Intellectual Property

  • February 24, 2025

    Justices Nix Whistleblower Suit Over Arbitral Vacatur Limits

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a petition that raised questions about the standards under which courts can vacate or enforce arbitral awards, in a case brought by a whistleblower who sought to challenge an arbitral award favoring his former employer.

  • February 24, 2025

    Justices Won't Review Overturned Slicer Patent Verdict

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected Provisur Technologies Inc.'s appeal arguing that its right to a jury trial was violated when the Federal Circuit overturned a jury verdict that Weber Inc. willfully infringed its food slicer patents in a $10.5 million case.

  • February 24, 2025

    High Court Rejects Dish's Bid For Atty Fees For PTAB Work

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down Dish Network's appeal arguing that, after being cleared in a patent infringement case, it was entitled to attorney fees for its successful Patent Trial and Appeal Board challenge, and from the plaintiff's attorneys.

  • February 24, 2025

    Paul Hastings Adds Boston Co-Chair For New Tech Practice

    The former global vice chair of Latham & Watkins LLP's data and technology transactions practice has moved to Paul Hastings LLP as co-chair of its newly established technology transactions practice, the latter firm announced Monday.

  • February 21, 2025

    Pepperdine Says Netflix, WB Series Rips Off 'Waves' Athletics

    Netflix and Warner Bros. Entertainment ripped off Pepperdine University's intellectual property, including the colors and branding of its basketball team, to create their forthcoming comedy series "Running Point" and create a false sense of affiliation, the university alleges in a trademark infringement lawsuit filed Thursday in California federal court.

  • February 21, 2025

    Shkreli Avoids Sanctions Over 'Frustrating' Wu-Tang Tangle

    Convicted former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli won't have to pay sanctions after purportedly dragging his feet for nearly six months on complying with court orders to hand over copies of a Wu-Tang Clan album to the crypto project that bought it from him.

  • February 21, 2025

    ITC To Review Hoverboard Maker's Patent Case

    The U.S. International Trade Commission is going to look into the latest patent complaint from the inventor of a self-balancing hoverboard who is targeting rival products from China.

  • February 21, 2025

    Microsoft Says Encryption Suit Misunderstands Its Tech

    Microsoft says there's no longer any need for it to face a patent lawsuit over email encryption, telling a Washington federal court that it has become clear that its software "does not work" the way the plaintiff says it does.

  • February 21, 2025

    Trade Secrets Dispute Between Cell Tower Cos. Stays Alive

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Thursday narrowed a lawsuit between rival cell tower companies over the use of pricing information, dismissing trade secret claims stemming from leases that lacked confidentiality or nondisclosure provisions.

  • February 21, 2025

    Whirlpool Seeks More Damages And Fees After $27M TM Win

    Michigan-based appliance company Whirlpool Corp. has requested enhanced damages and attorney fees after a Texas federal jury found last month that Chinese company Shenzhen Sanlida Electrical Technology Co. Ltd. owed Whirlpool $27 million for willfully infringing and diluting the trademark for its iconic KitchenAid stand mixers.

  • February 21, 2025

    MSN Calls Novartis' Entresto Delisting Protest 'Disingenuous'

    Novartis' claim that there's no rush to decide whether a patent covering its blockbuster cardiovascular drug Entresto should be removed from a key drug database is "disingenuous and a complete about-face," MSN Pharmaceuticals has told a Delaware federal judge.  

  • February 21, 2025

    Puma, Brooks End IP Fight Over 'Nitro' Running Shoes

    Puma and Brooks Sports have agreed to drop dueling intellectual property claims over "Nitro"-branded sole foam technology used by both athletic apparel retailers to market running shoes, according to a notice filed in federal court in Seattle on Friday.

  • February 21, 2025

    Eli Lilly Has Exclusivity Over Weight Loss Drug, FDA Says

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked a Texas federal court to reject a request for an injunction that would allow compounding pharmacies to produce a lucrative weight loss drug, saying the agency based its decision on sound facts and it was within its authority.

  • February 21, 2025

    6 Things To Know About Shein's Fast Fashion Feuds

    Ultra-fast fashion behemoth Shein is facing accusations of infringing intellectual property in dozens of cases from plaintiffs ranging from major fashion brands to individual artists. Here are six things to know about Shein's intellectual property battles.

  • February 21, 2025

    Harry Manbeck, Former USPTO Head, Dies At 98

    Former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office leader and chief patent counsel at General Electric Co., Harry F. Manbeck Jr., died Wednesday. He was 98.

  • February 21, 2025

    9th Circ. Revives Atty's Ownership Claims Over Calif. Winery

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Friday revived an attorney's ownership claims over a California winery, finding factual disputes over an alleged oral agreement with the winery's former owner require a trial, while also upholding a jury's verdict that found a breach fiduciary duty claim against the attorney that awarded no damages.

  • February 21, 2025

    Off The Bench: White House Hosts PGA Tour-LIV Golf Summit

    In this week's Off The Bench, the two former rival pro golf tours join the president to discuss their long-delayed combination, several NBA teams support a bid for the U.S. Supreme Court to keep copyright claims in check, and prosecutors charge Chilean nationals with robbing the homes of high-profile athletes.

  • February 21, 2025

    Childish Gambino Nabs Fees In 'This Is America' IP Case

    A New York federal judge has ordered a Miami rapper to pay out nearly $287,000 in legal fees for litigating a failed copyright case targeting Childish Gambino's 2018 hit song "This Is America," less than a third of what the record label lawyers and others had asked for. 

  • February 20, 2025

    DOJ Says Job Protections For ALJs Are Unconstitutional

    The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday that it no longer backs long-standing job protections for administrative law judges, saying it has determined that the "multiple layers of removal restrictions" shielding ALJs are unconstitutional because they violate the separation of powers doctrine.

  • February 20, 2025

    Ex-Kirkland IP Atty Asks To Fire Her Bias Suit Atty 'For Cause'

    A former Kirkland & Ellis LLP intellectual property associate suing Kirkland over bias claims has urged a California federal judge to fire her counsel at Filippatos PLLC and force Filippatos to hand over her client file, disputing Filippatos' assertion that her professional misconduct allegations are a contrived attempt to avoid paying fees.

  • February 20, 2025

    Ex-ITC Commissioner Talks IP Before Heading To WilmerHale

    Former U.S. International Trade Commissioner Rhonda Schmidtlein stepped down this month after more than a decade at the agency, and on Thursday talked to Law360 about how she went from a small town in Missouri to one of the nation's top trade positions, along with what she wished practitioners in intellectual property disputes would do.

  • February 20, 2025

    What The ITC's Multiple Vacancies Mean For The Agency

    Three of the six commissioner seats on the U.S. International Trade Commission are now vacant, which experts say may not disrupt the quasi-judicial agency's work on disputes involving duties and intellectual property, but is at odds with how it was designed to operate.

  • February 20, 2025

    Meta, Roku, Samsung Fail In Attempt To Invalidate Ad Patent

    Meta Platforms, Roku Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. have lost a challenge at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board against claims in a patent that covers a way of targeting ads based on online activity.

  • February 20, 2025

    Generic-Drug Group Rallies Behind Appeal In Entresto Fight

    A generic-drug industry group is weighing in on the Federal Circuit's move last month to revive a patent tied to Entresto, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp's blockbuster heart drug, warning that "the pharmaceutical industry is watching this case closely."

  • February 20, 2025

    3rd Circ. Rejects Appeal In Dog Magnet Design Spat

    The Third Circuit on Thursday rejected an appeal in a case in which two businesses accused each other of stealing designs for pet-themed car magnets, saying that, because there is no final judgment in the case, one of the companies can't challenge the lower court's refusal to issue a final judgment.

Expert Analysis

  • Declaring Unexpected Results: Pitfalls For Rule 132 At PTAB

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    Rule 132 declarations are frequently used in life sciences patent prosecution for rebutting obviousness rejections by establishing that an applicant's invention produces unexpected results, and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's Eidschun ruling highlights when this important tool may be ineffective, say attorneys at Morrison Foerster.

  • IP Ruling Likely To Limit Arguments Against Qualified Experts

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Osseo v. Planmeca, clarifying when experts may offer testimony from the perspective of a skilled artisan, provides helpful guidance on expert qualifications and could quash future timing arguments regarding declarants' expertise, says Whitney Jenkins at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Dissecting The Obviousness-Type Double Patenting Debate

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Allergan v. MSN highlights the ongoing evolution of the obviousness-type double patenting doctrine, revealing increasing tension between expiration-based interpretations and procedural flexibility, says Jeremy Lowe at Leydig Voit.

  • Series

    Flying Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Achieving my childhood dream of flying airplanes made me a better lawyer — and a better person — because it taught me I can conquer difficult goals when I leave my comfort zone, focus on the demands of the moment and commit to honing my skills, says Ivy Cadle at Baker Donelson.

  • 9th Circ.'s High Bar May Limit Keyword Confusion TM Claims

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    A recent Ninth Circuit ruling that a law firm did not infringe upon a competitor’s trademarks by paying Google to promote its website when users searched for the rival’s name signals that plaintiffs likely can no longer win infringement suits by claiming competitive keyword advertising confuses internet-savvy consumers, say attorneys at Mitchell Silberberg.

  • Trump Patent Policy May Be Headed In Unexpected Direction

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    While commentators have assumed that the patent policy of President-elect Donald Trump's second administration will largely mirror the pro-patent policy of his first, these predictions fail to take into account the likely oversized influence of Elon Musk, says Jorge Contreras at the University of Utah.

  • Best Practices For Influencer Trademark Protection

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    Though the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board recently decided that an influencer couldn't qualify for a retail services trademark registration for posting affiliate links to a third-party website, there are other trademark protections that influencers can pursue for their branding and marketing services, say attorneys at Nixon Peabody.

  • What Trump's Next Term May Mean For Biz Immigration

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    Leonard D'Arrigo at Harris Beach discusses the employment-based immigration policies businesses can potentially expect during President-elect Donald Trump’s second term, based on policies enacted during his first administration, statements made during his campaign and proposals in Project 2025.

  • Racing Patents To The Fed. Circ.: Collateral Estoppel Lessons

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    As more and more parties find themselves in two different forums addressing the same issues and then competing in a race to the Federal Circuit, certain strategies can help despite unanswered questions on when Patent Trial and Appeal Board determinations trigger collateral estoppel, say attorneys at Akin.

  • Series

    Circus Arts Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Performing circus arts has strengthened my ability to be more thoughtful, confident and grounded, all of which has enhanced my legal practice and allowed me to serve clients in a more meaningful way, says Bailey McGowan at Stinson.

  • Purse-Case Scenarios: 'MetaBirkin' Appeal Tests TM Rights

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    A federal court's finding that "MetaBirkin" nonfungible tokens infringed on Hermes' iconic Birkin bag imagery is now on appeal in the Second Circuit, and the order will have a lasting effect on how courts balance trademark rights and the First Amendment, say attorneys at Venable.

  • OpenAI's Patent Pledge Is Not All It Seems

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    A recent statement that OpenAI won't assert its own patents is more of an aspiration than an obligation, and should prompt practitioners to think deeply about the underlying legal mechanisms of patent and contract law when determining the effectiveness of similar nonassertion pledges, say attorneys at McDonnell Boehnen.

  • 3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less

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    Today’s junior lawyers are experiencing a skills gap due to pandemic-era disruptions, but firms can help bring them up to speed by offering high-impact skill building content in bite-sized, interactive training sessions, say Stacey Schwartz at Katten, Diane Costigan at Winston & Strawn and Lauren Tierney at Freshfields.

  • 8 Tech Tips For Stress-Free Remote Depositions

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    Court reporter Kelly D’Amico shares practical strategies for attorneys to conduct remote depositions with ease and troubleshoot any issues that arise, as it seems deposition-by-Zoom is here to stay after the pandemic.

  • How AstraZeneca Ruling Could Change Dosage Patent Claims

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    If affirmed on appeal, the rationale employed by the Delaware federal court in Wyeth v. AstraZeneca to find "unit dosage"-related patent claims invalid could lead to a significant paradigm shift in how active-ingredient-focused patent applications are drafted and litigated, say Matthew Zapadka and John Schneible at Arnall Golden.

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