Intellectual Property

  • March 25, 2025

    Google, OpenAI Can Toss State Law Claims In IP Row

    A California federal judge has agreed to dismiss allegations made under California and Massachusetts law in suits claiming Google and OpenAI copied YouTube creators' videos to train large language models, while the creators have agreed to drop a similar case against Nvidia altogether.

  • March 25, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Upholds Meta's PTAB Win On Xerox Message Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday shot down Xerox Corp.'s bid to overturn a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision that claims in its message distribution patent were invalid, handing a win to Meta in the tech giant's challenge to the patent.

  • March 25, 2025

    Drug Co. Wants Fed. Circ. To Undo Pfizer COVID Patent Win

    A Boston drug developer that lost its infringement case against Pfizer over the New York company's blockbuster Paxlovid COVID-19 treatment has told the Federal Circuit that a contentious issue regarding a typo in a patent document should have gone to a jury.

  • March 25, 2025

    Colo. Judge Rejects Sanctions Against Oil Co. In Patent Fight

    A Colorado federal judge said Tuesday that an oil and gas equipment company was in no position to seek sanctions against a competitor after making "contradictory and potentially unfounded" arguments in a patent fight, rejecting a magistrate judge's finding that the competitor violated a disclosure rule. 

  • March 25, 2025

    Sam Smith Tune Gets Close Listen In 9th Circ. Copyright Fight

    A Ninth Circuit panel considered Tuesday whether to resurrect a copyright lawsuit over pop stars Sam Smith and Normani's 2019 hit "Dancing With a Stranger," with one appellate judge observing that the song's hook shares lyrics, pitches and rhythm with that of a 2015 track called "Dancing With Strangers."

  • March 25, 2025

    ITC, Chinese Co. Urge Justices To Skip Coke Sweetener Case

    A Chinese company and the U.S. International Trade Commission are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a case from the company that developed the artificial sweetener used in Coke Zero and that wants to keep patents that were filed at the patent office after the drinks went on sale.

  • March 25, 2025

    Atty Says Netflix's Boy Scout Doc Copied Style, Not Just Facts

    A New Jersey trial lawyer who accused Netflix Inc. of infringing his copyright in its documentary about sexual abuse in the Boy Scouts of America pushed back against the streaming giant's dismissal bid, arguing the film copied the storytelling framework used in his own documentary.

  • March 25, 2025

    Doctor Defends Exam Saying Judge Newman Is Fit To Serve

    A neurosurgeon who examined Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman and declared her fit to serve on the bench pushed back Tuesday on criticism of his evaluation made by doctors retained by the appeals court's other judges, who have suspended the 97-year-old jurist.

  • March 25, 2025

    Meta Says Using Authors' Books For AI Training Is Fair Use

    Meta Platforms has urged a California federal judge to find that it did not violate copyright law in using material from books by more than a dozen authors to train its large language models named "Llama," saying the dispute "presents a question of existential importance" to the development of generative artificial intelligence in the U.S.

  • March 25, 2025

    Baker Botts Atty Says Patent Exec Can't Prove Defamation

    A Baker Botts LLP lawyer is contending that a Florida federal court cannot side with a patent-licensing company executive on his defamation claim against the attorney over her comments in a news article about a patent suit against Starbucks, saying she didn't say anything false.

  • March 25, 2025

    Retired Texas Federal Judge Joins Shook Hardy

    Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP announced Tuesday that a retired U.S. magistrate judge for Texas' Eastern District has joined its complex litigation strategic counseling practice, boosting the firm's ability nationwide to handle class actions, governmental investigations and intellectual property matters.

  • March 25, 2025

    Womble Bond Atty's Contempt Order Isn't Final, 4th Circ. Told

    A federal judge's order holding a Womble Bond Dickinson partner in contempt of court over misrepresentations he allegedly made to a foreign tribunal isn't a final decision capable of being appealed, a software company told the Fourth Circuit in seeking to have the appeal tossed.

  • March 25, 2025

    Coffee Drink Co. Asks Justices To Review TM Fight With Pepsi

    A company that makes nitro-brewed coffee drinks called "Rise" has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to answer whether the strength of a trademark is a question of law to be decided by judges after the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit against PepsiCo.

  • March 24, 2025

    Limp Bizkit Expands UMG Royalties Fight To State Court

    Limp Bizkit, lead singer Fred Durst and their record label launched a second front against Universal Music Group in California state court over claims that its "royalty software" has shorted artists more than $200 million, after a federal judge ruled he couldn't oversee the bulk of the claims.

  • March 24, 2025

    Justices Told To Eye TM Time Limits In Samsung Unit Feud

    After seeing its trademark lawsuit against a Samsung subsidiary transferred to a court where the case was outside the statute of limitations, a small New Jersey company that sells electronics accessories now wants the nation's highest court to address trademark law's "patchwork of inconsistent limitations periods."

  • March 24, 2025

    Google Wins Sanctions For Ramey Firm's 'Baseless' IP Suit

    A New York federal magistrate judge granted Google's request Monday for sanctions against Ramey LLP for filing an allegedly "baseless" suit on behalf of EscapeX IP accusing YouTube of infringing its social media chat-function patent, finding that counsel failed to conduct a presuit investigation and needlessly drew out litigation.

  • March 24, 2025

    Kimmel's Use Of Santos Videos Not Fair, 2nd Circ. Told

    Cameo videos recorded by former U.S. Rep. George Santos were designed to be satirical jokes, and their rebroadcast by ABC comedian Jimmy Kimmel was not a transformative work protected by the copyright law's fair use doctrine, Santos' attorney told the Second Circuit on Monday.

  • March 24, 2025

    Amgen Wants $50M Leukemia Drug Patent Verdict Thrown Out

    Amgen has urged a Delaware federal court to grant it a new trial after a federal jury last year found that it owed Germany's Lindis Biotech $50.3 million in damages for encouraging healthcare providers to infringe immunotherapy patents by administering a leukemia treatment.

  • March 24, 2025

    Justices Urged To Weigh In On Skinny Label Dispute

    A generic-drug industry organization and a group of scholars are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to scrutinize a Federal Circuit decision they say undermines the process for getting generic drugs to market under so-called skinny labels.

  • March 24, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Affirms Invalidity Finding In Tape Patent Fight

    The Federal Circuit on Monday backed a lower court's finding that a patent covering a type of marking tape was invalid as anticipated, while also mostly upholding a sanctions award that tape manufacturer ShieldMark secured in the case accusing it of infringement.

  • March 24, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Cuts $2.6M From $10M Car Wash Patent Verdict

    The Federal Circuit on Monday cut nearly $2.6 million from an over $10 million verdict against Wash World Inc. for infringing a rival's car wash patent, saying that part of the award involved products unrelated to the patent, but refused to undo the infringement finding.

  • March 24, 2025

    Judge OKs NIL Recruiting Rules Deal​​​​​​​ Between States, NCAA

    A Tennessee federal judge has signed off on a settlement that resolves antitrust litigation over the NCAA's practice of banning the use of possible name, image and likeness compensation when recruiting athletes.

  • March 24, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Reverses PTAB Decision On Logistics Patent App

    The Federal Circuit ruled Monday that it disagreed with how the Patent Trial and Appeal Board interpreted legal precedent on prior art, telling it to take another look at a patent application covering early online innovations in the freight transit sector that was filed more than two decades ago.

  • March 24, 2025

    Apple, Sony, Others Facing ITC Probes Over Imports

    The U.S. International Trade Commission has said it is launching a series of investigations into whether imports of products such as video game consoles, nose cleaning devices and semiconductors have infringed various U.S. patents.

  • March 24, 2025

    No $1M Placeholder In 'Black Widow' TM Feud, Judge Rules

    A Connecticut federal judge will not require a pest control company to post more than $1 million to cover potential damages in a trademark lawsuit over the name "Black Widow," which is also the subject of a paused cancellation proceeding before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Expert Analysis

  • Curious Case Of FTC's Amicus Brief In Teva Fed. Circ. Appeal

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    Attorneys at BCLP explore the Federal Trade Commission's backing of Amneal's Orange Book-delisting efforts on Teva ahead of a key Federal Circuit hearing in a case between the two pharmaceutical companies, and wonder if the FTC amicus brief indicates a future trend, especially in the next administration.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Metadata

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    Several recent rulings reflect the competing considerations that arise when parties dispute the form of production for electronically stored information, underscoring that counsel must carefully consider how to produce and request reasonably usable data, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • When 'Patented' Goes Beyond Inventorship In False Ad Cases

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    The Federal Circuit's recent false advertising holding in Crocs v. Effervescent is significant because it offers a nuanced yet realistic understanding of what false claims about a product's status as "patented" can mean, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • The Fed. Circ. In October: Aetna And License-Term Review

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision that Aetna's credit card licensing agreement with AlexSam did not give the insurer immunity from patent infringement claims serves to warn licensees to read their contracts carefully, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • Opinion

    PREVAIL Bill Is Another Misguided Attempt To Restrict PTAB

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    The decade-long campaign against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board — currently focused on the PREVAIL Act that's slated for markup in the Senate — is not really about procedural issues, and it is not aimed at securing more accurate patentability decisions, says Clear IP's Joseph Matal, former acting director at the USPTO.

  • Striking A Balance Between AI Use And Attorney Well-Being

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    As the legal industry increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence tools to boost efficiency, leaders must note the hidden costs of increased productivity, and work to protect attorneys’ well-being while unlocking AI’s full potential, says Ed Sohn at Factor.

  • Fleetwood Facts: Art Imitating Life, Or Infringing Copyright?

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    A new lawsuit in New York federal court over Broadway's "Stereophonic" play tests copyright's limits, as copyright law poses significant hurdles when it comes to real-life stories, and the line between fact and fiction isn't always clear-cut, says Aaron Moss at Greenberg Glusker.

  • Empathy In Mediation Offers A Soft Landing For Disputes

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    Experiencing a crash-landing on a recent flight underscored to me how much difference empathy makes in times of crisis or stress, including during mediation, says Eydith Kaufman at Alternative Resolution Centers.

  • Series

    Being An Artist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My work as an artist has highlighted how using creativity and precision together — qualities that are equally essential in both art and law — not only improves outcomes, but also leads to more innovative and thoughtful work, says Sarah La Pearl at Segal McCambridge.

  • Reading Tea Leaves In Fed. Circ. Deep Dive On Review Scope

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    Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer investigates why a recent Federal Circuit opinion spent six pages explaining its unsurprising conclusion on proper scope of review — that no deference need be afforded to the trial court in a case dismissed for failure to state a claim.

  • Consider The Impact Of Election Stress On Potential Jurors

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    For at least the next few months, potential jurors may be working through anger and distrust stemming from the presidential election, and trial attorneys will need to assess whether those jurors are able to leave their political concerns at the door, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

  • How Judiciary Can Minimize AI Risks In Secondary Sources

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    Because courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence and other safeguards do not address the risk of hallucinations in secondary source materials, the judiciary should consider enlisting legal publishers and database hosts to protect against AI-generated inaccuracies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • 3 Steps For Companies To Combat Task Scams

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    On the rise in the U.S., the task scam — when scammers offer a victim a fake work-from-home job — hurts impersonated businesses by tarnishing their name and brand, but companies have a few ways to fight back against these cons, says Chris Wlach at Huge.

  • False Patent Marking Claims Find New Home In Lanham Act

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    While the Patent Act may have closed the courthouse doors for many false patent marking claims, the Federal Circuit, in its recent decision in Crocs v. Effervescent, may be opening a window to these types of claims under the Lanham Act, says John Cordani at Robinson & Cole.

  • A Look At Calif. Biz Code And The Fight Over Customer Lists

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    To ensure Uniform Trade Secret Act security, California staffing agencies and their attorneys should review Section 16607 of the state Business Code, which prohibits contracts that restrain employees from engaging in other lawful types of business, to understand the process for determining whether a customer list constitutes a trade secret, says Skye Daley at Buchalter.

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