Intellectual Property

  • April 13, 2026

    Inventors Face Bayh-Dole Act Reporting Issues, GAO Says

    Universities and businesses that hold on to patent rights after receiving federal funds for developing the inventions have pointed to problems with the reporting requirements, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

  • April 13, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Affirms Meta's Win Over AlmondNet Ad Tech Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Monday upheld the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's decision to invalidate all claims Meta Platforms Inc. challenged of an AlmondNet Inc. patent.

  • April 13, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Cisco Data Conversion IP Challenges

    Cisco lost its bid to reinstate its challenges to a pair of patents owned by the intellectual property arm of Tel Aviv University after the Federal Circuit on Monday backed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's findings that the technology giant failed to show the claims were invalid.

  • April 13, 2026

    DLA Piper Defeats Fired Associate's Claims Of Pregnancy Bias

    A federal jury in Manhattan declined to award damages Monday to a former associate who says DLA Piper unlawfully fired her after she announced she was pregnant, absolving the BigLaw firm hours after tense closing arguments.

  • April 13, 2026

    Green Roofing Co. Says Ex-Employee Stole Clients, Trade Secrets

    A green wall and roofing company has accused a former employee of siphoning trade secrets and clients through misrepresentations and using them to start a competing company before making efforts to cover her tracks.

  • April 13, 2026

    ITC Will Find Out If Imported Pain Patches Infringe Patent

    Imported over-the-counter lidocaine patches sold by five companies in the U.S. are facing possible exclusion orders after the U.S. International Trade Commission on Monday said it would open an investigation into claims that they infringe a patent on such patches.

  • April 13, 2026

    United Rentals Wants Ex-Worker Sanctioned Over Erased Files

    United Rentals Inc. wants a former North Carolina sales representative punished for allegedly deleting computer files the same day he received a lawsuit accusing him of taking trade secrets to a new employer, arguing a judge or jury should assume the worst about the alleged file transfer and purported cover-up.

  • April 10, 2026

    International IP Judges Talk Court Conflicts And Cooperation

    Over a dozen intellectual property-focused judges from around the world appeared together at a conference on Friday to discuss the successes and challenges involved when courts interact with each other, both across national borders within countries, and whether some kind of global IP forum could be helpful.

  • April 10, 2026

    Trump Org Jumps Into Trump-Themed Burger Biz TM Fight

    President Donald Trump's business organization waded into a trademark fight in Texas federal court involving companies behind a Trump-themed burger eatery, accusing all of them of illegally using "Trump Burger," "MAGA Burger" and imagery tied to the president's likeness to mislead patrons into thinking they were affiliated with him. 

  • April 10, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Video-Decoding Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Friday affirmed a decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that all the challenged claims of a patent covering video-decoding technology are invalid, after the patent owner argued that it had been improperly prevented from using written description support for its arguments.

  • April 10, 2026

    Tech's AI Coding Boom On Collision Course With Copyright

    Tech companies embracing generative tools to write their software code — and boasting about it — may be running into a gap in copyright protection: the more they rely on them, the harder it may be to claim exclusive rights when that code is copied or leaked.

  • April 10, 2026

    USPTO Launches Pilot Aimed At Reducing Exam Backlog

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said it will launch a pilot program requiring some applicants at the national stage to request examination of their patent applications.

  • April 10, 2026

    Microsoft Keeps PTAB Win Against Communications Patent

    Network technology solutions company Lemko Corp. lost its bid to revive claims in a distributed mobile architecture patent after the Federal Circuit backed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's finding that Microsoft was able to show the claims were invalid.

  • April 10, 2026

    Oracle Says Laid-Off Worker Threatening To Sell Trade Secrets

    Oracle Corp. says one of its recently laid off sales employees has been trying to extort "an unreasonable and outsized fee" by threatening to sell the software firm's trade secrets to the "highest-bidder," asking a North Carolina federal court to prevent the former employee from exposing any sensitive business information.

  • April 10, 2026

    Pickleball Paddle-Maker Smacks 9 Rivals With Patent Suits

    A pickleball paddle-maker has filed patent infringement suits against nine rival paddle-makers in five federal district courts days after it filed an action against the same companies and two others with the U.S. International Trade Commission seeking to block imports of the paddles.

  • April 10, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Instrument Monitoring Patent Claims

    The Federal Circuit on Friday said it won't revive claims in a Sentient Sensors military instruments monitoring patent after the Patent Trial and Appeal Board found that the claims were invalid as obvious.

  • April 10, 2026

    Feds Renew Push Against 'Bad Labs' In Equipment Test Rules

    A new draft proposal from the Federal Communications Commission would make it even harder for foreign adversaries to take part in electronic device testing if they are located in a country that lacks reciprocal testing agreements with the U.S.

  • April 10, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Affirms Roku PTAB Win Over Remote-Control Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Friday affirmed a decision from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that invalidated a set of patent claims covering remote controls that were asserted against Roku Inc.

  • April 10, 2026

    Cisco Seeks Ruling That It Never Infringed Chip Patents

    Cisco Systems wants a federal judge for the Eastern District of Texas to rule that it never infringed two patents covering ways to manage parts of computer chips, after the patent owner dropped them from its case just before a scheduled trial.

  • April 10, 2026

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    The past week in London has seen the owner of an oil tanker stuck in the Strait of Hormuz sued by an energy company and an insurer, law firm Boodle Hatfield LLP and two Serle Court barristers sued by a group of Winston Churchill's great-grandchildren, and Welsh Water hit with a fresh class action over polluted rivers.

  • April 10, 2026

    DLA Piper Partner Rejects Pregnant Atty's Account Of Firing

    The DLA Piper partner who fired a pregnant associate said she did so lawfully, telling a Manhattan federal jury her former employee was "in over her head" and disputing that the associate raised pregnancy bias concerns on a termination call.

  • April 10, 2026

    Prince's Estate, 'Purple Rain' Co-Star Settle TM Suit

    The estate of the pop singer Prince has reached a settlement with "Purple Rain" co-star Patty Apollonia Kotero to resolve a suit brought by Kotero over the trademark for "Apollonia."

  • April 09, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Chief Feels 'Bright-Line Rule Coming' For IP Marking

    As a Federal Circuit panel reprimanded embattled attorney William Ramey on Thursday for the "disrespect" shown in his failed 3D glasses patent litigation against Volkswagen, the Federal Circuit's chief judge suggested precedent may be needed to define the role of marking in admissionless settlements.

  • April 09, 2026

    11th Circ. Affirms Dish Network's Copyright Win, $600K Award

    The Eleventh Circuit Thursday refused to disturb a $600,000 copyright win for Dish Network in long-running litigation over Arabic pay-TV programming distribution, ruling that the lower court was correct in finding that Dish's copyrights were infringed.

  • April 09, 2026

    BuzzBallz Rival Says 'Joke' Domain Grab Not Funny Or Legal

    A claim by cocktail company BuzzBallz that its purchase of an upcoming rival's web domains was a "joke" is a shallow attempt to avoid responsibility for its anticompetitive cybersquatting actions, beverage company Patco Brands argued while urging a California federal court to deny BuzzBallz's motion for summary judgment.

Expert Analysis

  • Lessons From Fed. Circ. On Expert Testimony In Patent Cases

    Author Photo

    Several recent decisions from the Federal Circuit are notable for their treatment of expert testimony, with relevance to the three pillars of every patent case — infringement, invalidity and damages — and offer lessons on ensuring that expert testimony is both admissible and sufficient to support the jury's verdict, say attorneys at Honigman.

  • When Atty Ethics Violations Give Rise To Causes Of Action

    Author Photo

    Though the Model Rules of Professional Conduct make clear that a violation of the rules does not automatically create a cause of action, attorneys should beware of a few scenarios in which they could face lawsuits for ethical lapses, says Brian Faughnan at Faughnan Law.

  • TikTok Divestiture Deal Revolves Around IP Considerations

    Author Photo

    The divestiture deal between the U.S. and China to resolve a security dispute over TikTok's U.S. operations is seen as a diplomatic breakthrough, but its success hinges on the treatment of intellectual property and may set a precedent in the global contest over digital sovereignty and IP control, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • Trending At The PTAB: A Potential Barrier To Serial Challenges

    Author Photo

    New rules proposed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office may appear similar to previous rules at first glance, but are actually much broader in how they would limit petitioners' ability to challenge a patent more than once, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Fed. Circ. In September: The Printed Matter Doctrine Expands

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Bayer v. Mylan represents an extension of the doctrine that adding new words to an existing product or method will not support patentability unless there is a functional relationship, bringing new considerations for both patent holders and challengers, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • 10 Quick Tips To Elevate Your Evidence Presentation At Trial

    Author Photo

    A strong piece of evidence, whether in the form of testimony or exhibit, is wasted if not presented effectively, so attorneys must prepare with precision to help fact-finders both retain the information and internalize its significance, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.

  • Series

    Practicing Stoicism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Practicing Stoicism, by applying reason to ignore my emotions and govern my decisions, has enabled me to approach challenging situations in a structured way, ultimately providing advice singularly devoted to a client's interest, says John Baranello at Moses & Singer.

  • Broader Eligibility For AI-Related Patents May Be Coming

    Author Photo

    A series of recent developments from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office appears to signal that claims involving improvement in the operation of a machine learning model are now more likely to be considered patent-eligible, and that patent examiners may focus on questions of novelty and nonobviousness and less so on subject matter eligibility, say attorneys at Kilpatrick.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Texas, One Year In

    Author Photo

    A year after the Texas Business Court's first decision, it's clear that Texas didn't just copy Delaware and instead built something uniquely its own, combining specialization with constitutional accountability and creating a model that looks forward without losing touch with the state's democratic and statutory roots, says Chris Bankler at Jackson Walker.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Educating Your Community

    Author Photo

    Nearly two decades prosecuting scammers and elder fraud taught me that proactively educating the public about the risks they face and the rights they possess is essential to building trust within our communities, empowering otherwise vulnerable citizens and preventing wrongdoers from gaining a foothold, says Roger Handberg at GrayRobinson.

  • Adapting To USPTO's Reduction Of Examiner Interview Time

    Author Photo

    Reported changes to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's examiner performance appraisal plan will likely make interviews scarcer throughout the application process, potentially influencing patent allowance rates and increasing the importance of approaching each interview with a clear agenda and well-defined goals, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • What To Know About Interim Licenses In Global FRAND Cases

    Author Photo

    Recent U.K. court decisions have shaped a framework for interim licenses in global standard-essential patent disputes, under which parties can benefit from operating on temporary terms while a court determines the final fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms — but the future of this developing remedy is in doubt, say attorneys at Fish & Richardson.

  • 5 Crisis Lawyering Skills For An Age Of Uncertainty

    Author Photo

    As attorneys increasingly face unprecedented and pervasive situations — from prosecutions of law enforcement officials to executive orders targeting law firms — they must develop several essential competencies of effective crisis lawyering, says Ray Brescia at Albany Law School.

  • Anticipating FTC's Shift On Unfair Competition Enforcement

    Author Photo

    As the Federal Trade Commission signals that it will continue to challenge unfair or deceptive acts and practices under Section 5 of the FTC Act, but with higher evidentiary standards, attorneys counseling healthcare, technology, energy or pharmaceuticals clients should note several practice tips, says Thomas Stratmann at George Mason University.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For The Judiciary To Fix Its Cybersecurity Problem

    Author Photo

    After recent reports that hackers have once again infiltrated federal courts’ electronic case management systems, the judiciary should strengthen its cybersecurity practices in line with executive branch standards, outlining clear roles and responsibilities for execution, says Ilona Cohen at HackerOne.

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.