Intellectual Property

  • May 23, 2024

    Dyson Says It Deserves Counterfeiters' Profits

    Dyson told the Seventh Circuit on Thursday that a district court's refusal to award it profits from several e-commerce shops that defaulted in a trademark counterfeiting lawsuit should be reversed because it essentially "punished" the company by requiring it to provide proof that defendants should have offered.

  • May 23, 2024

    USPTO Issues Guidance On New Fed. Circ. Design Patent Test

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued guidance laying out how to apply the Federal Circuit's Tuesday en banc decision, making the standard for obviousness in design patents more flexible.

  • May 23, 2024

    House Money: The Path To A Landmark NCAA NIL Settlement

    The NCAA is expected to pay more than $2.7 billion to settle a yearslong antitrust class action lawsuit featuring hundreds of thousands of former college athletes who alleged the organization owed them for years of unpaid name, image and likeness compensation. Here, Law360 walks you down the winding path that led to the massive reported settlement.

  • May 23, 2024

    Old Case Can't Nix $181M AT&T, Nokia Verdict, Fed. Circ. Told

    Finesse Wireless LLC pushed back at the Federal Circuit against AT&T and Nokia's appeal of a more than $181 million verdict in Texas federal court for infringing Finesse's patents on reducing radio frequency interference, saying the companies' reliance on a 140-year-old Supreme Court case was misplaced.

  • May 23, 2024

    NCAA, Athletes Settle NIL Class Action Over Billions In Pay

    The NCAA said Thursday it has reached a settlement with the former college athletes who had filed an antitrust class action demanding billions in potential compensation allegedly denied to them for decades before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the NCAA's compensation ban.

  • May 23, 2024

    VW And Porsche Largely Invalidate Headlight Patent At PTAB

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has invalidated the vast majority of an Israeli inventor's patent covering adaptive headlights challenged by Volkswagen and Porsche, finding all but three challenged claims were obvious.

  • May 23, 2024

    Proposal To Expand PTAB Practitioners Divides Atty Groups

    Patent lawyers and others have chimed in on proposed plans from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that would potentially "designate nonregistered practitioners" to litigate at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, with some urging the agency to let nonpatent lawyers argue there, while others warn it could "dilute the importance of the registration process."

  • May 23, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Upends Inventors' Interference Win Over Time-Bar

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board wrongly chose inventors tied to Cook Medical, rather than ones tied to Medtronic, when determining who should prevail in an interference proceeding over catheters, the Federal Circuit held Thursday.

  • May 23, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Says Winery Minority Owner Can't Try To Cancel TM

    The Federal Circuit has affirmed a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board decision that a family trust that is a minority owner of Paul Hobbs Winery, which owns the trademark registration on the name of winemaker Paul Hobbs, does not have the right to seek cancellation of registrations on certain trademarks.

  • May 23, 2024

    Man Behind NH Primary Deepfake Faces Charges, FCC Fines

    The Democratic consultant accused of making robocalls with a cloned voice of President Joe Biden discouraging voters from taking part in the New Hampshire primary faces a state indictment on 13 felony voter suppression charges and $6 million in potential federal fines.

  • May 23, 2024

    Legal Marketer, Ark. Firm Agree To End Trade Secrets Suit

    A legal marketing business has agreed to dismiss a Georgia federal lawsuit accusing an Arkansas law firm and others of stealing and profiting off its trade secrets, including a database of client leads for mass torts over talcum powder and heartburn medication.

  • May 23, 2024

    Ex-Shook Hardy IP Team Joins Boies Schiller In DC

    Boies Schiller Flexner has beefed up its intellectual property services in Washington, D.C., with the addition of a trio of attorneys who previously practiced together for nearly a decade at Shook Hardy & Bacon, the firm announced Thursday.

  • May 22, 2024

    Pryor Cashman Atty Accused Of 'Brazen' Hose Patent Fraud

    An attorney for Pryor Cashman LLP and his client were accused Wednesday in Florida federal court of engaging in a "brazen" scheme to usurp a hose company's rights to a patent portfolio while also defrauding the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

  • May 22, 2024

    Salesforce Gets Texas Judge To Move Patent Suit To California

    For at least the second time in a week, a federal judge in Austin, Texas, has explained why he has shipped a patent lawsuit from his court to the Northern District of California — this time in a case brought by a bankrupt startup against one of Salesforce's brands.

  • May 22, 2024

    Inventor To Take $102M IP Malpractice Row To Ga. High Court

    A neurosurgeon pursuing a nearly $102 million legal malpractice case against FisherBroyles LLP and a legal services contractor over a missed patent filing deadline said Wednesday that he is planning to take the dispute to the highest court in the Peach State.

  • May 22, 2024

    Record Co. Worker Can't Appeal Before Nirvana Logo Trial

    A former record company employee who claims he created Nirvana's "smiley face" logo can't immediately appeal a ruling denying his ownership claim or delay trial in the band's copyright suit against designer Marc Jacobs International LLC over the logo, a California federal judge has ruled.

  • May 22, 2024

    NFL Escapes Sanders Statue Spat As Getty Eyes Arbitration

    The NFL has escaped a New York federal lawsuit filed by a professional photographer who claims his copyrighted photo was unlawfully used to create a statue of legendary running back Barry Sanders, while Getty Images Inc. hopes to settle through arbitration.

  • May 22, 2024

    PTAB Finds Inergy's Chip Patent Challenges 'Compelling'

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has decided to review Force Mos Technology chip patents, saying it won't rely on a 2020 precedent to discretionarily deny challenges by Inergy Technology Inc. in light of a looming district court trial because the petitions raise "compelling evidence of unpatentability."

  • May 22, 2024

    Justices' CFPB Alliance May Save SEC Courts, Not Chevron

    A four-justice concurrence to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's unique funding scheme last week carries implications for other cases pending before the court that challenge the so-called administrative state, or the permanent cadre of regulatory agencies and career government enforcers who hold sway over vast swaths of American economic life.

  • May 22, 2024

    Justices Urged To Undo 'Nonsensical' Double Patenting Ruling

    Cellect LLC asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the "nonsensical" invalidation of its patents through so-called obviousness-type double patenting, alleging the Federal Circuit "punished" it for delays in the patent prosecution process that were outside of its control.

  • May 22, 2024

    Insurance Co. Says Ex-Underwriter 'Lured' Away Colleagues

    An insurance brokerage and its affiliate have accused a former high-ranking company official of decamping for a competitor and encouraging colleagues to follow suit, according to a complaint designated Wednesday to North Carolina Business Court.

  • May 22, 2024

    Carmen Electra, Other Models' Likeness Suit Moves Forward

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has rejected a bid from three Philadelphia-area strip clubs to throw out a suit claiming they wrongly used the likeness of models including Carmen Electra, saying the models' claims were plausible.

  • May 22, 2024

    Boeing Can't Use Belated Patent Defense In Startup's IP Trial

    A Washington federal judge has rejected The Boeing Co.'s last-minute bid to tell a jury that its patents preempt claims it misappropriated an electric jet startup's intellectual property, saying it would be unfair to allow previously unpled affirmative defenses now that the trial is underway.

  • May 22, 2024

    Teva, Bristol-Myers Cite Bystolic Against Cancer Drug Case

    Celgene and parent Bristol-Myers Squibb pointed a New Jersey federal judge to the dismissal, recently upheld by the Second Circuit, of an antitrust suit over delayed generic competition to AbbVie's hypertension treatment Bystolic to argue the same logic applies to their bid to duck antitrust claims over cancer therapies.

  • May 22, 2024

    Spencer Fane Lures In Big-Name 'Misfits' For Patent Group

    Spencer Fane LLP has spent the past two years building up what it hopes to be a top-tier intellectual property group, pulling together a "band of misfits" from firms like Fish & Richardson PC and McKool Smith, according to the group's co-leader.

Expert Analysis

  • New Hydrogen Regulations Show The Need For IP Protections

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    The introduction of hydrogen regulations, such as the IRS' proposed tax credit for clean hydrogen under the Inflation Reduction Act, are reshaping the competitive landscape, with intellectual property rights an area of increased emphasis, say Evan Glass and James De Vellis at Foley & Lardner.

  • Inside The PTAB's Seagen Cancer Drug Patent Decision

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    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board's recent finding that Seagen's claims for antibody-drug conjugate technology were unpatentable — for lack of enablement, lack of written description and anticipation — mark the latest chapter in the complex patent dispute as the case heads for director review, says Ryan Hagglund at Loeb & Loeb.

  • 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.

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