Intellectual Property

  • October 01, 2024

    Amazon Gets $47M Voice Patent Verdict Slashed By $7M

    Amazon was able to shave off about $7 million from a nearly $47 million verdict against it in a voice software technology patent case by a defunct startup after convincing a Delaware federal court that there was a hole in expert testimony over the online retail giant's Alexa software.

  • October 01, 2024

    Buchalter Grows In Atlanta With Taylor English IP Litigators

    Buchalter PC has continued its expansion in Georgia with the addition of two intellectual property litigators from Taylor English Duma LLP.

  • October 01, 2024

    Febreze Jingle IP Claim Doesn't Pass 2nd Circ. Smell Test

    The Second Circuit on Tuesday rejected an appeal from a New York composer who claims Procter & Gamble's advertisement jingle for Febreze ripped off five notes from a song he wrote in the 1980s, saying those notes by themselves are not protectable under copyright law.

  • October 01, 2024

    After 72 Years, Browdy & Neimark Moves To FisherBroyles

    The Washington, D.C., intellectual property boutique Browdy & Neimark PLLC is closing its doors after 72 years in business, as the firm's four attorneys move their practices to FisherBroyles LLP.

  • October 01, 2024

    Foley Adds 2 DLA Piper Business Litigators In San Francisco

    Foley & Lardner LLP is expanding its business litigation team in Northern California, announcing Monday it has brought in two DLA Piper trade secrets experts as partners in its San Francisco office.

  • October 01, 2024

    Crypto Developers Take Aim At 'Patent Trolls' In New Deal

    A cryptocurrency collective said Tuesday it has inked a deal with Unified Patents to help stop "patent trolls" from registering intellectual property that risks hampering blockchain innovation.

  • September 30, 2024

    Verizon Gets $847M Patent Verdict Set Aside, Wins New Trial

    Verizon Wireless and Ericsson will get another shot at convincing a Texas federal jury that they did not infringe intellectual property owned by a Dallas patent business, U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap ruled Monday, setting aside a previous jury's $847 million verdict against the telecom giants.

  • September 30, 2024

    USPTO Hears Praise, Worry About Experimental Use Defense

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's request for comment on whether legal precedent that experimental uses of patented inventions do not constitute infringement should be enshrined in a statute has drawn a variety of reactions, with both proponents and critics weighing in.

  • September 30, 2024

    Siemens Will Pay $104M For Stealing GE, Mitsubishi Secrets

    Siemens Energy on Monday pled guilty to wire fraud and agreed to pay $104 million to put to rest federal prosecutors' case accusing the company of misappropriating the confidential information of General Electric and Mitsubishi, a plea deal that comes after multiple former Siemens executives pled guilty in related cases.

  • September 30, 2024

    Takeda End Payors, Direct Buyers Win Antitrust Class Cert.

    A New York federal judge Monday adopted a magistrate judge's recommendation to certify two classes of direct purchasers and end payors in consolidated antitrust actions accusing Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. of unlawfully inflating the price of its diabetes treatment Actos by delaying entry of generic alternatives.

  • September 30, 2024

    Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

    The year's spookiest month is looking scary-good for appellate aficionados, as famed oral advocates joust in October over net neutrality and Uber's extraordinary bid to unravel multidistrict litigation — just two of the high-profile arguments previewed in this edition of Wheeling & Appealing. October also begins with former President Jimmy Carter turning 100, and we'll test your knowledge of his profound impact on the judiciary.

  • September 30, 2024

    Calif. Court Finds Snapchat Can Seek 'Spectacles' TM

    Following a three-day bench trial earlier this year, a California federal judge has told the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to reverse its refusal to grant Snapchat parent company Snap Inc. trademark protection covering its "Spectacles" brand of digital glasses.

  • September 30, 2024

    AI Co.'s Antitrust Claims Against Thomson Reuters Tossed

    A Delaware federal court dismissed antitrust counterclaims being brought by tech startup ROSS Intelligence in a case from Thomson Reuters alleging ROSS ripped off the Westlaw research platform for its artificial intelligence product.

  • September 30, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Keeps Patent Case Against Sony In EDTX

    The Federal Circuit on Monday rejected Sony's bid to move a patent suit against it over a newer line of wireless PlayStation 5 controllers out of a Texas federal court, finding that it failed to show that the Northern District of California was a more convenient forum.

  • September 30, 2024

    USPTO Locks In Director Review Rule, 3 Years After Arthrex

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal issued a final rule Monday on the agency's process for having the director review certain Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions, solidifying a mandate laid out by the U.S. Supreme Court three years ago. 

  • September 30, 2024

    Netflix Must Face Trimmed 'Baby Reindeer' Defamation Fight

    A California federal judge trimmed a Scottish lawyer's multimillion-dollar lawsuit alleging Netflix's popular stalker miniseries "Baby Reindeer" defamed her, tossing negligence and publicity claims but allowing the attorney's defamation and emotional distress allegations to proceed.

  • September 30, 2024

    Biz Owner Gets 18 Months For Tax Fraud On $2.8M In Income

    The owner of a metal fabrication company who admitted to neglecting to report nearly $3 million in business income to the Internal Revenue Service was sentenced to 18 months in prison, according to Connecticut federal prosecutors.

  • September 30, 2024

    Generic-Drug Co. Says To Think Again About 'Double Patenting'

    An Indian generic-drug maker wants the whole Federal Circuit to take a closer look at the issue of "double patenting," telling it that a recent panel ruling mistakenly breathed new life into pharmaceutical patents covering an anti-diarrhea drug.

  • September 30, 2024

    9th Circ. Asked To Interpret DMCA In GitHub Code Suit

    A California federal court has asked the Ninth Circuit to determine if the Digital Millennium Copyright Act requires an infringing copy be identical to the original to have an actionable claim for removing copyright management information, a key question in a case where developers sued Microsoft and GitHub for allegedly ripping off code to develop AI tools.

  • September 30, 2024

    Atari Can Pursue Copyright Claim Against State Farm Over Ad

    Atari Interactive Inc. can pursue a copyright infringement claim against State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. because the insurer featured part of the 1980s arcade game Crystal Castles in a commercial, but a Texas federal judge tossed all the other claims in the suit from the pioneering game company.

  • September 30, 2024

    BakerHostetler Says Ethics Suit Must Stay In Ga. Fed. Court

    BakerHostetler has asked a Georgia federal court not to remand a suit alleging the firm botched a patent application for a smart wardrobe system to state court, arguing that its former client's claims that the firm violated professional rules under U.S. patent law belong in federal court.

  • September 30, 2024

    Medical Device Co. Wins $25M Verdict In Poaching Trial

    Medical device company Cynosure has won a $25 million jury award following a weekslong trial in Massachusetts federal court on its claims that a rival business raided its sales and marketing talent and caused the employees to breach their noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements.

  • September 30, 2024

    J&J Exec Accused Of File Heist Wants Pause Amid DOJ Case

    A former competitive strategy director for Johnson & Johnson accused of stealing confidential files as he left the company to work for Pfizer asked a New Jersey federal court to pause the suit after learning he is under criminal investigation.

  • September 27, 2024

    7th Circ. Doubts Artist Proved French Montana Copied Work

    Two Seventh Circuit judges seemed unsure Friday that they saw enough evidence of copying to reverse rapper French Montana's summary judgment win over claims that he infringed a California producer's sound recording copyright to make his song "Ain't Worried About Nothin'."

  • September 27, 2024

    IBM Owes $19.5M In EDTX Trial Over 'Blockchain' Software

    A Texas federal jury told IBM on Friday that its blockchain software infringes two patents by a small tech developer and that it owes $19.5 million, far less than the $167 million the developer asked for.

Expert Analysis

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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

  • How To Use Exhibits Strategically Throughout Your Case

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    Exhibits, and documents in particular, are the lifeblood of legal advocacy, so attorneys must understand how to wield them effectively throughout different stages of a case to help build strategy, elevate witness preparation and effectively persuade the fact-finders, say Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie and Colorado prosecutor Adam Kendall.

  • Tips For Companies Tapping Into Commercial Cleantech

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    A recent report from the European Patent Office and European Investment Bank examining the global financing and commercialization of cleantech innovation necessary for the green energy transition can help companies understand and solve the issues in developing and implementing the full potential of cleantech, says Eleanor Maciver at Mewburn Ellis.

  • Opinion

    USPTO's Proposed Disclaimer Rule Would Harm Inventors

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s recently proposed rule on terminal disclaimers will make the patent system less available to inventors and will unfairly favor defendants in litigation, say Stephen Schreiner at Carmichael IP and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.

  • Series

    Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.

  • 15 Quick Tips For Uncovering And Mitigating Juror Biases

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    As highlighted by the recent jury selection process in the criminal hush money trial against former President Donald Trump, juror bias presents formidable challenges for defendants, and attorneys must employ proactive strategies — both new and old — to blunt its impact, say Monica Delgado and Jonathan Harris at Harris St. Laurent.

  • Tips For Keeping Trade Secrets In The Vault

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    Key practices aimed at maintaining confidentiality can help companies establish trade secret status as the Federal Trade Commission's ban on noncompetes makes it prudent to explore other security measures, says John Baranello at Moses & Singer.

  • Reducing Patent Litigation Costs Starts With Early Strategy

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    With the average cost ranging from $1 million to $4 million, defending a patent case can create a serious strain on resources, particularly for midsize or smaller companies, so certain cost-cutting steps should be considered at the outset — even if some seem counterintuitive, say Jeffrey Ahdoot and Wendy Verlander at Verlander.

  • Legal Issues To Watch As Deepfake Voices Proliferate

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    With increasingly sophisticated and accessible voice-cloning technology raising social, ethical and legal questions, particularly in the entertainment industry and politics, further legislative intervention and court proceedings seem very likely, say Shruti Chopra and Paul Joseph at Linklaters.

  • Opinion

    'Natural Person' Or Not, AI-Made IP Deserves Protection

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    The entire legal edifice rests on a determination that an artificial system is not a so-called natural person, and although this may appear to be straightforward on its face, rapid advances in technology may soon force us to revisit our understanding of a natural person, says Manav Das at McDonnell Boehnen.

  • Lessons On Challenging Class Plaintiffs' Expert Testimony

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    In class actions seeking damages, plaintiffs are increasingly using expert opinions to establish predominance, but several recent rulings from California federal courts shed light on how defendants can respond, say Jennifer Romano and Raija Horstman at Crowell & Moring.

  • Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance

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    A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.

  • Businesses Should Take Their AI Contracts Off Auto-Renew

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    When subscribing to artificial intelligence tools — or to any technology in a highly competitive and legally thorny market — companies should push back on automatic renewal contract clauses for reasons including litigation and regulatory risk, and competition, says Chris Wlach at Huge Inc.

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