Intellectual Property

  • June 21, 2024

    Zoom Latest Tech Giant Accused Of Infringing NM Co.'s Patent

    A New Mexico company has hit videoconferencing behemoth Zoom with a patent suit in Colorado federal court, alleging that Zoom is knowingly infringing a patent for identifying voices across multiple telephone networks.

  • June 21, 2024

    Kona Ice Nabs $533K In Toppings Dispenser Patent Trial

    A Florida federal jury has come to the conclusion that a small shaved ice franchise from Boca Raton owes the Kona Ice brand a little over half a million dollars for infringing a patent covering a "liquid toppings dispensing system."

  • June 21, 2024

    Skiplagged Removes Motion After Judge's Rebuke

    Airfare search engine Skiplagged Inc. has settled its differences with American Airlines in a discovery dispute that prompted an "exasperated" Texas federal judge to order the parties to mediation, saying both sides had addressed the concerns that prompted Skiplagged to file for a protective order.

  • June 21, 2024

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen JD Wetherspoon sue a Welsh pub over its name in the Intellectual Property Court, ex-professional boxer Amir Khan and his wife file libel action against an influencer, the Performing Right Society hit with a competition claim over music licensing, and Manolete Partners bring action against the directors of a bust investment firm. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • June 20, 2024

    Patent Owners, Challengers Spar Over PTAB Rule Proposal

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's scaled-back package of Patent Trial and Appeal Board rules has drawn a mixed reaction from legal and industry groups, which offered praise and concern about both the proposal and the topics it does not address.

  • June 20, 2024

    'Jetflicks' Piracy Trial Results In 5 Convictions In Las Vegas

    Following a trial that stretched on for half a month, a federal jury in Las Vegas convicted a group of people who were accused of making more than $1 million running an illegal streaming website called "Jetflicks."

  • June 20, 2024

    Eli Lilly Launches Round Of Diabetes Drug Suits

    Eli Lilly on Thursday hit various compounding pharmacies and medical spas in five states and the District of Columbia with suits saying that they trick consumers into thinking that they sell Eli Lilly medications that treat diabetes and obesity when actually they are copycats and are untested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

  • June 20, 2024

    Judge Backs Virgin Over Boeing In Clash Over IP Injunction

    A Virginia federal judge on Thursday ruled that Virgin Galactic can share allegedly proprietary Boeing documents with partner companies to help develop a space plane carrier aircraft, amid Boeing's breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets suit against Virgin.

  • June 20, 2024

    Rockwell Wins Treble Damages After $4M Gray Market Verdict

    A Delaware federal judge agreed Tuesday to award treble damages to Rockwell Automation, which is behind the Allen-Bradley brand of factory equipment, bringing its total recovery to nearly $9 million after a jury found it was owed more than $4 million in August.

  • June 20, 2024

    Finance Co. Asks Fed. Circ. To Read Its 1.4K Pages Of Evidence

    A patent outfit connected to a man behind one of the world's first money market funds says that a Texas court's decision to throw out a patent case against online stockbroker TD Ameritrade went against the weight of some "1,400 pages of credible evidence," and is something that the full Federal Circuit should look into.

  • June 20, 2024

    Waffle Cone Cos. Settle TM War Over Chocolate-Filled Treats

    A maker of chocolate-filled waffle cone treats has resolved its claims against a rival over alleged trademark violations, according to a stipulation filed Thursday in New Jersey federal court.

  • June 20, 2024

    1st Circ. Says Song Royalties Go To Artists, Not Band Owners

    The First Circuit ruled that members of musical groups, not their owners or managers, are due royalties as featured "recording artists" under federal law.

  • June 20, 2024

    Theravance, Mylan Say Chinese Co. Copied COPD Drug

    Theravance Biopharma and Mylan Specialty have sued a Chinese drugmaker, alleging it copied Yupelri, one of its chronic obstructive pulmonary disease drugs, and infringed several patents in the process.

  • June 20, 2024

    USPTO's AI-Assisted Inventions Guidance Irks ABA IP Section

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's guidance on when inventions developed using artificial intelligence can be patented generated criticism from the American Bar Association's Section of Intellectual Property Law, expressing concern that it could be detrimental as it "casts doubt on inventorship through general acts of human direction."

  • June 20, 2024

    First Amendment Bars Models' Likeness Suit, Strip Clubs Say

    Three Philadelphia-area strip clubs facing a suit by Carmen Electra and other models over using their likeness without permission told a federal judge the plaintiffs' complaint is barred by the First Amendment because they are public figures "or limited purpose public figures."

  • June 20, 2024

    Patent Office Elevates Acting Solicitor To Official Position

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday announced that its longtime litigator Farheena Y. Rasheed has been appointed solicitor and deputy general counsel for the agency.

  • June 18, 2024

    Qualcomm Investors Ink $75M Deal Over Licensing Practices

    Qualcomm Inc. investors asked a California federal judge to greenlight a $75 million settlement that would resolve their claims that the chipmaker misled the market by stating it kept its licensing and chip-supply businesses separate when it regularly bundled the two in negotiations and agreements.

  • June 18, 2024

    Microsoft Reaches Deal With Patent Biz After $242M Verdict

    Microsoft indicated on Tuesday that it has decided to settle a fight with a litigation outfit that won a $242 million verdict from a Delaware federal jury over patents bought from a company that developed Apple's Siri software.

  • June 18, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Philips Communication Patent Claims

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday sided with Patent Trial and Appeal Board judges who gutted claims in a Philips patent challenged by a Chinese chipmaker that is facing an infringement suit in Delaware.

  • June 18, 2024

    USPTO Hears Array Of Ideas For Altering Director Review

    Numerous groups have offered suggestions to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on the process where the agency's director reviews Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions, from adjusting which cases are subject to review to barring the director from personally making decisions.

  • June 18, 2024

    11th Circ. Orders New Shrimp Secrets Trial Over Judge's Exit

    The Eleventh Circuit ordered a new trial in a trade secrets dispute involving breeders of disease-resistant shrimp, saying Tuesday that a magistrate judge who oversaw the trial's conclusion so that a federal judge could catch a flight exceeded his authority by answering jury questions and rejecting a defense counsel's request for clarification on damages awarded.

  • June 18, 2024

    Megan Thee Stallion Escapes IP Suit Over 'Savage' Song

    A Manhattan federal judge concluded Tuesday that rapper and songwriter Megan Thee Stallion did not rip off music from a hip-hop producer to create her hit song "Savage" in 2020, saying the plaintiff failed to show that she and the other defendants had access to his composition or that the two songs are substantially or strikingly similar.

  • June 18, 2024

    Starbucks Among Eateries Facing IP Suits Over Ordering Tech

    Starbucks, Denny's and three other restaurants are the latest to face a patent-licensing company's lawsuits in Texas for allegedly infringing a patent that lets customers place mobile orders on an app or website using a real-time menu that can make personalized suggestions.

  • June 18, 2024

    ITC To Eye Samsung Loss In LCD Patent Suit Against Rival

    The U.S. International Trade Commission decided Monday to review several issues in a judge's decision that cleared Manufacturing Resources International Inc. in a suit by Samsung accusing it of infringing LCD digital display patents.

  • June 18, 2024

    Rival Pool Supply Co. Looks To Duck Blueworks Ch. 11 Stay

    Pool supply company Hayward Industries Inc. has asked a bankruptcy court for a reprieve from the automatic stay protecting its bankrupt rival Blueworks Corp. as it seeks to secure final orders upholding a $16 million false advertising and unfair business practices judgment.

Expert Analysis

  • 6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media

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    In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.

  • Opinion

    Biden Admin's March-In Plan Would Hurt Medical Innovation

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    The Biden administration's proposal to reinterpret the Bayh-Dole Act and allow the government to claw back patents when it determines that a commercialized product's price is too high would discourage private investment in important research and development, says Ken Thorpe at the Rollins School of Public Health.

  • Google Patent Case Is A Claim Construction Litigation Lesson

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    The Federal Circuit's recent precedential decision in Google v. EcoFactor, which held that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board erred in the claim construction it had unknowingly adopted, shows that litigators should be alert to claim construction issues that masquerade as something else, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

  • A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise

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    After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.

  • Reassessing Trade Secrets Amid Proposed Noncompete Ban

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    The Federal Trade Commission's proposed ban on noncompete agreements as well as state bans make it prudent for businesses to reevaluate and reinvigorate approaches to trade secret protection, including knowing what information employees are providing to vendors, and making sure confidentiality agreements are put in place before information is shared, says Rob Jensen at Wolf Greenfield.

  • Considering The Logical Extremes Of Your Legal Argument

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    Recent oral arguments in the federal election interference case against former President Donald Trump highlighted the age-old technique of extending an argument to its logical limit — a principle that is still important for attorneys to consider in preparing their cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • How High Court SEC Case Could Affect The ITC

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy will likely spare the U.S. International Trade Commission from major operative changes, the ITC’s ability to issue penalties for violations of its orders may change, say Gwendolyn Tawresey and Ryan Deck at Troutman Pepper.

  • 2nd Circ. Ruling Will Guide Social Media Account Ownership

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    The Second Circuit’s recent decision in JLM Couture v. Gutman — which held that ownership of social media accounts must be resolved using traditional property law analysis — will guide employers and employees alike in future cases, and underscores the importance of express agreements in establishing ownership of social media accounts, says Joshua Glasgow at Phillips Lytle.

  • 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.

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