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Mealey's Intellectual Property

  • January 23, 2026

    Supplement Patent Owner To High Court: Federal Circuit Wrongly Affirmed Sanctions

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A patent-holding company tells the U.S. Supreme Court that the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals was wrong to affirm a Florida federal judge’s entry of sanctions against it, in part because the appeals court did not rely on the District Court’s primary bad faith finding.

  • January 23, 2026

    Federal Circuit: Judge Rightly Tossed Infringement Suit Asserting Abstract Claims

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a Washington federal judge’s dismissal of a patent owner’s infringement complaint against Google LLC, determining in the Jan. 22 opinion that the asserted claims of the patent are directed at an unpatentable abstract idea without a necessary inventive concept.

  • January 23, 2026

    Federal Circuit: Issue Preclusion Required PTAB Find Claim Invalid

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found that issue preclusion barred the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) from adjudicating the validity of a patent claim in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings initiated by Apple Inc.; the panel reversed the PTAB’s finding that Apple failed to show that the patent claim was invalid as obvious.

  • January 22, 2026

    Federal Circuit Affirms Denial Of Patent Owner’s JMOL Of Infringement Motion

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Jan. 21 affirmed a Minnesota federal judge’s refusal to grant a patent owner’s posttrial request for judgment as a matter of law of infringement and patent validity, but the panel vacated portions of the judge’s final order that improperly applied to unasserted patent claims.

  • January 22, 2026

    7th Circuit Reverses Bar On Little Caesars’ Use Of ‘Pizza Puff’ Phrase

    CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois applied the wrong legal standards for genericness and fair use when issuing a preliminary injunction barring the companies behind the Little Caesars pizza chain from using the phrase “Pizza Puff” when advertising a new cupcake-like pizza product, a Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held; the panel determined that the judge failed to adequately analyze whether another food entity’s “Pizza Puff” mark was protectible.

  • January 21, 2026

    Split Federal Circuit Says Judge Wrongly Excluded Experts From Patent Row

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A split Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Jan. 20 reversed a Pennsylvania federal judge’s decision to exclude two expert witnesses in a dispute brought by a physician who claims DePuy Synthes Sales Inc. and related DePuy entities induced surgeons to infringe certain claims of his patents; the panel majority held that the judge wrongly treated claim construction and survey methodology questions as admissibility issues and not questions for a jury.

  • January 21, 2026

    Split 1st Circuit Revives Lanham Act Claims Against Puerto Rico Over Baseball Icon

    BOSTON — A partially split First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel largely affirmed a Puerto Rico federal judge’s decision to dismiss a suit against Puerto Rican government entities brought by the sons of legendary baseball player Roberto Clemente for putting his image on license plates without their authorization, but the panel majority held that Clemente’s heirs had adequately raised Lanham Act claims against the government officials in their personal capacity to survive a motion to dismiss.

  • January 20, 2026

    Federal Circuit Affirms: No Infringement By Nintendo Of Handheld Gaming Patent

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A video game console made by Nintendo Co. Ltd. does not infringe another gaming company’s patent for a type of handheld gaming device because Nintendo’s accused device did not meet certain claim requirements, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed Jan. 16.

  • January 16, 2026

    High Court Agrees To Hear Pharma Entities’ ‘Skinny Label Infringement’ Fight

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 16 granted a bioequivalent pharmaceutical maker’s petition for a writ of certiorari, agreeing to consider its challenge to the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ finding that the petitioner’s “skinny label” generic version of a prescription cardiovascular medication constituted reverse infringement (Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., et al. v. Amarin Pharma, Inc., et al., No. 24-889, U.S. Sup.).

  • January 16, 2026

    6th Circuit Rejects Parent’s Fair Use Argument For Obtaining School Survey Copy

    CINCINNATI — A Kentucky federal judge was correct to dismiss a parent’s pursuit of a declaratory judgment that the fair-use exception of the Copyright Act permitted her to request a copy of a mental health survey that was to be administered to students at a Kentucky public high school, a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held; the panel agreed that the parent’s claims did not arise under copyright law.

  • January 15, 2026

    Comcast To High Court: Federal Circuit Wrong To Consider Waived Issue

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Comcast Cable Communications LLC tells the U.S. Supreme Court in a petition for certiorari that the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals was wrong to vacate a Florida federal judge’s judgment of noninfringement in its favor, arguing that the finding was based on deciding sua sponte a nonjurisdictional issue that was deliberately waived by the patent holder.

  • January 15, 2026

    Federal Circuit Affirms Rejection Of Pet Food Packaging Patent

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a Jan. 14 opinion, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) finding that the claims of a pet food company’s packaging container patent application were unpatentable as obvious.

  • January 15, 2026

    TTAB Right To Refuse ‘Sazerac Stitches’ Mark, Federal Circuit Rules

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) was right to refuse a design entity’s request to register a trademark for the phrase “Sazerac Stitches” because the mark is confusingly similar to registered mark “Sazerac,” a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held.

  • January 15, 2026

    Federal Circuit: No Infringement By Apple Of Device Setting Patent

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a short opinion issued Jan. 14, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a California federal judge’s entry of summary judgment of noninfringement to Apple Inc. in a patent infringement suit brought against it by another technology entity, agreeing that Apple’s accused product does not meet claim limitations required under the judge’s unchallenged claim constructions.

  • January 15, 2026

    Business-Focused Copyright Owner’s AI Suit Fails, Meta Says

    SAN FRANCISCO — A business magazine and book publisher never adequately alleges that any third party directly infringed on its copyrights as a result of the Llama artificial intelligence or that the company knew such conduct was occuring, Meta Platforms Inc. told a federal court in California in seeking dismissal of the action.

  • January 14, 2026

    Federal Circuit: PTAB Failed To Consider Apple’s Obviousness Arguments In IPR

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — While the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) correctly construed a claim phrase requiring bidirectional antennas during inter partes review (IPR) proceedings initiated by Apple Inc., the board erred by failing to address alternate arguments raised by Apple in response to the patent holder’s proposed claim construction, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Jan. 13.

  • January 14, 2026

    5th Circuit: Songwriter Terminated Copyrights For Song Around The World

    NEW ORLEANS —  A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel agreed with a Louisiana federal judge’s determination that a songwriter and his corporation, and not a music publication company, own the worldwide copyrights associated with the early rock ‘n’ roll song “Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love).”

  • January 13, 2026

    PTO Designates 4 Orders On Discretionary Decisions As Precedential

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) designated as precedential four discretionary decisions issued last summer concerning when to approve or deny petitions for inter partes review (IPR) or post-grant review (PGR); among the findings now designated precedential is the advice that petitions from “time-barred parties should proceed only in exceptional circumstances.”

  • January 13, 2026

    PTO Sets 2 More Decisions As Precedential Regarding PTAB Discretion

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) issued two decisions on Jan. 12 that it designated as precedential; both decisions concern the PTO and the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) discretion in granting petitions.

  • January 12, 2026

    Federal Circuit: ITC Rightly Found No Infringement In Importation Investigation

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) was correct to issue a summary determination against a patent holder that accused technology companies of wrongfully importing allegedly infringing two types of network service devices, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Jan. 9.

  • January 12, 2026

    Judge: Salt-N-Pepa Never Owned Copyrights For Music, Tanking Ownership Suit

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge held that the artists who form hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa could not reclaim copyrights or master recording from UMG Recordings Inc. because, as per a 1986 agreement, the copyright interests were vested in their original record label before eventually being transferred to UMG.

  • January 12, 2026

    Federal Circuit: TTAB Right To Reject Marks Punning On Yankee Player’s Name

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) was correct to reject a man’s request to register trademarks based on the name of New York Yankees player Aaron Judge because the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) and Judge established they had priority of use, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held.

  • January 09, 2026

    9th Circuit Affirms Judgment For Apple In Apple Watch Heart Rate Tracking Dispute

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 8 affirmed a district court order granting Apple Inc.’s motion for summary judgment on claims that it violated federal antitrust law and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by impairing a competitor’s heart rate tracking app tailored for the Apple Watch to monopolize the market, finding that Apple’s refusal to share algorithm data with third-party app developers was considered a “refusal to deal” and the competitor failed to show an exception to the antitrust principle that there is no duty to deal.

  • January 09, 2026

    Federal Circuit: Crocs Untimely Appealed ITC Finding Of No Import Violation

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) did not abuse its discretion by granting a limited exclusion order (LEO) and not a general exclusion order (GEO) to Crocs Inc. against defaulting respondents the company accused of importing products that infringed or diluted trademarks related to its shoes, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Jan. 8.

  • January 09, 2026

    11th Circuit: YouTube Protected By DMCA Safe Harbor In Piracy Suit

    ATLANTA — A Florida federal judge was correct to grant summary judgment to YouTube Inc. and related entities in a copyright infringement suit brought by an entity that owns the rights associated with many films from Mexico and Latin America, an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held, agreeing that the safe harbor of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) applied because YouTube was not shown to have knowingly allowed infringing material to be hosted on the platform.