Intellectual Property

  • October 17, 2024

    Temu Says Shein Launched IP Theft Suit To Stifle Competition

    The companies behind e-commerce platform Temu have fired back at fast fashion company Shein's intellectual property infringement claims against them, accusing Shein of filing a meritless suit to interfere with Temu's business and stifle its competition "by any means possible."

  • October 17, 2024

    USPTO Told More Clarity Needed On AI And Patent Eligibility

    Numerous companies and industry groups have said they welcome the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's new guidance on when inventions involving artificial intelligence are eligible for patents, but many urged the agency to provide additional clarity and practical examples.

  • October 17, 2024

    Microsoft Fights IP, Antitrust Suit Alleging Cartel With Nvidia

    Microsoft slammed a lawsuit brought by a startup accusing it, Nvidia and a third company of engaging in patent infringement and an illegal buyers' cartel suppressing the price of graphic processing units used in powering artificial intelligence, urging a Texas federal judge Wednesday to deny an injunction bid due to lack of evidence.

  • October 17, 2024

    How Muhammad Ali's Ex-Photog Won $2.7M From Brand Co.

    When Muhammad Ali's former personal photographer brought a copyright suit against a powerful brand management company, his attorneys faced a daunting challenge at trial: How can they convince jurors that Authentic Brands Group was liable for willful infringement?

  • October 17, 2024

    Gov't Tells Justices To Reject Return Mail's Alice Petition

    The federal government says the U.S. Supreme Court should not hear a small Alabama company's appeal of a lower court's invalidation of claims in its patent on processing undeliverable mail, arguing that the claims were not patent eligible.

  • October 17, 2024

    Hospital Can Use TM Fraud Claim As Shield, Not Sword

    A North Carolina hospital and healthcare provider can't pursue a trademark fraud counterclaim in a weight loss clinic's infringement dispute but can assert the claim as an affirmative defense, a federal judge ruled.

  • October 17, 2024

    Justices Urged To Fix 'Novel Misreading' Of IP Safe Harbor

    Edwards Lifesciences is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rein in what's covered under a drug-development safe harbor to avoid patent infringement, saying the Federal Circuit wrongfully expanded it in a "novel misreading" of the law.

  • October 17, 2024

    Cisco Foe Takes Computer Security Patent Feud To Fed. Circ.

    A cybersecurity startup that saw its multibillion-dollar patent win against Cisco erased is pinning the failure, in part, on a new judge's "eleventh-hour, sua sponte claim construction" and is asking the Federal Circuit to overturn it.

  • October 17, 2024

    Northwestern Hits Moderna With Patent Suit Over COVID Vax

    Northwestern University has launched a patent infringement lawsuit in Delaware federal court accusing Moderna of wrongly taking research that the school did when the company was making its COVID-19 vaccine.

  • October 17, 2024

    Texans Say Rapper Is Tripping With Suit Over 'Still Tippin'

    The Houston Texans are asking a Texas federal judge to toss a suit lodged by a rapper who claims the NFL team stole his song, "Still Tippin," characterizing his claims as "frivolous" and "not viable."

  • October 17, 2024

    Jury Says Phillips 66 Owes $605M In Fuel Trade Secrets Fight

    A jury in California state court said Wednesday a retailer of low-carbon fuels is owed $604.9 million after finding that Phillips 66 swiped trade secrets relating to data, such as sales information and pricing methods.

  • October 17, 2024

    Google Asks 9th Circ. To Immediately Pause Epic Injunction

    Google filed an emergency motion late Wednesday in its antitrust battle with Epic Games Inc. asking the Ninth Circuit to stay a lower court's injunction that's set to take effect Nov. 1 requiring Google to open up its Play Store to competing app stores, slamming the injunction as harmful and "unworkable."

  • October 17, 2024

    Moderna Wants Fees For 'Frivolous' COVID-19 Vax Suit

    Moderna is asking a Delaware federal judge to award it about $2.8 million in legal costs for its defense of claims in a patent suit brought by Alnylam Pharmaceuticals over its coronavirus vaccine, arguing the Boston-based company pursued "frivolous" claims that wasted court resources.

  • October 17, 2024

    Industrial Pipe Co. Hits Rival, Ex-Exec With Trade Secrets Suit

    Industrial pipe manufacturer Atkore International Inc. took one of its former senior-level executives and the rival company he went to work for to North Carolina state court, alleging the former employee sabotaged operations on his way out the door and took valuable trade secrets with him.

  • October 17, 2024

    Randy Newman Sells Music Rights To Carlyle-Backed Litmus

    Musician and songwriter Randy Newman has sold his stake in his recorded music and publishing rights to Carlyle-backed music rights business Litmus Music, a transaction that includes decades of popular recordings and music from feature films, including the song "You've Got A Friend In Me" from 1995's "Toy Story," Litmus said Thursday.

  • October 16, 2024

    Spex Jury Can't Use Kingston Deal To Calculate IP Damages

    A California federal judge ruled Wednesday that jurors deciding whether Western Digital infringed Spex Technologies' data security patent can't consider Spex's 2009 licensing agreement with Kingston Technology to calculate potential damages, since there was no way to tease the value of the patent-at-issue out of the broader deal. 

  • October 16, 2024

    Nike Still Owes Fees In 'Cool Compression' TM Case

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Wednesday ruled for a second time that Nike is on the hook for legal fees in a trademark lawsuit after the Third Circuit ordered him to take a closer look at the details of the case to determine if the outcome was truly "exceptional."

  • October 16, 2024

    Philips Says $12M Sanction Needed For Evidence Destruction

    A spoliation sanctions hearing for around $12 million in royalty damages turned terse when the owner of a medical device equipment sale and servicing company seemingly hedged his statements, with a Texas federal judge saying, "Oh my gosh, just answer the question," during the Wednesday hearing.

  • October 16, 2024

    Apple Heart Rate Monitor Patent Survives PTAB

    An administrative patent board has decided not to invalidate an Apple patent that the tech giant once asserted in its ongoing fight with a company in the smartwatch space.

  • October 16, 2024

    Judge Orders 'Starbuds' Co. To Grind Down Logo And Name

    A federal judge in Manhattan has ordered a cannabis food truck to destroy all of its "Starbuds" logos, after siding with coffee giant Starbucks Corp. in a copyright infringement lawsuit.

  • October 16, 2024

    Photog Tells 9th Circ. Miles Davis Tattoo Was Not Fair Use

    A photographer wants the Ninth Circuit to undo a California federal jury's finding that cleared celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D of claims she infringed a copyrighted photo of Miles Davis that he took, saying she failed to adequately show fair use.

  • October 16, 2024

    Bacardi Fends Off Cuban Co.'s 'Havana Club' TM Claim

    A D.C. federal judge tossed a Cuban state-owned company's counterclaim accusing Bacardi of infringing its "Havana Club" trademark, saying U.S. law barred the court from enforcing the mark.

  • October 16, 2024

    NC Beach Canopy Co. Throws Shade At Rival In Patent Suit

    A North Carolina-based beach canopy maker claims another Tar Heel State company has ignored its request to stop making a product that allegedly infringes a patent for its shading system.

  • October 16, 2024

    Mich. Panel Sinks Inventor's Atty Malpractice Appeal

    A Michigan appellate panel has held that the inventor of a swim training device did not prove he would have built a successful custom swim paddle business had his attorney secured him a patent, affirming the dismissal of a legal malpractice suit against the inventor's patent attorney and firm.

  • October 16, 2024

    PTAB Refuses To Review Pioneer Corn Seed Patent

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has said it won't review a challenge to a plant utility patent owned by a unit of a DowDuPont spin-off, handing another loss to a Massachusetts plant breeding startup in a larger legal fight over seed patents between the companies.

Expert Analysis

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Limited Changes In USPTO Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling overturning Chevron deference will have limited consequences for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office given the USPTO's unique statutory features, but it is still an important decision for matters of statutory interpretation, especially those involving provisions of the America Invents Act, say Andrei Iancu and Cooper Godfrey at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • Fed. Circ. Skinny Label Ruling Guides On Infringement Claims

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Amarin v. Hikma shows generic drug manufacturers must pay close attention to the statements in their abbreviated new drug application labels to put themselves in the best position in defending against an induced infringement claim, say Luke Shannon and Roshan Shrestha at Taft Stettinius.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • USPTO Disclaimer Rule Would Complicate Patent Prosecution

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's proposed changes to terminal disclaimer practice could lead to a patent owner being unable to enforce a valid patent simply because it is indirectly tied to a patent in which a single claim is found anticipated or obvious in view of the prior art, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • When Patents As Loan Collateral Can Cost You Standing

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Intellectual Tech v. Zebra Technologies shines a light on loan default provisions' implications for patent infringement litigation, as a default may inadvertently strip a patent owner of constitutional standing to sue over a patent pledged as collateral, say Joseph Marinelli and Suet L. Lee at Irwin IP.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 36 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • How Life Science Companies Are Approaching UPC Opt-Outs

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    A look at recent data shows that one year after its launch, the European Union's Unified Patent Court is still seeing a high rate of opt-outs, including from large U.S.-based life science companies wary of this unpredictable court — and there are reasons this strategy should largely remain the same, say Sanjay Murthy and Christopher Tuinenga at McAndrews Held.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • 6 PTAB Events To Know From The Last 6 Months

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    The first half of 2024 brought a flurry of Patent Trial and Appeal Board developments that should be considered in post-grant strategies, including proposed rules on discretionary denial and director review, and the first decisions of the Delegated Rehearing Panel, say attorneys at Fish & Richardson.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • FTC Focus: Competition And The Right To Repair

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    If the Federal Trade Commission includes commercial and industrial products as part of copyright exemptions that allow consumers to modify or repair products, then businesses and affected rights holders will need to consider copyrights' impact on infringement issues, say attorneys at Proskauer.

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