Mealey's Intellectual Property : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Intellectual Property

September 25, 2024
Judge: Outlet Can’t Claim Fair Use In Copyright Suit Over Congresswoman’s Photo

NEW YORK — A nonprofit media organization cannot use a fair use defense against a copyright infringement claim brought by a photojournalist who said the media outlet posted a screenshot of a copyrighted video he took of Rep. Alexandira Ocasio-Cortez at a New Yorker’s funeral, a New York federal judge held, denying the outlet’s motion to dismiss the journalist’s suit.
September 25, 2024
Judge: Man Owes Millions For Using American Airlines Marks In Hiring Grift

MIAMI — A man accused by American Airlines Inc. of trademark and copyright infringement for using the company’s intellectual property while allegedly running a scheme to trick job applicants into paying for fake background checks owes the company more than $3 million in damages and attorney fees, a federal judge in Florida held after granting summary judgment to the airline on most of its claims.
September 24, 2024
Qualcomm’s Claims On Voltage Tracking Unpatentable, Federal Circuit Finds

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 23 affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s finding that certain claims in Qualcomm Inc.’s patent relating to power tracking supply voltage are unpatentable as obvious; the panel also dismissed a cross-appeal from Intel Corp. to consider a finding that other claims were not obvious.
September 24, 2024
Federal Circuit: Eye Syringe Claims From Novartis Are Unpatentable

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board was correct to hold that a pharmaceutical company’s claims related to a prefilled syringe for eye diseases were unpatentable, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal panel held Sept. 23, agreeing with the board that the claims are combinations of prior art references.
September 24, 2024
Music Publisher: Judge Must Reconsider Ruling In Copyright Fight Over 1986 Song

NEW YORK — A music publisher says a New York federal judge should reconsider an August holding in which the judge ruled that the publisher must pay royalties to a hip-hop group that created a 1986 hit single despite its concern that the song infringed the theme song of the long-running television show “Dragnet,” arguing that the judge’s order fundamentally and inappropriately changes the relationship between the rappers and the label.
September 23, 2024
Judge Largely Denies Summary Judgment Bids In Penn State Cybersquatting Suit

HARRISBURG, Pa. — In a pair of lengthy orders, a federal judge in Pennsylvania granted summary judgment in favor of the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) on a counterclaim of reverse domain name hijacking brought by a defendant recreational vehicle (RV) company the university said infringed on certain of its trademarks, holding that the RV company failed to show that the university caused the relevant domain name to be suspended.
September 23, 2024
Judge Tosses 1 Count From Comcast’s Contract Suit Stemming From Patent Claims

NEW YORK — In a contractual dispute between Comcast Cable Communications Management LLC and a developer of silicon chips for high-speed internet stemming from another developer’s ability to sue Comcast for patent infringement, a federal judge in New York dismissed one of Comcast’s claims for declaratory judgment, holding that the claim now reflects no potential harm because one of the contracts in question has expired.
September 20, 2024
1st Circuit: Puerto Rican Food Company Abandoned Chicken Mark

BOSTON — A federal judge in Puerto Rico correctly held that a defendant food company abandoned its POLLO PICÚ mark when granting summary judgment in favor of a plaintiff company that sought to use the mark, a panel of judges in the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Sept. 19, saying the defendant company failed to show that it intended to resume its use of the mark.
September 20, 2024
Most Claims In Pesticide Trademark, Copyright Row Survive Motion To Dismiss

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal judge in Ohio largely denied a defendant pesticide manufacturer’s motion to dismiss some trademark and copyright infringement claims brought against it by competitor plaintiff companies who allege that the defendant copied package design, holding that the plaintiff companies plausibly alleged infringement.
September 20, 2024
Judge Tosses Canadian Legal Code Copyright Fight After 5th Circuit’s Reversal

AUSTIN, Texas — After the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued its mandate reversing a Texas federal judge’s grant of summary judgment against a publisher accused by a Canadian developer of legal codes and standards of illegally republishing complete versions of the code because the code is effectively uncopyrightable “law” in Canada, the judge on Sept. 19 filed an order granting summary judgment in the publisher’s favor.
September 19, 2024
5th Circuit Agrees Art Education Company Did Not Infringe On Artist’s Work

NEW ORLEANS — A Texas federal judge rightly held that that a company selling art kits to students during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic did not infringe on an artist’s work by basing elements of the product on a series of dog paintings, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Sept. 18, determining that the fair use defense applied.
September 19, 2024
Judge: Professor Violated Dow Jones Copyrights With Article Distribution Emails

AUSTIN, Texas — In a mixed result for both parties on competing motions for summary judgment, a federal judge in Texas held that a professor infringed on copyrights held by Dow Jones & Co. Inc. by emailing his students, former students and others PDFs of stories from Dow Jones publications and breached the contract formed by his subscription to the publications but that Dow Jones failed to show that the professor violated the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA).
September 19, 2024
Federal Circuit: Judgment In Patent Case Wrongly Based On Points Not Made At Trial

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Delaware abused his discretion by issuing a ruling after a bench trial in a patent dispute between pharmaceutical manufacturers over a drug for overactive bladders by determining that the plaintiff company’s patent was invalid based on an invalidity defense the parties stipulated not to invoke, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Sept. 18, reversing the judge’s June 2023 decision.
September 18, 2024
2nd Circuit: No Jurisdictional Issues In American Girl’s Trademark Suit

NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York was wrong to hold that the court lacked personal jurisdiction over a Chinese company accused by dollmaker American Girl LLC of selling counterfeited products, a panel of judges in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held on Sept. 17; the panel said American Girl adequately showed that the Chinese company sold the alleged counterfeits in New York.
September 18, 2024
Judge Consolidates Suits By Journalists Challenging AI, Denies Motions To Compel

NEW YORK — In a six-page order addressing more than 20 outstanding motions and letter briefs in six artificial intelligence copyright cases, a federal judge in New York consolidated two suits brought by news entities and others, granted motions to set and extend deadlines and otherwise generally denied requests to compel certain evidence, including a request that The New York Times Co. produce evidence demonstrating that its stories were original works.
September 18, 2024
Federal Circuit: Tech Company’s Patent Suit Against Meta Properly Dismissed

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in California was correct to dismiss with prejudice a technology company’s patent infringement suit against Meta Platforms Inc. involving digital tagging technology because the plaintiff company did not claim patent-eligible subject matter in its suit, a panel of the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Sept. 17.
September 17, 2024
Parties To Music Publishers’ AI Suit Brief Injunction, Motion To Dismiss

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Music publishers said an artificial intelligence company’s motion to dismiss is “rife with misdirection” and urged a court to impose a narrow preliminary injunction that would protect their rights while not unduly imposing restrictions on the company. But in its own briefing, Anthropic PBC said there is no evidence that its AI ever produced copyrighted works as portrayed by the plaintiffs and that there is certainly no evidence that its newest models would do so while urging the court to dismiss ancillary claims it says have not fared well in similar cases.
September 17, 2024
Federal Circuit: Judge Erred When Finding Patent Claims Mutually Exclusive

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Minnesota incorrectly held that that varying claims about the location of an opening in a catheter were mutually exclusive, which forced the judge “into a later conclusion of indefiniteness, which it did not have to do” in a patent dispute over the catheter, a panel of the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Sept. 16.
September 17, 2024
Judge Orders Wind-Down Of Use Of Infringing Mark In Trademark Dispute

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California granted a plaintiff advertising company’s motion for a preliminary injunction barring defendant advertising firms from using marks that the plaintiff says infringe on its word mark “MARS”; the judge gave the defendant companies six months to wind down their use of the allegedly offending marks.
September 17, 2024
AI Copyright Plaintiffs Want Midjourney’s Trade Dress Clarification Reply Stricken

SAN FRANCISCO — Plaintiff artists asked a federal judge in California to strike a reply brief that artificial intelligence creator Midjourney Inc. filed in support of its motion for clarification about what “concrete elements” the judge saw in the plaintiffs’ trade dress claim, with the artists saying local rules do not permit such a filing.
September 16, 2024
Parties To GitHub AI Suit Involving DMCA Ruling Brief Need For Immediate Appeal

OAKLAND, Calif. — Plaintiffs in an artificial intelligence copyright suit involving code posted to online coding repository GitHub and related defendants wrapped briefing over whether a federal judge in California’s ruling requiring identicality under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) warrants interlocutory appeal of a federal California judge’s ruling.
September 16, 2024
Google, Author Wrap Briefing On Dismissal Of Trimmed AI Copyright Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — An author and Google LLC grappled in briefing on a motion to dismiss filed in a federal court in California, with the woman saying her amended complaint sufficiently alleges that the company illegally took and used her copyrighted work to train artificial intelligence. However, Google responded by saying that while the second amended complaint appears to try to strip away irrelevant allegations, it only serves to point out the ongoing problems with the Copyright Act claims.
September 16, 2024
Judge: Trump Liable For Infringing Use Of ‘Electric Avenue’ In Campaign Video

NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York on Sept. 13 granted singer Eddy Grant’s partial motion for partial summary judgment against former President Donald J. Trump and his re-election campaign, holding that the singer adequately showed that Trump’s use of Grant’s song “Electric Avenue” in a video on Twitter does not constitute fair use; the judge also denied a motion for partial summary judgment from the Trump team.
September 16, 2024
Company Agrees To Drop References To Lilly Drugs In Compound Medication Ads

DENVER — Eli Lilly and Co. and HydraMed IV LLC have reached a settlement to end a trademark infringement dispute, with the mobile IV treatment company HydraMed agreeing to a permanent injunction barring the company from advertising or selling compounded medications that lead consumers to believe that they are generic versions of Lilly’s weight loss medications.
September 12, 2024
Nevada Federal Judge Dismisses Invalidity Defense In Dispute Over LED Patents

LAS VEGAS — The owner of several light-emitting diode (LED) technology patents is entitled to summary judgment on an affirmative defense of invalidity raised by a group of companies accused of infringing upon the patents because the prior art referenced in the defendants’ expert testimony does not quality as prior art in this instance.