Intellectual Property

  • November 15, 2024

    Tech Co. Urges Judge To Trim Starbucks' IP Counterclaims

    A patent-licensing company has said that an inventor connected to the business shouldn't have been dragged into its suit claiming that Starbucks infringed its patent on meal ordering technology, saying the coffee chain is trying to wrongly expand the case.

  • November 15, 2024

    Tech Co. Salesman Settles Ex-Employer's AI Misuse Claims

    A Connecticut salesman accused of using an artificial intelligence application to record company conference calls and his former employer have settled the company's trade secrets lawsuit, according to a joint request filed Friday seeking a permanent injunction.

  • November 15, 2024

    FanDuel Dropped From Suit Over MLB Players' NIL Use

    The Major League Baseball Players Association said Friday it's dropping FanDuel from a case over the alleged use of players' photos to promote sports gambling.

  • November 15, 2024

    Showtime, Lionsgate Accused Of Cribbing For 'Yellowjackets'

    The owner of the 2015 film "Eden" sued Showtime, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. and the makers of the TV series "Yellowjackets" in California federal court on Thursday, alleging that the hit show ripped off the film, which chronicles the tribulations of soccer players who resort to cannibalism after their plane crashes in the wilderness.

  • November 15, 2024

    New Trade Secrets Case Brought In Trucker Tracking Row

    A fight between two neighboring San Francisco startups that sell artificial intelligence-powered software used to monitor truck drivers has resulted in yet another lawsuit: a new state court case that accuses a CEO of personally "texting and meeting in person" with competing sales reps in order to obtain trade secrets. 

  • November 15, 2024

    USPTO Finalizes Adjustments In 2025 Trademark Fees

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is finalizing a proposal from earlier this year on changes to its fee structures, including adding surcharges on trademark applications lacking sufficient information and increasing the cost for paper applications.

  • November 15, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Won't Send Smartwatch Patent Case Out Of Texas

    The Federal Circuit on Friday shot down smartwatch maker Zepp Health's bid to transfer a patent infringement case from Texas to California, agreeing with a lower court's finding that the company failed to show the Golden State was the better forum.

  • November 15, 2024

    Penn State Asks To Keep Defendant In Vintage Brand TM Trial

    In the middle of a closely watched trademark infringement trial, the Pennsylvania State University asked a federal judge Friday to reconsider his decision to dismiss one of the defendants, arguing that Sportswear Inc.'s role as the exclusive manufacturer and distributor of Vintage Brand merchandise means Sportswear can be liable for infringement.

  • November 15, 2024

    Abbott Inks $8M Deal With Healthcare Fraudster In TM Suit

    A New York federal judge on Thursday green-lit a trademark infringement settlement in which Abbott Laboratories will receive $8 million from a Florida businessman who recently pled guilty to healthcare fraud for his role in a sprawling gray market scheme to profit off of Abbott's line of diabetic test strips meant to be sold internationally.

  • November 15, 2024

    Coffee Shop Agrees To Stop Using Dior Name After Suit

    A Western Massachusetts coffee shop will stop using the name "Café Dior," settling a trademark infringement lawsuit brought by French luxury brand Christian Dior, according to a Friday filing.

  • November 15, 2024

    Off The Bench: NCAA Eligibility Fight, Movie Script Dispute

    In this week's Off The Bench, a college football star takes the NCAA to court seeking one more year to play, the plot of a recent Netflix release might have been lifted from another creator and a transgender college athlete's right to compete is challenged by other players.

  • November 15, 2024

    Another Paul Hastings Int'l Arbitration Atty Joins Linklaters

    Linklaters has added a senior counsel in Washington, D.C., who joins the firm's international arbitration practice from Paul Hastings LLP, weeks after that firm's international arbitration practice co-chair made a similar jump.

  • November 15, 2024

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

    This past week in London has seen Ocado file an intellectual property claim against an African fruit and vegetable importer, a claim filed against a Swiss bank founded by Indian billionaire Srichand Parmanand Hinduja and 300 individuals sue travel company TUI. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • November 14, 2024

    LeBron James, Netflix Accused Of Ripping Off Movie Script

    A Montana filmmaker on Thursday accused Netflix, LeBron James and other "heavy Hollywood hitters" of ripping off his copyrighted script to make one of the streaming service's recent releases, telling a California federal court the works shared obvious similarities from their dialogue, down to their characters and scene sequences.

  • November 14, 2024

    Insurer Says Mich. Lawyers Lying About Its Auto Coverage

    A no-fault auto insurer alleged in a new complaint Wednesday that Michigan personal injury attorneys and their law firms are engaging in a smear campaign to drive the insurer out of the state, accusing the attorneys and firms of posting lies that the company discourages drivers from selecting adequate policies and overcharges its customers.

  • November 14, 2024

    Canadian Standards Group Asks High Court To Rethink IP Ruling

    A Canada-based standards development group wants the U.S. Supreme Court to take up its challenge to a Fifth Circuit decision that handed a win to a Canadian man the group said was selling copies of its copyrighted standards.

  • November 14, 2024

    Albright Moves Apple Foes' Patent Suit To California

    Waco's U.S. District Judge Alan Albright has decided to send a patent lawsuit lodged in his court against Apple to the tech giant's home of California, calling the "minimal local interest" provided by local tax breaks "strenuously tied to this case at best."

  • November 14, 2024

    Atty's Conduct In IP Case Merits Fees Sanction, Judge Says

    A California federal judge said Thursday an attorney who represented a company that lost a trade dress infringement case should be jointly responsible with his client, Iconic Mars Corp., for paying attorney fees and costs for his conduct during litigation that culminated with microphone manufacturer Kaotica Corp. prevailing at trial in June.

  • November 14, 2024

    Cisco Asks Albright To Ax $65.7M IP Verdict, Seeks New Trial

    Cisco Systems Inc. has asked U.S. District Judge Alan Albright to throw out a Texas jury's verdict holding the technology behemoth liable for infringing a patent related to conference calls, saying Cisco suffered "immense" prejudice at trial and that the jury's $65.7 million damages award is "excessive."

  • November 14, 2024

    Full Fed. Circ. Won't Touch GoPro Patent Eligibility Argument

    The full Federal Circuit decided Thursday not to look further into arguments from GoPro Inc. that a September panel ruling on patents asserted against the camera company created "a breathtaking expansion of subject-matter eligibility."

  • November 14, 2024

    Senate Panel Delays Votes On Patent Eligibility And PTAB Bills

    The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday postponed planned votes on legislation aimed at reducing decisions that inventions are ineligible for patents and setting new limits on Patent Trial and Appeal Board challenges, but approved a bill to let the patent office collect demographic data on inventors.

  • November 14, 2024

    Judge Finds Dexcom Infringed Abbott Patent That Hung Jury

    A judge has found that Dexcom Inc. infringed a glucose monitor patent owned by an Abbott Laboratories unit, with the ruling coming after a Delaware federal jury in March said it was hung on the issue.

  • November 14, 2024

    Clutch-Maker Sues Off-Road Vehicle Co. For Stalled Royalties

    An off-road vehicle maker in North Carolina has shortchanged a Canadian manufacturer on royalty payments for a clutch and is otherwise tarnishing the supplier's reputation by selling vehicles that frequently malfunction, according to a newly filed federal lawsuit in the Tar Heel State.

  • November 14, 2024

    Boehringer Says Inhaler Antitrust Suit 'Fails On Its Face'

    Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Boehringer Ingelheim International GMBH have urged a Connecticut federal judge to dismiss a proposed class action brought by health funds accusing it of monopolizing the inhaler market with improper patent listings, arguing the suit fails to allege any competitors were actually hindered by those patents.

  • November 14, 2024

    South Dakota Slams NCAA Over NIL Settlement 'Notice'

    South Dakota's attorney general has continued lodging criticism at the NCAA over its handling of a massive lawsuit related to the way student-athletes are compensated, telling a California federal judge the organization has failed to properly notify the state and others of a preliminary $2.78 billion settlement.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.

  • Opinion

    Proposed Terminal Disclaimers Rule Harms Colleges, Startups

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    Universities and startups are ill-suited to follow the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s recently proposed rule on terminal disclaimers due to their necessity of filing patent applications early prior to contacting outside entities for funds and resources, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

  • A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates

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    Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.

  • Opinion

    Cell Tech Patent Holdup Is Stalling Automaker Innovation

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    Courts and Congress should seek to stem anticompetitive harm caused by standard-essential patent holders squeezing automakers with unfairly high royalties for cellular connectivity technology, says Charles Haake at Alliance for Automotive Innovation.

  • M&A In The AI Era: Key Deal Terms To Watch

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    As the artificial intelligence market matures, so will due diligence needs, as M&A deals aimed at consolidation and new synergies raise unique legal and regulatory challenges, including potential antitrust and national security reviews, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Opinion

    States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions

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    Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.

  • Trending At The PTAB: Multiple Petitions In IPRs

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    Recent Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions and a proposed rulemaking indicate the board’s intention to continue to take a tougher stance on multiple inter partes review petitions challenging the same patent, presenting key factors for petitioners to consider, like the necessity of parallel filings and serial petitions, say Yinan Liu and Cory Bell at Finnegan.

  • How Attorneys Can Reduce Bad Behavior At Deposition

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    To minimize unprofessional behavior by opposing counsel and witnesses, and take charge of the room at deposition, attorneys should lay out some key ground rules at the outset — and be sure to model good behavior themselves, says John Farrell at Fish & Richardson.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Rethinking Agency Deference In IP Cases

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent overturning of Chevron deference could make it simpler to challenge the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s proposed rule on terminal disclaimers and U.S. International Trade Commission interpretations, says William Milliken at Sterne Kessler.

  • Series

    Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

  • Opinion

    'Trump Too Small' Ruling Overlooks TM Registration Issues

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision last month in Vidal v. Elster, which concluded that “Trump Too Small” cannot be a registered trademark as it violates a federal prohibition, fails to consider modern-day, real-world implications for trademark owners who are denied access to federal registration, say Tiffany Gehrke and Alexa Spitz at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice

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    The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Limited Changes In USPTO Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling overturning Chevron deference will have limited consequences for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office given the USPTO's unique statutory features, but it is still an important decision for matters of statutory interpretation, especially those involving provisions of the America Invents Act, say Andrei Iancu and Cooper Godfrey at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • Fed. Circ. Skinny Label Ruling Guides On Infringement Claims

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Amarin v. Hikma shows generic drug manufacturers must pay close attention to the statements in their abbreviated new drug application labels to put themselves in the best position in defending against an induced infringement claim, say Luke Shannon and Roshan Shrestha at Taft Stettinius.

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