Intellectual Property

  • October 11, 2024

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

    This past week in London has seen billionaire Lakshmi Mittal sue steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta in a long-running clash to claw back €140 million ($153 million) of debt, a high-profile AI researcher take action against the Intellectual Property Office to register his software as a listed patent inventor and troubled housing trust Home Reit face a claim by a real estate developer. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • October 10, 2024

    Western Digital Lifted Spex's Data Security IP, Expert Says

    Western Digital's My Book and Ultrastar storage devices infringe features in Spex Technologies' data security patent, including hardware encryption and a means of allowing a host computer to request and receive information from the device once it's plugged in, an expert witness testified during the infringement trial Thursday in California federal court.

  • October 10, 2024

    OpenAI Calls Musk's Fraud, RICO Suit A Harassing Biz Move

    OpenAI asked a California federal judge to toss Elon Musk's claims that the artificial intelligence venture and its top brass engaged in fraud by deciding to make OpenAI a for-profit company, claiming Musk "has been trying to leverage the judicial system for an edge" since launching a competing AI company.

  • October 10, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Digs Into Patent Applications' Place In Prior Art

    A Federal Circuit panel struggled Thursday to work out whether published patent applications meet the requirements to serve as prior art, in order to evaluate whether the Patent Trial and Appeal Board rightfully invalidated claims of a Lynk Labs LED patent.

  • October 10, 2024

    IP Forecast: 5G Patent Case Spells Deja Vu For EDTX

    A patent suit against a Chinese phone company will go before a new federal jury in the Eastern District of Texas after the judge scrapped the original $10.6 million verdict against it as excessive. Here's a spotlight on that case — plus all the other major intellectual property matters on deck in the coming week.

  • October 10, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Revives Software IP Case Against Salesforce

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday threw out a Nevada federal court's finding that Salesforce didn't infringe claims in a pair of patents for database software reprogramming and that the claims weren't valid to begin with, saying key language in the patents has to be looked at differently.

  • October 10, 2024

    Most Appian Claims Survive In Pegasystems Defamation Fight

    A Massachusetts federal judge has allowed most counterclaims from business software company Appian Corp. to proceed against rival Pegasystems Inc., which accused its competitor in a lawsuit of making deliberately malicious statements and representations regarding a trade secret case the parties are litigating in Virginia.

  • October 10, 2024

    Owner Of Houston Music Co. Says He Was Pushed Out Of Biz

    A Houston hip-hop artist has accused his longtime business partner of engaging in a scheme to steal his music production company's funds before ousting him from the business, according to a complaint filed in Texas federal court on Thursday.

  • October 10, 2024

    5th Circ. Says ISP Liable For Piracy But Orders Damages Redo

    The Fifth Circuit has concluded that a Texas federal court correctly upheld a jury verdict finding internet service provider Grande Communications Networks LLC is liable for the willful contributory copyright infringement of 1,403 songs from several record labels but ordered that the nearly $47 million in damages be recalculated.

  • October 10, 2024

    NJ Atty Sues Netflix For Infringement Over Boy Scouts Movies

    A trial lawyer who spent years litigating sexual abuse cases against the Boy Scouts is suing Netflix Inc. for copyright infringement after the streaming giant came out with a documentary on the abuse just nine months after his film premiered.

  • October 10, 2024

    Nike Rips Report In TM Suit, Rival Wants $6.75M In Fees

    Nike has pushed back on a report finding that its behavior toward a Pennsylvania apparel company during a trademark dispute was severe enough to support ordering Nike to pay attorney fees, with the smaller company saying it is owed about $6.75 million in fees.

  • October 10, 2024

    Lawmakers Want Calif. Colleges To Flex NIL Muscle

    As states across the country pass new laws for college athletes to earn money for their name, image and likeness, California lawmakers are encouraging universities there to make use of the considerable NIL provisions already on the books.

  • October 09, 2024

    Kingston Paid Royalties For SPEX's Data Security IP, Jury Told

    The founder of Spyrus Inc., which assigned its data security patents to SPEX Technologies, Wednesday told California federal jurors in the infringement trial against Western Digital that Kingston Technology paid a royalty rate of $20 per flash drive sold to license the patent and never challenged its validity.

  • October 09, 2024

    Shkreli Hasn't Obeyed Wu-Tang Album Order, Crypto Co. Says

    The crypto project suing Martin Shkreli for allegedly harming the value of a one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album on Wednesday once again told a New York federal judge that the notorious pharmaceutical executive hasn't complied with an order directing him to account for all copies of the album he may have made.

  • October 09, 2024

    Amid Copyright Suit, Authors Guild Eyes Licensing To AI Cos.

    The rise of generative artificial intelligence has led to a tsunami of copyright lawsuits by authors alleging OpenAI and other tech companies are ripping off their works, but on Wednesday the nation's largest professional organization for writers announced a new plan of attack: Help writers license their works to AI companies.

  • October 09, 2024

    Cisco Gets PTAB To Wipe Out Most Of Network Patent

    An administrative patent board has trimmed most of a patent that was issued to a since bankrupt Tel Aviv telecom supplier and later eventually asserted against Cisco.

  • October 09, 2024

    Caterpillar Settles Wirtgen IP Row After Judge's $19.5M Ruling

    Caterpillar and machinery manufacturer Wirtgen have reached a deal to resolve their legal fight after a Delaware court held that Caterpillar owes about $19.5 million in a patent case over road-milling machines.

  • October 09, 2024

    9th Circ. Judge Open To Rebooting CoStar Antitrust Fight

    A Ninth Circuit judge on a three-judge panel appeared open Wednesday to reviving counterclaims alleging CoStar monopolizes commercial real estate information markets, telling CoStar's counsel repeatedly that the lower court's ruling "reads more like summary judgment" than the granting of a motion to dismiss and improperly draws inferences in favor of CoStar.

  • October 09, 2024

    Judge Finalizes $65.7M Verdict Against Cisco In IP Case

    A $65.7 million verdict from earlier this year against Cisco Systems has been finalized by a Western District of Texas judge, in a case where a jury found the company infringed Paltalk's patent related to hybrid audio servers.

  • October 09, 2024

    'Sophie's Choice' Theatrical Rights Deal Long Over, Court Told

    The 95-year-old widow of "Sophie's Choice" author William Styron urged a judge on Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that she broke a deal for the theatrical rights to the 1979 novel, saying the agreement signed between the playwright plaintiff and her late husband in 2005 and several later agreements expired more than five years ago.

  • October 09, 2024

    'San Francisco' In Oakland Airport Name Is Fair Use, Port Says

    The Port of Oakland has told a California federal judge that San Francisco's preliminary injunction bid should be rejected as the city is not likely to prevail on its trademark infringement claims over the renaming of Oakland's airport to "San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport," saying it doesn't create confusion.

  • October 09, 2024

    Logan Paul Brand Can't Block Messi Drink Collab, Suit Says

    The maker of White Claw has sued social media influencer and pro wrestler Logan Paul's sports beverage company Prime Hydration, seeking a declaration from a New York federal court that its recent collaboration with soccer legend Lionel Messi on a beverage doesn't infringe Prime's trademarks.

  • October 09, 2024

    Thomson Reuters Again Seeks Win On ROSS' Pilfering

    Thomson Reuters on Tuesday filed a pair of renewed motions for partial summary judgment seeking to block ROSS Intelligence Inc. from claiming fair use, and hold it liable for copyright infringement, in a suit alleging ROSS ripped off the Westlaw research platform for its artificial intelligence product.

  • October 09, 2024

    USPTO Won't Let Non-Patent Attys Take Lead At PTAB

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Wednesday announced it would not move forward with its proposal to allow attorneys who don't belong to the patent bar serve as lead counsel at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

  • October 09, 2024

    Frost Brown Ducks Malpractice Suit Over League Trademarks

    A Delaware Superior Court judge has tossed a malpractice suit alleging that Frost Brown Todd LLP failed to adequately investigate infringement issues with trademarks a football league sought to use in the relaunch of the United States Football League.

Expert Analysis

  • It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

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    Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

  • Breaking Down Director Review Timing At The PTAB

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    Attorneys at Fish & Richardson examine the complexities of director review of a Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruling, including timelines for requests and decisions, and how these factors influence related district court cases.

  • Calif. Bill, NTIA Report Illustrate Open-Model AI Safety Debate

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    The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s balanced recommendations for preventing misuse of open artificial intelligence models, contrasted with a more aggressive California bill, demonstrate an evolving regulatory debate about balancing democratic access to this powerful new technology against potential risks to the public, say Stuart Meyer and Fredrick Tsang at Fenwick.

  • Behind 3rd Circ. Ruling On College Athletes' FLSA Eligibility

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    The Third Circuit's decision that college athletes are not precluded from bringing a claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act raises key questions about the practical consequences of treating collegiate athletes as employees, such as Title IX equal pay claims and potential eligibility for all employment benefits, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Patent Lessons From 4 Federal Circuit Reversals In July

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    The Federal Circuit’s July reversal of four cases, all of which were Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions, highlights lessons for patent practitioners regarding the scope of estoppel provisions, potential issues with obtaining certain substitute claims, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • Video Game Release Highlights TM Pitfalls Of App Store

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    The upcoming release of poker video game Balatro in Apple's App Store underscores the tradeoff of keyword advertising and trademark protection for indie developers who, unlike corporate counterparts, lack resources but seek to maximize the reach of their game, say Parmida Enkeshafi and Simon Pulman at Pryor Cashman.

  • 5 Credibility Lessons Trial Attys Can Learn From Harris' Run

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    In launching a late-stage campaign for president, Vice President Kamala Harris must seize upon fresh attention from voters to establish, or reestablish, credibility — a challenge that parallels and provides takeaways for trial attorneys, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

  • Patent Owner Estoppel Questions In The Wake Of SoftView

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's seldom-litigated Rule 42.73(d)(3) on Patent Trial and Appeal Board estoppel was recently brought to the forefront in the Federal Circuit's SoftView v. Apple decision, highlighting uncertainties in this aspect of patent practice, say David Haars and Richard Crudo at Sterne Kessler.

  • Copyright Termination Opinion Departs From Long-Held Views

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    In Vetter v. Resnik, a federal court recently held for the first time that termination rights under Section 304 of the Copyright Act recapture domestic and foreign rights where the original grant was for "worldwide" rights — misinterpreting a basic principle of international copyright treaties, say Rebecca Benyamin and Eric J. Schwartz at Mitchell Silberberg.

  • 3 Patent Considerations For America's New Quantum Hub

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    Recent developments signal an incredibly bright future for Chicago as the new home of quantum computing, and it is crucial that these innovators — whose technology has the potential to transform many industries — prioritize intellectual property strategy, says Andrew Velzen at McDonnell Boehnen.

  • Fed. Circ. Ruling Creates New Rule For Certification Marks

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    The Federal Circuit's decision last month in Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac v. Cologne & Cognac Entertainment is significant in that it establishes a new standard for assessing evidence of third-party uses of a certification mark in deciding whether the mark is famous, say Samantha Katze and Lisa Rosaya at Manatt.

  • A Preview Of AI Priorities Under The Next President

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    For the first time in a presidential election, both of the leading candidates and their parties have been vocal about artificial intelligence policy, offering clues on the future of regulation as AI continues to advance and congressional action continues to stall, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • 11 Patent Cases To Watch At Fed. Circ. And High Court

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    As we head into fall, there are 11 patent cases to monitor, touching on a range of issues that could affect patent strategy, such as biotech innovation, administrative rulemaking and patent eligibility, say Edward Lanquist and Wesley Barbee at Baker Donelson.

  • Why India May Become A Major Patent Litigation Forum

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    India is reinventing itself with the goal of becoming a global hot spot for patent litigation, with recent developments at the Delhi High Court creating incentives for plaintiffs to assert patent rights in India, say Ranganath Sudarshan at Covington and IP litigator Udit Sood.

  • Opinion

    To Lower Drug Prices, Harris Must Address Patent Thickets

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    If Vice President Kamala Harris is serious about her pledge to address high drug prices, she must begin by closing loopholes that allow pharmaceutical companies to develop patent thickets that can deter generic or biosimilar companies from entering the market, says Tahir Amin at the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge.

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