Intellectual Property

  • June 06, 2024

    Judge OKs $42M Stent IP Verdict, Discards Willfulness Finding

    A Delaware federal judge has said Boston Scientific was not entitled to a new trial in a case where it was told to pay $42 million for stent systems patent infringement, but threw out a finding of willful infringement.

  • June 06, 2024

    AI Co. UiPath's $70M Award Over Chinese Code Theft OK'd

    A New York federal judge has affirmed an unopposed $70 million arbitration award in favor of U.S. artificial intelligence software and robotic process automation company UiPath against a China-based competitor over allegedly stolen source code.

  • June 06, 2024

    UK, US Team Up On Standard-Essential Patents

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and U.K. Intellectual Property Office each announced a five-year agreement Thursday to collaborate on policy for standard-essential patents.

  • June 06, 2024

    Dolby Labs Buying GE Licensing For $429M

    Dolby Laboratories Inc. said Thursday it has agreed to pay $429 million for intellectual property business GE Licensing, in a deal that will expand Dolby's existing licensing businesses with more than 5,000 GE patents covering the consumer digital media and electronics sectors.

  • June 06, 2024

    Eckert Seamans Adds 5-Atty Dentons IP Team In Pittsburgh

    Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC has expanded its intellectual property services with the addition of a five-member team that moved its practice from Dentons Cohen & Grigsby to the firm's Pittsburgh office.

  • June 06, 2024

    'Brussels Effect' Of EU's AI Act Is Uncertain, Legal Pros Say

    BigLaw attorneys advising international clients on the European Union's AI Act tell Law360 there are significant uncertainties over vague terms in the 458-page statute, how its steep eight-figure fines will be enforced, and whether it will set a new standard globally as part of the "Brussels effect."

  • June 06, 2024

    Romania Becomes 18th EU State To Join Unified Patent Court

    European officials said Wednesday that Romania has joined Europe's unitary patent system after ratifying the agreement just ahead of its first anniversary.

  • June 06, 2024

    Turf Co. Says Ex-VP Stole Secrets Before Joining Rival

    A longtime sales executive at FieldTurf USA, one of the leading manufacturers of artificial turf sports fields, has absconded with confidential information about the company's customers and taken the information to an industry rival, according to a lawsuit filed in Georgia federal court Wednesday.

  • June 05, 2024

    Rimini's Oracle IP Defense Was Wrongly Barred, 9th Circ. Told

    Rimini Street and its owner urged the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday to vacate an injunction blocking it from copying Oracle's software in their 14-year battle over Rimini's software patches, arguing that the lower court erroneously tossed certain infringement defenses that "should have been in the case all along" and made other errors.

  • June 05, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Questions Willfulness Finding Over Meat Slicer Patent

    A Federal Circuit panel appeared wary Wednesday of Provisur Technologies Inc.'s argument that Weber Inc. knew it was infringing its patents for meat slicing and packaging machines, the basis for a $10.5 million judgment against Weber last year.

  • June 05, 2024

    Google Loses Another Patent Board Appeal In Sonos Feud

    Federal Circuit judges sided Wednesday with a patent board ruling that wiped out claims in yet another Google patent that was asserted in the tech company's infringement lawsuit against wireless speaker brand Sonos.

  • June 05, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Judges Skeptical Broadband IP Is Patentable

    A Federal Circuit panel seemed ready Wednesday to affirm a Texas federal judge's decision that a Broadband iTV Inc. streaming service interface patent is invalid as abstract, even if one judge eventually said the company was "making close to a persuasive case."

  • June 05, 2024

    Texas Tamale Co. Wins Partial Injunction In Trademark Case

    A Texas federal magistrate judge has found that a Fort Worth tamale outfit called Texas Lone Star Tamales can't use certain phrases in its advertising but limited some language in a requested injunction.

  • June 05, 2024

    3rd Circ. Won't Put Trade Secrets Atty Fee Fight Before Jury

    The Third Circuit on Wednesday backed a jury verdict in favor of two former employees that a power trading company claimed took trade secrets to start a new firm, but rejected one defendant's bid to have a jury determine whether he gets attorney fees for what he called "bad-faith" litigation.

  • June 05, 2024

    USPTO Fee Hike Finds Ally In Google, But Others Have Gripes

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's plan to increase many patent-related fees beginning next year has received support from Google, but dozens of other comments came from patent litigators of all stripes who argue that the proposal is a bad idea.

  • June 05, 2024

    TTAB Rejects Gin Maker's Attempt To Narrow 'Iron Balls' Mark

    The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has refused a gin maker's bid to force a Texas brewery to limit its use of the phrase "Iron Balls" to craft microbrews instead of just "beer," saying such a change wouldn't make confusion any less likely.

  • June 05, 2024

    Google Hit With IP Suit By Textbook Cos. Over Pirated Books

    A group of textbook publishers hit Google LLC with a copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit Wednesday in New York federal court, accusing the tech giant of allowing advertisements from websites that allegedly sell pirated books and ignoring take-down requests from the publishers for years.

  • June 05, 2024

    K&L Gates Adds Ex-Norton Rose IP Team In Frankfurt

    K&L Gates LLP has bolstered its intellectual property practice in its 30-attorney Frankfurt office with the addition of a team from Norton Rose Fullbright LLP, including a partner who works closely with fashion and luxury product clients.

  • June 05, 2024

    McDonald's Loses 'Big Mac' TM Rights Over Poultry In EU

    A European Union court on Wednesday stripped McDonald's of its right to use the "Big Mac" trademark on chicken sandwiches in the bloc, ruling that the fast food giant had failed to put the sign to proper use on poultry products in recent years.

  • June 04, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Mulls Whether To Undo $13M Jury IP Verdict

    NCR Corp. has a "tough burden" on its shoulders if it wants to prove that the evidence a jury relied on to deliver a $13 million jury verdict against the company for infringing two payment processing patents was not substantial enough, a Federal Circuit judge said Tuesday.

  • June 04, 2024

    Judge Recommends $27.7M For Textbook Publishers In IP Suit

    A federal magistrate judge in Manhattan has recommended that a group of textbook publishers be awarded nearly $27.7 million in damages in a copyright and trademark infringement complaint against nearly a dozen defendants who defaulted for not participating in a case where they were accused of selling counterfeits on Amazon.

  • June 04, 2024

    Paramount Hit With $142.5M 'Lucha Libre' Lawsuit

    Paramount and Univision have been hit with a $142.5 million copyright lawsuit over allegedly continuing to broadcast masked "Lucha Libre" fights on Pluto TV, over a year after ending a licensing deal with a California company that markets the videos in the U.S.

  • June 04, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Pours Doubt On Trademark Board's 'Cognac' Ruling

    Federal Circuit judges on Tuesday repeatedly expressed skepticism over a split administrative board ruling that allowed a small hip-hop record label to land a trademark using the word "cognac" over objections from the cognac distilling industry.

  • June 04, 2024

    PQA Tells Fed. Circ. To Deny VLSI's Speculative Stay Bid

    One of the companies sanctioned for misconduct while successfully challenging a VLSI Technology LLC patent has told the Federal Circuit that there's no reason to stay VLSI's appeal while unrelated litigation plays out.

  • June 04, 2024

    PTAB Upholds G+ Patent After Samsung Challenge

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has refused to invalidate any claims of a G+ Communications 5G network patent following a review requested by Samsung, which argued they were either obvious or anticipated.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • 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.

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