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Intellectual Property
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July 09, 2024
Fight Over Golf-Aid Sales Puts Amazon In RICO Hot Seat
A pair of golf marketing companies conspired with Amazon to cash in on the sale of popular equipment endorsed by top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler after tricking the manufacturer into selling it to them wholesale, the equipment-maker claimed in a fraud and RICO suit filed in California federal court on Tuesday.
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July 09, 2024
Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Patent Fights Against Dating Apps
The Federal Circuit on Tuesday quickly shot down appeals from a patent litigation outfit trying to breathe life back into its failed legal campaign against a handful of prominent dating apps.
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July 09, 2024
9th Circ. Lets Librarian's Suit Against Dun & Bradstreet Go On
The Ninth Circuit has backed a California federal court's decision not to throw out a suit claiming Dun & Bradstreet Holdings sold personal information of individuals without consent, saying the proposed class action can move forward.
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July 09, 2024
Newman Loses Suit Against Fed. Circ. Over Suspension
A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday dismissed the lawsuit Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman filed against her colleagues over her suspension for refusing to undergo medical tests, saying she failed to prove the judicial conduct law at issue is unconstitutional.
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July 08, 2024
5th Circ. Unstrings Gibson's Win In Guitar Design TM Fight
Gibson must retry its case alleging a rival guitar maker sold counterfeit instruments that infringed its trademark on the Flying V guitar and other iconic models, the Fifth Circuit ruled Monday, saying the district court improperly excluded evidence.
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July 08, 2024
NBC Settles IP Suit Over Documentary Of Landscaping Co.
NBC has reached a deal in a copyright infringement suit in New York federal court brought by the owners of a video showing Rudy Giuliani claiming voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, which was originally posted on YouTube before some of it appeared in a half-hour NBC documentary about how the press conference affected Four Seasons Total Landscaping.
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July 08, 2024
Biotech Slaps Intellia With IP Suit Over $100M Regeneron Deal
Biotechnology company BlueAllele Corp. sued Intellia Therapeutics Inc. in Delaware federal court Monday, claiming the rival has infringed on three of its patents related to gene editing and using its invented technology to reap over $100 million under a deal with another biotech, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.
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July 08, 2024
Smoke Shops Say Rivals Are Copying Name, Filching Goodwill
A Washington smoke chain has hit several rivals with trademark infringement lawsuits, accusing them of unauthorized use of its name, Smoke City, so they can lean on the goodwill it has developed with customers.
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July 08, 2024
Fed. Circ. Won't Let Charter Shake Off Texas Patent Suit
The Federal Circuit on Monday turned down an argument from Charter Communications to direct a lower court in Marshall, Texas, to toss a patent infringement suit it's facing — less than a year after the cable company lost a nearly identical argument in a different patent case before the appeals court.
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July 08, 2024
Ex-Worker Under Protective Order Stole Gym's Name, Suit Says
A former mixed martial arts gym employee with a protective order against him for threatening his boss and several other workplace misconduct violations stole the company's name to use in opening a competing gym and luring co-workers and clients away, according to a suit filed Friday in Colorado state court.
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July 08, 2024
Biotech Co. Alleges Arbitrator Conflict In Patent Award Fight
Pennsylvania-based biotechnology company Renmatix Inc. is urging the Delaware Court of Chancery to nix an arbitral award favoring Finnish company UPM-Kymmene Corp. in a long-running patent dispute, pointing to an allegedly undisclosed conflict of interest involving the Finnish company's counsel at DLA Piper.
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July 08, 2024
Patent Office Continues To Fight Smartflash's FOIA Suit
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has again said it shouldn't have to turn over documents an inventor is seeking about Patent Trial and Appeal Board reviews of his patents, saying that doing so would harm its ability to respond to public information requests.
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July 08, 2024
Netherlands-Based NXP Cos. Want Out Of Texas IP Suit
Semiconductor company NXP Semiconductors NV and NXP BV, which are both based in the Netherlands, have said a Texas federal judge should throw out a lawsuit claiming they infringed more than half a dozen patents owned by Redwood Technologies LLC, saying the court doesn't have authority over the foreign companies.
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July 08, 2024
'Amazon Of Hemp' Wants Early Exit From NC Pot Farm Fight
An online hemp retailer is looking to ditch claims that it's passing off a North Carolina farm's hemp products as its own and has otherwise doctored THC test reports, calling the suit "fatally defective" and saying that other parts of the complaint contradict those claims.
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July 08, 2024
ITC Hands Innoscience Partial Loss In Semiconductor IP Row
A judge at the U.S. International Trade Commission has found that Innoscience flouted federal law by importing semiconductor technology that infringes an Efficient Power Conversion patent.
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July 08, 2024
DraftKings Hiding Ball On Noncompete Law, 1st Circ. Told
A former DraftKings executive fighting a noncompete so he can work for rival sports-betting upstart Fanatics has told the First Circuit his ex-employer is overlooking the importance of a California law that could unwind the restrictive covenant.
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July 08, 2024
Patent Holder Drops VoIP Suits Against Capital One, Fidelity
A small company that owns a voice recognition technology patent has agreed to drop its lawsuits in Texas federal court against Capital One and Fidelity.
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July 08, 2024
Puma Aims To Unveil Redacted Docs In Shoe IP Battle
Puma has pushed a rival sports gear company to turn over previously withheld and unredacted versions of documents in a trademark fight over shoes, telling a Washington federal judge that Brooks Sports Inc. already sent the materials to a third party.
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July 08, 2024
Calif. Realtor Sued Over Use Of Kanye West's Ranch Photos
A real estate photographer has accused a property listings site in California federal court of stealing his photos of a Hidden Hills, California, ranch home that used to be owned by controversial rap artist Kanye West.
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July 08, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Prince's heirs were left standing alone in a cold world last week after Delaware's Court of Chancery found their attempts to gain control of the late musician's estate too demanding. Delaware's court of equity also waved a wand for Walt Disney and slashed nearly $10 million from a damages award for Sears stockholders. In case you missed anything, here's a recap of all the latest news from Delaware's Chancery Court.
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July 08, 2024
The Biggest Patent Rulings Of 2024: A Midyear Report
The Federal Circuit issued its first en banc patent decision since 2018, a circuit judge's suspension was solidified and courts shed further light on foreign damages and skinny labels. Here's a look back at these rulings and other top patent decisions from the first half of 2024.
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July 05, 2024
GitHub, OpenAI Get Developers' Copyright Claim Tossed
A California federal judge has trimmed software developers' suit claiming OpenAI and Microsoft's GitHub ripped off their source code to build artificial intelligence tools, axing their claim under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, according to an order unsealed Friday.
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July 05, 2024
Prince Estate's Managing Members Prevail In Spat With Family
Delaware's Court of the Chancery on Friday held that some of Prince's family members ran afoul of an LLC agreement when they tried to oust two managing members of the late musician's estate and give themselves more control.
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July 05, 2024
HBO Dodges Copyright Suit Over 'FBoy Island,' For Now
A New York federal judge ruled that a young producer failed to sufficiently allege HBO's "Fake Famous" and "FBoy Island" shows ripped off his "Instafamous" reality show concept, but the flaws in the producer's copyright infringement allegations weren't so bad they couldn't be fixed.
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July 05, 2024
Apple Says Masimo Can't Rely On LKQ In Design Patent Fight
Apple Inc. has told a Delaware federal court that medical tech company Masimo Corp.'s attempt to use the Federal Circuit's latest holding on design patent jurisprudence in one of their multiple ongoing legal fights surrounding the Apple Watch "fails to address any … authority concerning any pending motion."
Expert Analysis
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Golf Course Copyright Bill Implications Go Beyond The Green
A new federal bill, the BIRDIE Act, introduced in February would extend intellectual property protections to golf course designers but could undercut existing IP case law and raise broader questions about the scope of copyright protection for works that involve living elements or nonhuman authorship, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.
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What's At Play In Rising Lanham Act Cases At The ITC
Amid an uptick in Lanham Act claims involving false advertising related to medical devices at the U.S. International Trade Commission, Brian Busey and Maryrose McLaughlin at MoFo discuss recent ITC complaints from Eli Lilly and R.J. Reynolds, Lanham Act claim limits under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and the issues practitioners face in this realm.
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Key Factors In Establishing Compelling Merits At The PTAB
A look at over 450 Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions between June 2022 and now provides insights into strategies for petitioners and patent owners in establishing compelling merits arguments in post-grant proceedings, say David Holman and Tyler Liu at Sterne Kessler.
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Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment
As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.
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Takeaways From USPTO's AI-Assisted Invention Guidance
Recently issued guidance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office clarifies how patent inventorship is to be determined when AI is involved, and while the immediate risk of prosecution for failing to meet the new standards appears low, the extent of examiners’ scrutiny remains to be seen, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.
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The Taylor Swift Effect: Leveraging IP Thresholds In Ads
The Cetaphil #GameTimeGlow commercial, which aired before the Super Bowl, has garnered attention for its indirect use of Taylor Swift-related symbols that were easily spotted by fans — sparking questions about the legality of nodding to the iconic pop star without violating intellectual property rights, say attorneys at Brooks Kushman.
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5 Ways To Hone Deposition Skills And Improve Results
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Depositions must never be taken for granted in the preparations needed to win a dispositive motion or a trial, and five best practices, including knowing when to hire a videographer, can significantly improve outcomes, says James Argionis at Cozen O'Connor.
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Series
Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.
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Can A DAO Be Sued? SDNY Case May Hold The Answer
A case pending in the Southern District of New York will examine whether decentralized crypto co-op MakerDAO is a partnership with the capacity to be sued in federal court, and the decision could shape how legal frameworks will adapt to accommodate blockchain technologies moving forward, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.
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Navigating Trade Secret Litigation In A High-Stakes Landscape
Recent eye-popping verdicts are becoming increasingly common in trade secret litigation — but employers can take several proactive steps to protect proprietary information and defend against misappropriation accusations in order to avoid becoming the next headline, say Jessica Mason and Jack FitzGerald at Foley & Lardner.
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Disney Copyright Expiration Spurs Trademark Questions
While the recent expiration of Disney’s Steamboat Willie copyright is not likely to have an immediate impact, it could provide clarity on the extent to which trademark rights in character names and appearance affect what others can do with characters from works whose copyright has expired, says Bryan Wheelock at Harness IP.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC
The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Opinion
There Is No NCAA Supremacy Clause, Especially For NIL
A recent Tennessee federal court ruling illustrates the NCAA's problematic position that its member schools should violate state law rather than its rules — and the organization's legal history with the dormant commerce clause raises a fundamental constitutional issue that will have to be resolved before attorneys can navigate NIL with confidence, says Patrick O’Donnell at HWG.
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Valeant Ruling May Pave Way For Patent-Based FCA Suits
The Ninth Circuit’s recent ruling in Silbersher v. Valeant marks a significant development in False Claims Act jurisprudence, opens new avenues for litigation and potentially raises the stakes for patent applicants who intend to do business with the government, say Joshua Robbins and Rick Taché at Buchalter.
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Webpages Must Meet Accessibility Standard To Be Prior Art
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board's First Solar Inc. v. Rovshan Sade decision, that an available internet resource doesn't necessarily qualify as a prior art "printed publication" that is publicly accessible, serves as a reminder of the unforgiving requirements that must be satisfied to establish that a reference is a printed publication, say attorneys at Akin.