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Intellectual Property
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Featured
Takeaways From Fair Use Rejection Of Free E-Book Library
The Second Circuit's decision shutting down a fair use argument by Internet Archive over its system of scanning physical books and converting them into e-books to lend for free is a resounding victory for book publishers that argued their market was in danger of being supplanted.
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September 10, 2024
Distillery Tries To Lasso Booze Trademark, Suit Says
Dynasty Spirits told a Colorado federal court Monday that Lasso Whiskey is infringing on its Lasso Motel trademark.
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September 10, 2024
British Artists Call For IP Overhaul Amid AI Concerns
More than 4,000 arts professionals have signed a joint letter urging the government to ensure that artists have control over whether copyrighted works are used for training artifical intelligence, highlighting the "significant challenges" faced by creatives in Britain.
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September 10, 2024
Ugg Maker Ends IP Boot Suit Against Costco
Deckers Outdoor Corp. has dropped its suit in California federal court accusing Costco Wholesale Corp. of infringing a design patent and trade dress for Ugg "Classic Ultra Mini" boots with the retailer's Kirkland-branded footwear.
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September 10, 2024
Photographer Aims To Squash Pest Control Co. Use Of Ant Pic
A biologist and photographer sued a Houston-area pest control company in Texas federal court for copyright infringement alleging the company stole his ant picture to promote their services online.
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September 10, 2024
Amazon Must Trim 'Halo' TM For EU Market
Amazon Technologies could not convince the EU's intellectual property office to let it register trademarks for "halo" unscathed, with the office backing a Californian health technology company's bid to trim key protections for medical monitoring devices and health assessment services.
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September 10, 2024
T-Mobile Can't Change 4th Circ. Loss In 'Simply Prepaid' Fight
T-Mobile failed Tuesday to undercut a Fourth Circuit decision that revived a Virginia-based cellphone company's infringement claims over the phrase "Simply Prepaid," with a panel of judges declining to grant the telecommunications giant's request for a second look.
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September 10, 2024
House Reps. Float Bill To Limit Patent Invalidations
A bipartisan bill that would reset patent eligibility standards has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, over a year after a similar Senate bill was put forward that drew opposition from much of the tech and retail industry.
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September 10, 2024
Cult Gaia Importer Beats Champagne Bid To Bar Dress Sales
A Dutch importer of Cult Gaia dresses has seen off a bid from a body representing the Champagne region's interests to bar it from selling "champagne" colored dresses after a court ruled it was clear it had no connection to the sparkling wine.
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September 10, 2024
Philips Balks At Dentons' Request To Exit IP Case
Dutch health technology conglomerate Philips Medical Systems Nederland BV is balking at Dentons US LLP's request to withdraw as counsel for Transtate Equipment Co. Inc. in a wide-ranging copyright and unfair competition case, insinuating that the move is a stalling tactic to avoid a final judgment.
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September 10, 2024
Phone Maker Vivo Joins Via LA's Audio Patent Licensing Pool
Via Licensing Alliance said Tuesday it has inked a deal with Chinese smartphone maker Vivo to join its patent pool for standardized audio coding technology.
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September 10, 2024
Ex-Michigan Football Stars Hit NCAA With $50M NIL Suit
A group of former University of Michigan football players are seeking more than $50 million in damages through a proposed class action filed Tuesday that alleges a decades-long scheme by the NCAA and Big Ten Network to unlawfully exploit athlete names, images and likenesses for commercial gain.
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September 10, 2024
Cypriot Cheesemakers Lose Challenge To 'Grilloumi' TM
A group of Cypriot halloumi producers has lost its attempt to overturn a decision that allowed a Swedish cheesemaker to register its "Grilloumi" and "Grilloumaki" trademarks in the U.K., as a London court ruled the marks are sufficiently different.
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September 10, 2024
Car Parts Maker Defends Heat-Resistant Steel Patent At EPO
A Chinese car parts manufacturer can keep its European patent for a heat-resistant steel alloy because its combination of elements is sufficiently inventive over previous formulae, an appeals panel has ruled.
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September 10, 2024
Apple Illegally Obtained €13B In State Aid, Top EU Court Rules
The European Union's highest court ruled on Tuesday that Ireland illegally granted Apple state aid in past tax rulings, requiring the U.S. technology giant to repay €13 billion ($14.3 billion) in back taxes as well as interest.
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September 09, 2024
White Stripes Sue Trump For Using Hit 'Seven Nation Army'
Disbanded rock duo White Stripes on Monday sued former President Donald Trump in New York federal court for using the iconic introductory riff of its Grammy-winning song "Seven Nation Army" on a social media clip without permission, and despite its members publicly denouncing the hit's use during Trump's 2016 presidential run.
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September 09, 2024
Fed. Circ. Undoes Alice Ax Of Camera Patents In GoPro Case
The Federal Circuit on Monday reversed a decision invalidating two video camera patents that GoPro Inc. is accused of infringing, ruling that the patents cover technological improvements, and not only an abstract idea, as a California federal judge had ruled.
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September 09, 2024
Judge Again Says Yearbook Site Can't Force Arbitration
A Washington federal judge has said the company behind Classmates.com can't force a privacy rights suit into arbitration, in a ruling that determined the plaintiff's attorney opted out of a terms-of-service provision.
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September 09, 2024
NC Dance Teachers Fend Off Injunction Bid In Trademark Feud
A North Carolina charter school can't prevent two former teachers from soliciting students for their dance team using the name "Inspire" amid claims of trademark infringement and false advertising, a federal judge ruled Monday.
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September 09, 2024
Brighthouse Hits Rival With TM Suit Over 'Shield' Mark
Annuity and life insurance provider Brighthouse Financial on Friday accused competitor American Equity Investment Life Insurance Co. of trademark infringement, claiming in a North Carolina federal court that American Equity is using Brighthouse's decade-old "shield" mark to sell similar, overlapping or nearly identical annuity products and services.
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September 09, 2024
Purdue Sees Another OxyContin Patent Axed
A Delaware federal court decided on Monday that yet another patent issued to bankrupt OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma is invalid, a year and a half after a similar ruling was issued in another case about the company's efforts to assert different patents to stop the same prospective Indian manufacturer of generic painkillers.
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September 09, 2024
Qorvo Gets Nearly $12M In Fees After $39M Trade Secrets Win
A federal judge said Monday that wireless company Qorvo Inc. was entitled to more than $11.7 million in legal fees after a jury earlier this year awarded the business $38.6 million in a trade secrets case against Akoustis Technologies Inc.
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September 09, 2024
Denver Court Knocks Out 'Breathable' Fabric Patent Claims
After almost a decade of litigation over "breathable" waterproof fabric in Colorado federal court, a judge in Denver has decided that some of the claims describing a patent failed to hold up to legal scrutiny.
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September 09, 2024
FTC Backs Teva Orange Book Delisting At Fed. Circ.
The Federal Trade Commission is continuing to back Amneal's efforts to have Teva's inhaler patents delisted from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Orange Book, telling the Federal Circuit that a lower court was right in determining that Teva's patents do not satisfy the registry's requirements.
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September 09, 2024
Fed. Circ. Backs PTAB Ruling In Food Wrapping Feud
The Federal Circuit has refused to revive claims in a trio of Converter Manufacturing LLC food wrapping patents, handing a win to patent challenger Tekni-Plex Inc. in the legal dispute.
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September 09, 2024
Wi-Fi Router Trade Dispute Paused While Makers Finalize Deal
The U.S. International Trade Commission has stayed all deadlines in an intellectual property dispute between Netgear and TP-Link over TP-Link's Wi-Fi router imports as the pair finalizes a settlement resolving the case.
Editor's Picks
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Fed. Circ.'s Fight With Newman: A Year In Review
One year has passed since it came to light that the Federal Circuit's judges were investigating whether their colleague, U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman, was mentally competent to remain on the court. In that time, Judge Newman has garnered support from many in the patent community, but has faced a series of setbacks in her legal challenges.
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Why IP Attys Are Watching This $2B Trade Secrets Battle
A case of alleged corporate espionage involving two software companies that resulted in a $2 billion verdict has all the hallmarks of a legal thriller, and attorneys are watching the appeal closely to see how it could impact trade secrets litigation.
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Trials After PTAB Invalidity Rulings Present Tricky Issues
A recent case illustrates that Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions finding patents invalid do not necessarily preclude a district court from holding an infringement trial on the same patents, though attorneys say such a scenario could raise some challenging issues.
Expert Analysis
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Why India May Become A Major Patent Litigation Forum
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.
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Opinion
To Lower Drug Prices, Harris Must Address Patent Thickets
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.
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How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations
Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.
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5 Ways To Confront Courtroom Technology Challenges
Recent cybersecurity incidents highlight the vulnerabilities of our reliance on digital infrastructure, meaning attorneys must be prepared to navigate technological obstacles inside the courtroom, including those related to data security, presentation hardware, video playback and more, says Adam Bloomberg at IMS Legal Strategies.
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The Fed. Circ. In August: Secret Sales And Public Disclosures
Two recent Federal Circuit rulings — Sanho v. Kaijet and Celanese International v. ITC — highlight that inventors should publicly and promptly disclose their inventions, as a secret sale will not suffice as a disclosure, and file their patent applications within a year of public disclosure, say Sean Murray and Jeremiah Helm at Knobbe Martens.
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Trending At The PTAB: Obviousness In Director Reviews
Three July decisions from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office favoring petitioners indicate a willingness by the director to review substantive issues, such as obviousness, particularly in cases where the director believes the Patent Trial and Appeal Board provided incorrect or inadequate rationale to support its decisions, say attorneys at Finnegan.
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AI Art Ruling Shows Courts' Training Data Cases Approach
A California federal court’s recent ruling in Andersen v. Stability AI, where the judge refused to throw out artists’ copyright infringement claims against four companies that make or distribute software that creates images from text prompts, provides insight into how courts are handling artificial intelligence training data cases, say attorneys at Skadden.
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FTC Focus: What Access To Patent Settlements Would Mean
Settling parties should adopt a series of practice tips, including specifying rationales to support specific terms, as the Federal Trade Commission seeks to expand its access to settlements before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, say Shannon McGowan and David Munkittrick at Proskauer.
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Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles
Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.
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Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.
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Takeaways From UPC's Amgen Patent Invalidity Analysis
The Unified Patent Court Central Division's decision in Regeneron v. Amgen to revoke a patent for lack of inventive step is particularly clear in its reasoning and highlights the risks to patentees of the new court's central revocation powers, say Jane Evenson and Caitlin Heard at CMS.
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How Cos. Can Leverage IP In Corporate Bankruptcy
In light of an increase in year-to-date Chapter 11 filings, businesses must understand the importance and value of intellectual property in corporate bankruptcy and restructuring, from contributing to enterprise value, to providing leverage in negotiations and facilitating recovery, says Gregory Campanella at Ocean Tomo.
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5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond
As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.
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Examining Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Of AI Inventions
In light of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office data showing that patent applications for artificial intelligence inventions are likelier to get rejected based on patent-ineligible subject matter, inventors seeking protection should be aware of the difficulties and challenges pertaining to patent eligibility, say Georgios Effraimidis at NERA and Joel Lehrer at Goodwin.
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IP Hot Topic: The Intersection Of Trademark And Antitrust Law
Antitrust claims – like those in the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent case against Apple – are increasingly influencing trademark disputes and enforcement practices, demonstrating how antitrust law can dilute the power of a trademark, say attorneys at Dentons.