Intellectual Property

  • October 07, 2024

    New Bill Would Enact 'Commonsense' Litigation Disclosures

    A top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee announced Monday he introduced legislation to require the disclosure of parties receiving payments in civil lawsuits, a phenomenon known as "third-party litigation financing," in order to prevent abuses in the legal system.

  • October 07, 2024

    5 Decisions To Know By Outgoing Mass. Chief Judge

    Chief Massachusetts U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV, who announced Monday that he will step back from full-time judicial service next summer, has presided over numerous significant cases in recent years, including a dispute over the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's disgorgement powers and a birth defects suit against GlaxoSmithKline.

  • October 07, 2024

    Apple Doesn't Infringe Digital Identity Patents, Jury Finds

    A federal jury in Austin, Texas, has rejected a $361 million patent case from a longtime ExxonMobil employee who had targeted in-house cybersecurity hardware used in Apple iPhones.

  • October 07, 2024

    Contractor Passed 20K Accounts To Rivals, Security Co. Says

    A Connecticut home security monitoring company has accused a sales contractor of purchasing a list of 20,000 of its accounts from a service technician and trying to lure a colleague into helping him sell the secret data to competitors, causing an alleged "substantial loss of customers."

  • October 07, 2024

    Judge Backs $3.3M DOD Sole-Source Parts Deal For Boeing

    A Court of Federal Claims judge has denied a protest over a $3.3 million Defense Logistics Agency sole-source contract with Boeing, covering helicopter spare parts the protester argued it could also provide, ruling the DLA reasonably determined Boeing was the only available source.

  • October 07, 2024

    NCAA Wins Preliminary OK For Revised $2.78B NIL Settlement

    A California federal judge on Monday preliminarily approved the NCAA's revised $2.78 billion antitrust settlement with athletes suing over the organization's name, image and likeness compensation rules.

  • October 07, 2024

    Willkie Tech Patent Litigation Chair Joins Covington In DC

    The former chair of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP's tech patent litigation group, who has more than two decades of experience litigating computer hardware and software matters for major corporations, has moved his practice to Covington & Burling LLP's Washington, D.C., office, the firm announced Monday.

  • October 07, 2024

    6 High Court Cases To Watch For Trial Attorneys

    As the U.S. Supreme Court lifts the curtain on a new term, the justices are slated to consider a variety of cases impacting the work of trial litigators, including a death penalty case over a state-disavowed conviction, the boundaries of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, and corporate veil piercing.

  • October 07, 2024

    Justices Snub Musician's 'Rockstar' IP Feud With Nickelback

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a copyright complaint from a musician who sued Canadian band Nickelback for allegedly ripping off his song to make their hit record "Rockstar."

  • October 07, 2024

    Justices Skip Review Of USPTO's TM Address Requirement

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will not review whether the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is required to solicit public feedback before enacting a rule that requires trademark applicants to list their home addresses.

  • October 07, 2024

    High Court Rejects Pleas To Hear 7 Patent Cases

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down seven petitions seeking review of decisions in patent cases, including appeals dealing with double patenting, patent eligibility and Patent Trial and Appeal Board procedures.

  • October 04, 2024

    Top 5 Supreme Court Cases To Watch This Fall

    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear several cases in its October 2024 term that could further refine the new administrative law landscape, establish constitutional rights to gender-affirming care for transgender minors and affect how the federal government regulates water, air and weapons. Here, Law360 looks at five of the most important cases on the Supreme Court's docket so far.

  • October 04, 2024

    Apple Sued For Booting Music App Amid YouTube IP Fight

    A music streaming service has sued Apple Inc. in California federal court for allegedly removing it from the app store based on an unsubstantiated complaint of intellectual property infringement sent in by YouTube.

  • October 04, 2024

    Genasys Seeks Sanctions For Destroyed Evidence In IP Case

    Genasys Inc. has asked a California federal court to issue terminating sanctions against two former employees for allegedly destroying evidence in a case where the long-range acoustic device company is accusing them of stealing trade secrets to form a competing business.

  • October 04, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Topples Verdict In Tire Design IP Litigation

    The Federal Circuit on Friday determined that a federal court in Chicago had it wrong about what kind of conduct in litigation is granted "absolute litigation privilege," upending a multimillion-dollar jury verdict on liability over language in settlement agreements in a dispute over tire designs.

  • October 04, 2024

    Regeneron Can't Ax Willful Infringement In COVID Patent Case

    Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. cannot boot a willful infringement claim from Allele Biotech's patent suit over the development of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, a New York federal judge ruled Friday, saying it was up to Regeneron to establish that Allele failed to show the defendant had presuit knowledge of the patent.

  • October 04, 2024

    Kraft Heinz Sued In Ga. For Stealing Distributor Database

    The Kraft Heinz Co. has been slapped with a complaint in Georgia federal court accusing it of downloading hoards of information from an Atlanta-based company's database of international distributors and passing it off as its own to generate as much as $25 million in revenue, in breach of the company's licensing agreement.

  • October 04, 2024

    High Court Bar's Future: Jenner & Block's Adam Unikowsky

    In many ways, Adam G. Unikowsky of Jenner & Block LLP has traveled a tried-and-true path — Harvard, elite clerkships, BigLaw — to the upper echelons of U.S. Supreme Court advocacy. But his route to the forefront of the bar's next generation has been less conventional than it might appear, and he spoke with Law360 about how he's climbed so high — and how he excels by avoiding rhetoric that "judges really, really hate."

  • October 04, 2024

    SSI Wins $16M From Wisconsin Jury Over Fuel Tank Sensor IP

    KUS Technology Corp. must pay rival sensor company SSI Technologies LLC more than $16 million for willfully infringing a patent for a fuel tank sensor, a Wisconsin federal jury verdict ruled Thursday.

  • October 04, 2024

    NJ Diner Says It's No Longer Using Civil Rights Activist's Name

    The owners of a New Jersey diner being sued for using the former operator and civil rights activist's name in their branding has asked a New Jersey federal judge to toss a bid seeking to stop it from using the eponymous "Mr. G's" name, arguing the request is moot because they have closed the restaurant and have no plans to reopen.

  • October 04, 2024

    Posting Copyrighted Building Codes Is Fair Use, Pa. Judge Says

    The American Society for Testing and Materials has lost a bid to enjoin a website from posting ASTM's copyrighted technical standards for building projects, after a Pennsylvania federal judge concluded that what the website does is fair use.

  • October 04, 2024

    Simply Naturals Sues Former Director, Claiming TM Grab

    Simply Naturals has accused a former director of trying to steal its "sizzling minerals" trademark, claiming in a London court that he was threatening to bring infringement proceedings despite transferring the name rights years ago.

  • October 04, 2024

    There May Not Be Life On Mars, But There Could Be IP

    The rapidly expanding space tourism industry is raising a vast universe of potential intellectual property issues. Experts say most of the laws governing extraterrestrial IP are as unexplored as space itself.

  • October 04, 2024

    NCAA's Legal Woes Grow With Ex-Ohio State QB's NIL Suit

    Former Ohio State University star quarterback Terrelle Pryor, whose college career abruptly ended after the NCAA suspended him for profiting off his own memorabilia, filed a proposed antitrust class action in Ohio federal court Friday accusing the NCAA and others of profiting from his name, image and likeness while denying him and other athletes compensation.

  • October 04, 2024

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

    This past week in London has seen GMB Union sued by the makers of Tetley Tea after a staff walkout in September, boxer Mike Tyson hit with legal action from a marketing company and the Met Police face a misuse of private data claim from a woman who had a relationship with an undercover police officer. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

Expert Analysis

  • Patent Lessons From 7 Federal Circuit Reversals In May

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    A look at recent cases where the Federal Circuit reversed or vacated decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board or a federal district court provide guidance on how to succeed on appeal by clarifying the obviousness analysis of design patents, the finality of a judgment, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians

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    Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent

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    As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.

  • Momofuku Chili War May Chill Common Phrase TM Apps

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    Momofuku’s recent trademark battle over the “Chili Crunch” mark shows that over-enforcement when protecting exclusivity rights may backfire not just in the public eye, but with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as well, says Anthony Panebianco at Davis Malm.

  • Trademark In Artistic Works 1 Year After Jack Daniel's

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    In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court's Jack Daniel's v. VIP Products ruling, courts have applied Jack Daniel's inconsistently to deny First Amendment protection to artistic works, providing guidance for dismissing trademark claims relating to film and TV titles, say Hardy Ehlers and Neema Sahni at Covington.

  • NCAA Settlement May End The NIL Model As We Know It

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    The recent House v. NCAA settlement in California federal court, in which the NCAA agreed to allow schools to directly pay March Madness television revenue to their athletes, may send outside name, image and likeness collectives in-house, says Mike Ingersoll at Womble Bond.

  • Legal Battles Show Brands' Dilemma In Luxury Resale Trend

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    Recent litigation, such as Chanel's pending case against The RealReal, underscores the intricate balance luxury brands must strike between protecting their trademarks and embracing the burgeoning secondhand market that values sustainability, says Prachi Ajmera at Michelman & Robinson.

  • AI-Generated Soundalikes Pose Right Of Publicity Issues

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    Artificial intelligence voice generators have recently proliferated, allowing users to create new voices or manipulate existing vocals with no audio engineering expertise, and although soundalikes may be permissible in certain cases, they likely violate the right of publicity of the person who is being mimicked, says Matthew Savare at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Why Jurors Balk At 'I Don't Recall' — And How To Respond

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    Jurors often react negatively to a witness who responds “I don’t remember” because they tend to hold erroneous beliefs about the nature of human memory, but attorneys can adopt a few strategies to mitigate the impact of these biases, say Steve Wood and Ava Hernández at Courtroom Sciences.

  • Beware Of Trademark Scammers Leveraging USPTO Data

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    Amid a recent uptick in fraudulent communications directed at trademark applicants, registrants must understand how to protect themselves and their brand from fraudulent schemes and solicitation, say Michael Kelber and Alexandra Maloney at Neal Gerber.

  • Series

    Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge​​​​​​​ at Robinson Bradshaw.

  • 10 Tips To Build Trust With Your Witness During Trial Prep

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    Preparing a witness for deposition or trial requires more than just legal skills — lawyers must also work to cultivate trust with the witness, using strategies ranging from wearing a hat when conducting mock cross-examination to offering them a ride to court before they testify, say Faye Paul Teller and Sara McDermott at Munger Tolles.

  • A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence

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    The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.

  • PTAB Rulings Shed Light On Quantum Computing Patents

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    Recent Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions on enablement rejections against quantum computing patent claims provide patent practitioners with valuable guidance on best practices for avoiding and overcoming enablement, say Fred Qiu and Alex Nie at Sheppard Mullin.

  • To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef

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    To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

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