maximizing the value of their investment, by evaluating technology, expertise, support services, transparency and more when selecting an AI vendor, say Rahul Kapoor and Shokoh Yaghoubi at Morgan Lewis.

  • Exploring The Foreign Discovery Trend In Delaware

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    Despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision limiting the use of Section 1782, recent trends from a Delaware federal court suggest that Delaware remains an appealing forum for such foreign discovery requests, says Florentina Field at Abrams & Bayliss.

  • SAG-AFTRA Contract Is A Landmark For AI And IP Interplay

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    SAG-AFTRA's recently ratified contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers introduced a framework to safeguard performers' intellectual property rights and set the stage for future discussions on how those rights interact with artificial intelligence — which should put entertainment businesses on alert for compliance, says Evynne Grover at QBE.

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