Freeborn & Peters

1. Trafficking In Trademarks

Thursday, Feb 11, 2010

The practice of mark squatting appears to be gaining momentum and causing rightful mark owners considerable costs and concerns. More troubling, however, is the fact that if a squatter actually obtains a registration, the mark owner must overcome the registration’s presumption of validity in order to cancel the bad faith registration, say John A. Cullis of Neal Gerber & Eisenberg LLP and Mike R. Turner of Freeborn & Peters LLP.

2. Law Firms Open Their Wallets For Haiti

Friday, Jan 15, 2010

As the world scrambles to come to Haiti's aid in the wake of Tuesday's devastating earthquake, law firms are stepping up in both traditional and novel ways. Over 80 firms responded to a Law360 query into what they are doing financially and otherwise to respond to the Haitian crisis.

3. Biomet Settles Trade Secrets Suit With Ex-Distributor

Friday, Jan 08, 2010

Biomet Inc. has settled a lawsuit with a former distributor who accused the medical device maker of interfering with his business contracts and misappropriating trade secrets after he aligned with a Biomet competitor.

4. TAS Foils Cummins Action Over Engine Patents

Wednesday, Dec 02, 2009

Bringing the second of three lawsuits over patented car engine control technology to a close, a federal judge has ruled that Cummins Inc.’s attempt to invalidate TAS Distributing Inc.'s patents and a related licensing agreement should have been made during an earlier case.

5. Court To Divvy Up Disputed $2M Executive Risk Policy

Tuesday, Oct 20, 2009

Executive Risk Indemnity Inc. has been discharged from an insurance spat between a financial consulting firm and two former associates vying for $2 million in coverage for defense costs in an underlying suit stemming from a hospital system's bankruptcy.

6. Alien Cleared Of Willful Infringement Of Intermec Patent

Thursday, Oct 08, 2009

A judge has ruled that Alien Technology Corp. did not willfully infringe Intermec Inc.’s patent for radio frequency identification, just a few weeks after ruling that Alien did not infringe four other Intermec patents.

7. Circuit City Wins $60M In Warranty Settlements

Wednesday, Sep 02, 2009

Several warranty providers have agreed to pay bankrupt electronics retailer Circuit City Stores Inc. over $60 million to settle their disputes over outstanding warranty claims, while a federal judge has approved the sale of over $14 million of Circuit City's assets.

8. Fraud Claims Stay In Intermec RFID Patent Suit

Wednesday, Sep 02, 2009

A judge has denied Intermec Inc.’s bid to toss fraud claims from a long-running declaratory judgment suit brought by Alien Technology Corp. over patents for radio frequency identification.

9. ClearOne Fights Trade Secrets Award Reduction

Thursday, Jul 02, 2009

ClearOne Communications Inc. is planning to appeal a federal court’s ruling trimming roughly $800,000 from a $10.5 million damages award that a jury handed the audio and video company in a case alleging former ClearOne employees stole trade secrets related to audio-conferencing technology.

10. The Problems With The Mortgage Bailout Plan

Friday, Apr 17, 2009

Giving bankruptcy judges the power to “cram down” reductions in home loan balances would force lenders to absorb the loss of value in a homeowner’s property. President Obama and the Democratically controlled Congress appear willing to proceed down this path despite some fairly significant red flags, say Barry Jay Epstein of Russell Novak & Company LLP and Todd J. Ohlms of Freeborn & Peters LLP.

11. Cummins Sues TAS To Invalidate Car Engine Patents

Thursday, Mar 19, 2009

A third battle has erupted in a protracted war over patented car-engine control technology, with Cummins Inc. firing off a fresh suit against TAS Distributing Co. that claims the patents-at-issue are invalid and unenforceable and an agreement between the two companies is void.

12. Spacesaver Targets Marvel Over Gun Rack Design

Monday, Mar 16, 2009

Spacesaver Corp. has slapped office furniture designer The Marvel Group Inc. with a lawsuit accusing it of copying a weapons rack that Spacesaver sells to the U.S. military and law enforcement agencies.

13. Intermec Loses Bid To Exclude Expert Opinions

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Alien Technology Corp. can include its experts’ opinions at the Markman hearing for its declaratory judgment action against Intermec Inc. over patents covering radio frequency identification, a district judge ruled Friday.

14. High Court Puts Brakes On Freight Loading Case

Wednesday, Jan 09, 2008

The Supreme Court has declined to hear a legal battle that centered on allegations by two trucking companies that Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. violated antitrust laws by engaging in illegal tying and price-fixing and conspiring to monopolize the market for the loading and unloading of dry and liquid materials.

15. Biamp Loses Bid To Toss Trade Secret Claims

Monday, Dec 17, 2007

A federal judge has refused to dismiss claims against audio technology company Biamp Systems Corp. Inc. from a trade secrets suit involving audio-conferencing technology.

16. Injunction Issued In Speakerphone Technology Suit

Thursday, Nov 01, 2007

A federal judge has issued an injunction order blocking audio conferencing technology company WideBand Solutions Inc. from selling acoustic echo cancellation technology that includes allegedly misappropriated trade secrets involved in ongoing litigation.

17. Claims Dismissed In Insurer Class Action

Monday, Apr 09, 2007

A federal judge on Thursday dismissed bid-rigging claims brought against Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. and several other insurance brokers and providers in a long-running, multidistrict class action lawsuit.

18. Judge Orders Amerigroup To Cough Up $334M

Wednesday, Mar 14, 2007

Before the ink could dry on the ruling, Amerigroup Corp. said it would file an appeal of a federal judge’s decision that the company and its Illinois unit should pay $190 million in civil penalties, bringing the company’s total liability to $334 million in a suit alleging it discriminated against pregnant women.

19. AmeriGroup Braces For Massive Damages Award

Wednesday, Dec 06, 2006

Weeks after a jury first ordered Amerigroup Corp. to pay $144 million for discriminating against pregnant women and other high-risk patients, the health insurance company has revealed it could be asked to shell out a whopping $525 million instead.

20. Amerigroup To Fight Back Against $144M Verdict

Wednesday, Nov 01, 2006

Health insurance company Amerigroup Corp. has lashed out at a decision that it discriminated against pregnant women and other high-risk patients, vowing to appeal the jury’s $144 million verdict on the grounds that a number of the court's rulings constituted reversible error and affected the jury's findings.