Intellectual Property

  • August 20, 2024

    Walt Disney, Marvel Freed From Shirtmaker's IP Row In NC

    The Walt Disney Co., Marvel Entertainment and a Marvel affiliate have been freed, for now, from a shirtmaker's trademark infringement lawsuit after a North Carolina federal judge ruled that the entertainment giants don't have enough ties to the Tar Heel State.

  • August 20, 2024

    Albertsons Stole 'Schedule & Save' Tech, Seattle Co. Says

    A Seattle software company is claiming Albertsons breached a deal to develop an automated service for customers to replenish their go-to purchases, saying the grocery giant abandoned the contract amid its pending merger with Kroger and launched a "nearly identical" system in a trade secret ripoff.

  • August 20, 2024

    Albright Won't Let Meta Patent Row Move To California

    U.S. District Judge Alan Albright of the Western District of Texas says the presence of some Texas-based Meta employees involved in developing its Quest headsets outweighs the tech company's bid to eject out of his court a lawsuit over patents once issued to a failed mobile fitness brand.

  • August 20, 2024

    Vax Patent Battles Heat Up As Attention On Pandemic Wanes

    It's been over four years since clinical trials began for COVID-19 vaccines, and while the shots have helped the pandemic recede, the lucrative technology has spurred numerous patent suits, many of which are still in the early stages. Here's a look at some of the key cases in the U.S.

  • August 20, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Flips Samsung's Win In 'Slide To Unlock' Patent Suit

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday revived part of a small smartphone company's patent suit against Samsung over its "swipe to unlock" feature, saying that one of Neonode Smartphone's core patent claims was more definite in its scope than the lower court gave it credit for.

  • August 20, 2024

    Pierson Ferdinand Furthers Growth With FisherBroyles IP Ace

    The rapidly growing Pierson Ferdinand LLP announced Tuesday that it picked up an intellectual property partner from FisherBroyles LLP with a long resume of trademark law work to serve clients out of Boston, Washington, D.C., and California.

  • August 20, 2024

    Davis Wright Grows IP Group In DC With Tech-Focused Atty

    Davis Wright Tremaine LLP expanded its intellectual property services in Washington, D.C., with the addition of a patent litigator with nearly 30 years of experience representing technology companies.

  • August 20, 2024

    FTC Endorses Push For Broader Access To Biosimilar Drugs

    The Federal Trade Commission is backing a proposal that would make it easier for drugmakers to show biosimilar medicines are safe substitutes for their more expensive counterparts, a move the agency says would boost competition and reduce confusion.

  • August 20, 2024

    Feds Launch Probe Into Wi-Fi Technology Imports

    The U.S. International Trade Commission opened an investigation into a domestic semiconductor company's claims that a Chinese rival was selling Wi-Fi technology in the U.S. that infringes on its intellectual property.

  • August 20, 2024

    A Deep Dive Into Law360 Pulse's 2024 Women In Law Report

    The legal industry continues to see incremental gains for female lawyers in private practice in the U.S., according to a Law360 Pulse analysis, with women now representing 40.6% of all attorneys and 51% of all associates.

  • August 20, 2024

    These Firms Have The Most Women In Equity Partnerships

    The legal industry still has a long way to go before it can achieve gender parity at its upper levels. But these law firms are performing better than others in breaking the proverbial glass ceiling that prevents women from attaining leadership roles.

  • August 20, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    A nearly record-breaking attorney fee got the nod in Delaware last week, along with Chancery Court settlements involving an international private jet service and a chain of trampoline parks. New disputes involved a famous burger restaurant chain, a computer-chip maker, a now-defunct genomic science company, and a historic manor house in west London.

  • August 20, 2024

    Atty's Use Of 'Gallo' Ruffles Feathers At Competing Law Firm

    A Texas law firm says an attorney in the Lone Star State is confusing the public by using "Gallo," the Spanish word for rooster, in marketing his legal services despite the firm's trademark rights for using the word in that context.

  • August 20, 2024

    IP Duo Join Thompson Hine From Cincinnati Boutique

    Thompson Hine LLP announced Tuesday that a pair of attorneys from intellectual property boutique Wood Herron & Evans joined the firm's office in Cincinnati, Ohio.

  • August 19, 2024

    Biogen Paid To Help Curb Generic Tecfidera Sales, Says Suit

    Biogen illegally impaired competition for its multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera by paying major pharmacy benefit managers to prioritize the brand over generics while it worked to shift the market to a different version of the medication, a multi-employer welfare plan alleged Friday.

  • August 19, 2024

    T.I. Can't Bar Witness Motivation Questions At Doll IP Retrial

    Rapper T.I. can't block MGA Entertainment from questioning his customer witnesses' motivations to testify at the upcoming intellectual property retrial over the company's L.O.L. Surprise! doll line, and he likewise is barred from raising questions of cultural appropriation in that context, a California federal judge ruled Monday.

  • August 19, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Urged To Review Dish's Fight Over Atty Fee Liability

    A technology industry group on Monday urged the full Federal Circuit to take a look at a precedential panel decision preventing Dish Network LLC from collecting fees directly from a patent litigation company's lawyer, arguing that the ruling "rips a gaping hole" in legal fee jurisprudence that would "immunize" lawyers from ever having to pay attorney fees for filing baseless patent lawsuits.

  • August 19, 2024

    Judge Suggests Atty, Firm Pay Up For Not Probing IP Claims

    A Florida lawyer who once represented former President Donald Trump and the lawyer's firm should pay $150,000 in attorney fees as a monetary sanction for failing to properly investigate patent claims before suing, a federal magistrate judge has recommended, which is far below the $684,000 the defendants in the case sought.

  • August 19, 2024

    DOJ Says No Arthrex Problem In SpaceX Hiring Bias Probe

    The U.S. Department of Justice is urging a Texas federal judge to side with the administrative law judge overseeing the immigration bias investigation against SpaceX, saying the company is using its constitutional attack against the framework of the proceeding as a distraction.

  • August 19, 2024

    NuVasive Beats Fraudulent Inducement Claim At Trial

    A Delaware federal jury has rejected a physician's claim that NuVasive Inc. fraudulently induced him to enter into a 2014 agreement related to patents he owns for spinal implant system components — but also rejected the medical device manufacturer's claim that the doctor had breached the deal by suing.

  • August 19, 2024

    Philips Drops FRAND Case After Jury Trial Canceled

    Dutch electronics giant Koninklijke Philips NV agreed to drop its patent case against a major French cellular brand on Monday, shortly after both sides agreed to cancel a jury trial in Delaware federal court that would have set the licensing rates for patents covering ways of complying with 3G and 4G telecom standards.

  • August 19, 2024

    Activision Blizzard Settles After $23.4M Patent Verdict

    Video-game developer Activision Blizzard Inc. has settled a dispute with San Francisco incubator Acceleration Bay Group Inc. after a Delaware federal jury found Activision infringed two patents with its World of Warcraft and Call of Duty games and owed $23.4 million, according to papers filed in federal court on Friday.

  • August 19, 2024

    Roku Takes Dispute Over ITC Powers To Supreme Court

    Roku is telling the U.S. Supreme Court that the U.S. International Trade Commission doesn't have the power to ban the import of patent-infringing software if those patents only have a limited connection to products on sale in the market.

  • August 19, 2024

    'Mere Speculation' Thwarts PTAB Appeal, Fed. Circ. Says

    The Federal Circuit has blocked an optical filter maker from appealing a failed Patent Trial and Appeal Board challenge to a rival's patent, ruling that the company lacked standing to appeal because it presented only "mere speculation" that it might be sued again.

  • August 19, 2024

    Isaac Hayes' Family Sues Trump For Using Song In Campaign

    The family of legendary singer-songwriter Isaac Hayes has sued Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his campaign for using the song "Hold On, I'm Coming" to close his events and rallies, alleging the former president does not have authorization to play it and has ignored demands that he stop.

Expert Analysis

  • How Associates Can Build A Professional Image

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    As hybrid work arrangements become the norm in the legal industry, early-career attorneys must be proactive in building and maintaining a professional presence in both physical and digital settings, ensuring that their image aligns with their long-term career goals, say Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners and Estelle Winsett at Estelle Winsett Professional Image Consulting.

  • Determining Who Owns Content Created By Generative AI

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    Adobe's recent terms-of-service update and ensuing clarification regarding its AI-training practices highlights the unanswered legal questions regarding ownership of content created using artificial intelligence, says John Poulos at Norton Rose.

  • Skip Versus File: The Patent Dilemma That Costs Millions

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    In the nearly 30 years since the inception of the provisional application, many have weighed the question of whether or not to file the provisional, and data shows that doing so may allow inventors more time to refine their ideas and potentially gain an extra year of protection, says Stanko Vuleta at Highlands Advisory.

  • Orange Book Warnings Highlight FTC's Drug Price Focus

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    In light of heightened regulatory scrutiny surrounding drug pricing and the Federal Trade Commission's activity in the recent Teva v. Amneal case, branded drug manufacturers should expect the FTC's campaign against allegedly improper Orange Book listings to continue, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Firms Must Rethink How They Train New Lawyers In AI Age

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    As law firms begin to use generative artificial intelligence to complete lower-level legal tasks, they’ll need to consider new ways to train summer associates and early-career attorneys, keeping in mind the five stages of skill acquisition, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Always Be Closing

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    When a lawyer presents their case with the right propulsive structure throughout trial, there is little need for further argument after the close of evidence — and in fact, rehashing it all may test jurors’ patience — so attorneys should consider other strategies for closing arguments, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Tracking China's Push To Invalidate Foreign Patents

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    China’s increasing use of courts and administrative panels to nullify patents in strategically important industries, such as technology, pharmaceuticals and rare-earth minerals, raises serious concerns about the intellectual property rights of foreign businesses operating there, say Rajat Rana and Manuel Valderrama at Selendy Gay.

  • 3 Ways To Fight Alice Rejections Of Blockchain Patents

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    With blockchain-related patent application filings on the rise, Thomas Isaacson at Polsinelli offers strategies for responding to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office determinations that the blockchain network is just a generic computer and patent-ineligible under the U.S. Supreme Court's 2014 Alice v. CLS Bank decision.

  • F1 Driver AI Case Sheds Light On Winning Tactics In IP Suits

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    A German court recently awarded damages to former F1 driver Michael Schumacher's family in an artificial intelligence dispute over the unlicensed use of his image, illustrating how athletes are using the law to protect their brands, and setting a precedent in other AI-generated image rights cases, William Bowyer at Lawrence Stephens.

  • 8th Circ. Insurance Ruling Spotlights Related-Claims Defenses

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    The Eighth Circuit’s recent Dexon v. Travelers ruling — that the insurer must provide a defense despite the policy’s related-acts provision — provides guidance for how policyholders can overcome related-acts defenses, say Geoffrey Fehling and Jae Lynn Huckaba at Hunton.

  • Counterfeits At The Olympics Pose IP Challenges

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    With the 2024 Olympic Games quickly approaching, the proliferation of counterfeit Olympic merchandise poses a difficult challenge to the protection of intellectual property rights and the preservation of the Olympic brand's integrity, says Kimiya Shams at Devialet.

  • Series

    Playing Chess Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    There are many ways that chess skills translate directly into lawyer skills, but for me, the bigger career lessons go beyond the direct parallels — playing chess has shown me the value of seeing gradual improvement in and focusing deep concentration on a nonwork endeavor, says attorney Steven Fink.

  • 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.

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