Intellectual Property

  • July 16, 2024

    Tesla Says Chinese Co. Sells 'Dangerous' Charging Adapter

    Tesla said on Monday that a Chinese company sells a "dangerous" charging adapter that lets owners of non-Tesla electric vehicles charge at its network, saying in a suit filed in California federal court that the device could injure consumers and damage the power infrastructure.

  • July 16, 2024

    USPTO Provides Guidance On AI And Patent Eligibility

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday unveiled guidance for when inventions involving artificial intelligence are eligible for patents, saying the guidelines are aimed at "providing further clarity and consistency" on the issue.

  • July 16, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Rejects APA Challenge To PTAB Panel Makeups

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's invalidation of Arbor Global Strategies' processor module patent claims, shooting down the company's position that the board violated the Administrative Procedure Act when making its decision.

  • July 16, 2024

    SiriusXM Must Face Suit Over $150M In Unpaid Royalties In NY

    A Virginia federal judge has agreed to let Sirius XM move nonprofit royalty collector SoundExchange's suit to New York federal court, but refused to let it entirely escape claims that it owes more than $150 million in unpaid royalties.

  • July 16, 2024

    Columbia U. Aims To Keep $600M Patent Win Over Norton

    Columbia University has urged the Federal Circuit to preserve its $600 million willful patent infringement judgment against NortonLifeLock Inc., telling the court that Norton's "kitchen-sink" appeal "raises a slew of issues, hoping something will stick" and challenging Quinn Emanuel's appeal of a civil contempt ruling as "baseless and, ultimately, academic."

  • July 16, 2024

    Cold Brew Co. Inks Deal To End IP Suit Against Mug Maker

    A Colorado federal judge has signed off on a cold brew equipment maker and insulated mug company's request to dismiss a trademark infringement suit after the companies agreed to end the fight and pay for their own costs.

  • July 16, 2024

    Judge Spikes Fee Bid Pending Edible Arrangements Appeal

    A Georgia federal judge is denying for now 1-800-Flowers.com's push to recover up to $4.3 million in attorney fees, as its rival Edible Arrangements LLC appeals a ruling that ended its trademark infringement suit against the company.

  • July 16, 2024

    The 2024 Diversity Snapshot: What You Need To Know

    Law firms' ongoing initiatives to address diversity challenges have driven another year of progress, with the representation of minority attorneys continuing to improve across the board, albeit at a slower pace than in previous years. Here's our data dive into minority representation at law firms in 2023.

  • July 16, 2024

    Rising Star: Morrison Foerster's Allyson Bennett

    Allyson Bennett of Morrison Foerster LLP has been on the front lines of legal efforts to expand fair use laws in cases involving large tech companies, including shielding Instagram from copyright lawsuits and defending OpenAI, earning her a spot among the intellectual property practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 16, 2024

    These Firms Have The Most Diverse Equity Partnerships

    Law360’s law firm survey shows that firms' efforts to diversify their equity partner ranks are lagging. But some have embraced a broader talent pool at the equity partner level. Here are the ones that stood out.

  • July 16, 2024

    Tesla Loses Bid To Sue Over 5G License Rate In UK

    A London court ruled Monday that Tesla can't sue InterDigital for a worldwide license covering 5G technology, throwing a wrench in the automaker's plans to launch 5G-equipped vehicles in the U.K.

  • July 15, 2024

    Acuitas Seeks Credit For IP Tied To COVID Vax

    Acuitas Therapeutics wants to set the record straight about its involvement in a handful of patents that Alnylam Pharmaceuticals asserts were swiped to create the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer, BioNTech and Acuitas, saying in a lawsuit in Delaware federal court Monday that Acuitas scientists should be listed as co-inventors.

  • July 15, 2024

    EDTX Judge OKs $445M Chip Verdict Against Micron

    U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap has said there is no reason for the Texas court to wait for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to rule on the validity of a patent tied to part of a $445 million jury verdict against Micron Technology that came down in May.

  • July 15, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Filmmaker's Son Took Too Long To Probe Fraud

    The Ninth Circuit has affirmed a lower court order confirming an $8.7 million arbitral award in a long-running family dispute over a prominent Mexican film producer's film collection, saying the producer's son waited years too long to probe whether his siblings fraudulently tainted the award.

  • July 15, 2024

    Google Wants Antitrust Suit Over AI Features Tossed

    Google has urged a D.C. federal court to toss a suit from newspaper owners accusing the tech giant of violating antitrust law through its roll-out of generative artificial intelligence features, among other practices, saying the news outlets haven't alleged the existence of an online news market.

  • July 15, 2024

    Netgear Defends RICO, Antitrust Case Against Huawei

    Router maker Netgear is coming out in defense of its suit accusing the Chinese government-affiliated Huawei of racketeering and antitrust violations, saying that the tech company has attacked its claims by "overstating the pleading requirements and ignoring the law."

  • July 15, 2024

    GM Eyes Deal In Design Patent Fight At PTAB

    LKQ Corp. and General Motors Co. are looking to come to a deal to settle a legal dispute over GM's design patent covering fenders at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

  • July 15, 2024

    9th Circ. Centers On Atty's Duties In Winery TM Feud

    Ninth Circuit judges appeared skeptical Monday that a Houston lawyer could represent a prominent Napa Valley vintner while also claiming partial ownership rights to the name of its popular cabernet sauvignon, with one judge saying that conflict of interest rules for attorneys operating in California are "very strict."

  • July 15, 2024

    PTAB Will Review Money Clip IP Tied To Looming Import Ban

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has agreed to review if a Ridge Wallet LLC money clip patent should be invalidated, giving hope to a challenger facing an import ban for infringement of the same patent.

  • July 15, 2024

    Record Labels Sue Verizon Over Internet Users' File Sharing

    A group of the biggest music labels in the world is suing Verizon for allegedly profiting from what they call "pervasive" and "staggering" copyright infringement of the labels' music, saying in a complaint that the internet service provider "deliberately turned a blind eye" to music pirating on its network.

  • July 15, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Upholds Some HVAC Patent Claims In Google Fight

    The Federal Circuit has affirmed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision that handed a partial win to EcoFactor Inc. in a patent challenge brought by Google LLC.

  • July 15, 2024

    Nike Suit Seeks More Than $60M From Counterfeit 'Empire'

    Nike filed a federal lawsuit on Monday for more than $60 million against a popular Los Angeles company producing pricey customized sneakers that the sportswear giant claims unlawfully uses Nike's designs and intellectual property, saying the company and its founder are even offering "Nike Counterfeiting 101" classes.

  • July 15, 2024

    Judge Keeps Most Of TM Suit Against Musk's X Corp. Intact

    Elon Musk's Twitter rebrand X Corp. suffered a setback Monday when a Florida federal judge kept intact most of a trademark infringement complaint by X Social Media LLC, an advertising agency for attorneys, with only one claim dismissed from the suit.

  • July 15, 2024

    Crocs Dodges Clog Competitor's Counterclaims In IP Battle

    A Colorado federal judge has tossed a pair of counterclaims alleging anticompetitive conduct by Crocs in the shoe company's intellectual property lawsuit against a smaller rival, with the judge concluding that the rival never claimed Crocs said anything untrue or in bad faith.

  • July 15, 2024

    Carl Sagan Co. Drops TM Fight Over Astronomer's Name

    A company managing the works of famed astronomer Carl Sagan has agreed to drop claims that a Michigan software company is using Sagan's name without permission to benefit from his reputation, according to a stipulation of dismissal that said the parties reached a settlement.

Expert Analysis

  • Del. IP Ruling May Mark Limitation-By-Limitation Analysis Shift

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    A Delaware federal court's recent ruling in Lindis Biotech v. Amgen, which involved complex technology where the complaint contained neither facts nor a specific allegation directed to a claim limitation, might spark a shift away from requiring a limitation-by-limitation analysis, say Ted Mathias and Ian Swan at Axinn.

  • Trump Hush Money Case Offers Master Class In Trial Strategy

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    The New York criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump typifies some of the greatest challenges that lawyers face in crafting persuasive presentations, providing lessons on how to handle bad facts, craft a simple story that withstands attack, and cross-examine with that story in mind, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Cell Therapy Cos. Must Beware Limits Of Patent Safe Harbors

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    Though developers of gene and cell therapy products commonly assume that a legal safe harbor protects them from patent infringement suits, recent case law shows that not all preapproval uses of patented technology are necessarily protected, say Natasha Daughtrey and Joshua Weinger at Goodwin.

  • ITC Ruling Has Serious IP Implications For Foreign Imports

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    While a recent U.S. International Trade Commission decision is a win for trade secret owners who can show injury to a U.S. domestic industry, the decision also means that companies operating in foreign jurisdictions will be subject to the requirements of U.S. trade secret law, say Paul Ainsworth and Cristen Corry at Sterne Kessler.

  • What The Justices' Copyright Damages Ruling Didn't Address

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Warner Chappell v. Nealy clarified when a copyright owner may recover damages in jurisdictions that apply the so-called discovery rule, it did not settle the overriding question of whether the Copyright Act even permits applying the rule, say Ivy Estoesta and William Milliken at Sterne Kessler.

  • Series

    Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.

  • How Clinical Trials Affect Patentability In US And Europe

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    A comparison of recent U.S. and European patent decisions — concerning the effect of disclosures in clinical trials on the patentability of products — offers guidance on good practice for companies dealing with public use issues and prior art documents in these commercially important jurisdictions, say lawyers at Finnegan.

  • TTAB Ruling Raises Foreign-Language Mark Questions

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    The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's recent decision to cancel the Veuve Olivier registration due to its similarity to Veuve Clicquot brings new focus to the treatment of foreign terms and the doctrine of foreign equivalents, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System

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    As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.

  • Measuring Early Impact Of Rule 702 Changes On Patent Cases

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    Since Federal Rule of Evidence 702 was amended to clarify the standards for admitting expert witness testimony five months ago, emerging trends in patent cases suggest that it may be easier to limit or exclude expert testimony, and hold key practice takeaways for attorneys, say Manuel Velez and Nan Zhang at Mayer Brown.

  • Protecting IP May Be Tricky Without Noncompetes

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    Contrary to the Federal Trade Commission's view, trade secret law cannot replace noncompetes' protection of proprietary information because intellectual property includes far more than just trade secrets, so businesses need to closely examine their IP protection options, say Aimee Fagan and Ching-Lee Fukuda at Sidley.

  • 8 Legal Issues Influencing Investors In The Creator Economy

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    The rapidly expanding digital creator economy — funding for which more than doubled in the U.S. in the first quarter — comes with its own set of unique legal issues investors must carefully consider before diving in, say Louis Lehot and Alan Pate at Foley & Lardner.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data

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    Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • How Copyright Office AI Standards Depart From Precedent

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    The U.S. Copyright Office's recent departure from decades of precedent for technology-assisted works, and express refusal to grant protection to artificial intelligence-assisted works, may change as the dust settles around ancillary copyright issues for AI currently pending in litigation, says Kristine Craig at Hanson Bridgett.

  • IP Considerations For Companies In Carbon Capture Sector

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    As companies collaborate to commercialize carbon capture technologies amid massive government investment under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a coherent intellectual property strategy is more important than ever, including proactively addressing and resolving questions about ownership of the technology, say Ashley Kennedy and James De Vellis at Foley & Lardner.

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