Intellectual Property

  • August 08, 2024

    Apple Wins Bid For 2 Trials In IP Dispute With Masimo

    A California federal judge will hold separate trials on Masimo Corp.'s trade secrets and patent claims over the Apple Watch, siding with Apple Inc. and rejecting Masimo's request for one later trial on all the issues, in a case with potentially billions of dollars at stake.

  • August 08, 2024

    TikTok Says Chinese Co. Doesn't Own IP In Trade Secrets Spat

    TikTok Inc. has filed 18 affirmative defenses in California federal court in a copyright and trade secrets complaint it faces from a Chinese company that claims the popular social media platform ripped off proprietary information, saying among other things that Beijing Meishe Network Technology Co. Ltd. does not own some or all of the alleged copyrighted works and trade secrets.

  • August 08, 2024

    General Motors Fender Patent Won't Be Challenged, After All

    General Motors Co. says that it has come to a deal with a Chicago auto parts supplier who went all the way to the full Federal Circuit — and changed design patent jurisprudence — in a now-abandoned challenge to a patent covering the design of a front fender.

  • August 08, 2024

    New Car Seat Isn't Yesterday's Model, Judge Says In IP Suit

    An Ohio infant car seat company convinced a Delaware federal court that its newly designed car seats are not the same as the patent-infringing ones that were the subject of a sales ban and a $3.2 million court judgment won by a Taiwanese rival.

  • August 08, 2024

    Insurer Utica Off Hook In High-End Leather Goods Dispute

    Utica National Insurance Group is not obligated to defend or indemnify a maker of high-end leather goods against claims it fraudulently induced a former partner into a deal in order to steal his designs and then attempt to drive him out of business, a Massachusetts intermediate appellate court has concluded.

  • August 08, 2024

    Colo. Trailer Dealership Says Would-Be Buyer Infringed TM

    A Colorado trailer dealership is accusing a competitor that purportedly tried to buy its business of changing its public name to one confusingly similar to the dealership's registered trademark after the acquisition offer was rejected for being "much less than plaintiff's business was worth."

  • August 08, 2024

    Sporting Good Cos. Fight Over Helmet Tech In Patent Suit

    A company suing football helmet manufacturer Certor for patent infringement took aim Wednesday at its rival's interpretations of the disputed patent, accusing it of trying to sidestep the court's earlier construction of a term with "no change in the law, no new facts to consider, nothing."

  • August 08, 2024

    Texas Co. Says Timex Infringed Wearable Device Data Patent

    A Texas company took Timex Group USA Inc. to Connecticut federal court alleging that the watch company infringed its patent for "systems, methods and apparatuses for enabling wearable device users access to secured electronic systems" by putting out a line of smartwatches for families to keep track of their children.

  • August 07, 2024

    Investor Asks Justices To Overturn $5.7M Arb. Award Ruling

    An investor who put money into an unsuccessful business looking to revolutionize the chemical manufacturing industry urged the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday to overturn a split Ninth Circuit decision enforcing a $5.7 million arbitration award in favor of that business' founders, arguing the award should never have been issued.

  • August 07, 2024

    Hemp Cos. Owner Says Cousin Ripped Off Formula, Trademarks

    The owner of Florida-based CBD and hemp companies White Lab LLC and GS Distribution LLC is suing a company owned by his cousin, saying the cousin has failed to pay up on a distribution agreement and is now trying to steal the trademarks to one of White Lab's product lines. 

  • August 07, 2024

    Judge's Pharma Comments Could Decide Ineligibility Appeal

    A Federal Circuit panel on Wednesday was willing to explore Astellas Pharma's argument that a Nebraska federal judge should be taken off its infringement case over the bladder medication Myrbetriq, given statements that showed a potential bias against the pharmaceutical industry, but also made clear that such reassignments are rare and difficult.

  • August 07, 2024

    6th Circ. Backs 20 Years For Chinese Spy Who Targeted GE

    The Sixth Circuit upheld a 20-year prison sentence for a Chinese spy convicted of espionage for trying to steal trade secrets from General Electric's GE Aviation unit, noting in an opinion unsealed Wednesday the punishment was reasonable as he continuously pursued the confidential information using sophisticated tradecraft processes for several years.

  • August 07, 2024

    Robot Vacuum Cleaner Patent Ruling Remains Undisturbed

    Federal Circuit judges proved unpersuaded on Wednesday to do anything to touch an administrative board ruling that wiped out most, but not all, of the claims in a patent that allegedly covered a new feature in the Roomba brand of robotic vacuum cleaners.

  • August 07, 2024

    Advocates Tell 9th Circ. To Revive Invisalign Monopoly Suit

    Competition advocates are backing the revival of a class action accusing the makers of Invisalign of monopolizing the market for clear dental aligners, telling the Ninth Circuit in a new amicus brief that a district court summary judgment ruling for Align Technology creates a dangerous precedent for refusal-to-deal cases.

  • August 07, 2024

    Teva Finds Some Big-Pharma Friends In Inhaler Patent Fight

    Two large pharmaceutical companies have weighed in to ask the Federal Circuit to overturn a ruling that found that Teva's branded drugmaking operation misused a key federal patent database in order to block the release of competing generic asthma inhalers.

  • August 07, 2024

    Judge Says PNC's TM Suit Against Plaid Must Go To Trial

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has ruled that PNC Financial Services Group's trademark infringement complaint against third-party software broker Plaid Inc. will proceed to trial after he denied each party's summary judgment motion on Wednesday, saying jurors must decide claims that "could reasonably come out either way."

  • August 07, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Scrutinizes Role Of A Patent's Admissions In IPRs

    A Federal Circuit panel on Wednesday grappled with when statements in a patent admitting that certain technology was well-known can improperly form the basis of an inter partes review validity challenge, taking up a long-running dispute between Apple and Qualcomm.

  • August 07, 2024

    NC Biz Court Bulletin: The Battles Making Summer Sizzle

    A 1983 championship basketball team's intellectual property rights and a public feud between Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP and its insurer are among the legal battles that have kept North Carolina Business Court judges and Tar Heel state private practice attorneys busy this summer. In case you missed those and others, here are the highlights.

  • August 07, 2024

    Amgen Waged Lawfare To Overcharge For Drug, Suit Claims

    Maryland-based independent licensees of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association claim pharmaceutical giant Amgen Inc. and its subsidiaries have engaged in unlawful monopolistic practices that have inflated the cost of the blockbuster drug Enbrel.

  • August 07, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Won't Rethink Amazon Patent Program Suit Revival

    The Federal Circuit issued an order Wednesday declining to hold a panel rehearing or a full court rehearing on its May decision to revive an electric outlet cover maker's declaratory judgment action over alleged infringement through Amazon's patent evaluation program.

  • August 07, 2024

    Dykema Faces Sony Sanctions Bid In Baseball Game TM Suit

    Attorneys from Dykema representing a baseball training program in its trademark battle against Sony hit back at the media juggernaut's bid for punitive sanctions Tuesday, blasting the request as baseless.

  • August 07, 2024

    Apple Loses Fight To Keep Bid For Patent Suit Docs In Del.

    Delaware's chief district judge has transferred Apple's bid to force litigation funding company Omni Bridgeway LLC to turn over documents explaining its financial interest in patent litigation against Apple in California to that state, saying he couldn't "think of a good reason" why he should decide the matter.

  • August 07, 2024

    Pool Co. Can't Get Atty Fees After Losing False Ads Trial

    A pool parts supplier on the hook for a $16 million false advertising and unfair business practices judgment isn't entitled to attorney fees in the case, a North Carolina federal judge has ruled, finding there's "no question" the winning party is its opponent given the eight-figure damages award.

  • August 07, 2024

    CoComelon Attys Score Over $6.6M In Fees, Costs For IP Win

    A California federal judge on Tuesday awarded the company behind the popular children's YouTube channel CoComelon more than $6.6 million in fees and costs after its copyright trial win against a Chinese rival, given its "nearly perfect success at trial" and the defendant's "unreasonable arguments throughout the case."

  • August 07, 2024

    GrubHub Must Face Restaurants' TM Infringement Suit

    Grubhub Inc. must face a proposed class action brought against it in Illinois federal court for allegedly using restaurants' trademarks without permission and listing them on its food delivery app without their consent, even though most of the lead plaintiffs have not registered the marks at issue.

Expert Analysis

  • FTC Focus: Exploring The Meaning Of Orange Book Letters

    Author Photo

    The Federal Trade Commission recently announced an expansion of its campaign to promote competition by targeting pharmaceutical manufacturers' improper Orange Book patent listings, but there is a question of whether and how this helps generic entrants, say Colin Kass and David Munkittrick at Proskauer.

  • Trending At The PTAB: Real Party In Interest And IPR

    Author Photo

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s recent Luminex v. Signify decision, finding a complaint seeking indemnification may be treated as a public demand sufficient to establish a real party-in-interest, shows that the board continues to apply a broad and expansive definition to that term, say Yicong (Eve) Du and Yieyie Yang at Finnegan.

  • Investors Can Aid In The Acceptance Of Psychedelic Medicine

    Author Photo

    Psychedelic medicine is ready to have its breakthrough moment, and although it still faces political, legal and communications challenges, private equity investors can play a significant role in changing the public perception on psychedelics from taboo to acceptance, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell, Charlie Panfil at the Daschle Group and Ethan Lutz at FTI Consulting.

  • 12 Keys To Successful Post-Trial Juror Interviews

    Author Photo

    Post-trial interviews offer attorneys an avenue to gain valuable insights into juror decision making and get feedback that can inform future litigation strategies, but certain best practices must be followed to get the most out of this research tool, say Alexa Hiley and Brianna Smith at IMS Legal.

  • Perspectives

    Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys

    Author Photo

    As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.

  • The Fed. Circ. In May: The Printed Matter Doctrine's Scope

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Ioengine v. Ingenico, which addressed the scope of the printed matter doctrine as applied to transmitted data or program code, restores the doctrine’s status as a relatively narrow part of patent law, say Jeremiah Helm and Sean Murray at Knobbe Martens.

  • Fed. Circ. Scrapping Design Patent Tests Creates Uncertainty

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit last week discarded established tests for proving that design patents are invalid as obvious, leaving much unknown for design patent applicants, patentees and challengers, such as what constitutes analogous art and how secondary references will be considered and applied, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

  • Series

    Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.

  • Lessons In High-Profile Jury Selection Amid NY Trump Trial

    Author Photo

    Richard Gabriel and Michelle Rey LaRocca at Decision Analysis consider how media exposure can affect a prospective juror in a high-profile case, the misunderstood nature of bias, and recommendations for jury selection in these unique situations as the Trump hush money trial continues in New York.

  • How AI Cos. Can Cope With Shifting Copyright Landscape

    Author Photo

    In the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, recent legal disputes have focused on the utilization of copyrighted material to train algorithms, meaning companies should be aware of fair use implications and possible licensing solutions for AI users, say Michael Hobbs and Justin Tilghman at Troutman Pepper.

  • How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case

    Author Photo

    The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.

  • Supply Chain Considerations For Companies Deploying AI

    Author Photo

    Many businesses will risk failure by embracing artificial intelligence without fully understanding the risks, and the value of a five-step AI supply chain analysis cannot be overstated, say Brooke Berg and Nathan Staffel at Nardello & Co.

  • How Real Estate Cos. Can Protect Their IP In The Metaverse

    Author Photo

    The rise of virtual and augmented reality creates new intellectual property challenges and opportunities for real estate owners, but certain steps, including conducting a diligence investigation to develop an understanding of current obligations, can help companies mitigate IP issues in the metaverse, says George Pavlik at Levenfeld Pearlstein.

  • Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content

    Author Photo

    From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.

  • Patent Lessons From 4 Federal Circuit Reversals In April

    Author Photo

    Four Federal Circuit decisions in April that reversed or vacated underlying rulings provide a number of takeaways, including that obviousness analysis requires a flexible approach, that an invalidity issue of an expired patent can be moot, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Intellectual Property archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!