Irell & Manella

1. Spansion Blasts Rival Tessera's Expense Claims

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010

Bankrupt flash memory company Spansion Inc. is objecting to an attempt by rival Tessera Inc. to get a multimillion-dollar administrative expense claim paid to cover Spansion's alleged infringements of Tessera technology patents.

2. Drivers' FLSA Claims Against Pizza Hut Tossed

Monday, Mar 15, 2010

A federal judge has tossed all claims in a proposed class action that accuses Pizza Hut Inc. of failing to reimburse its delivery drivers for automobile costs, uniform purchases and other job-related expenses in violation of federal and state labor laws.

3. Aviva Can't Dodge Covering Flintkote Asbestos Suits

Monday, Mar 08, 2010

A federal judge has denied Aviva Insurance Co. of Canada's request to reconsider an order declaring The Flintkote Co. a named insured under a policy issued to two of the bankrupt asbestos-mining company's Canadian subsidiaries in its suit to recover for asbestos-related personal injury cases.

4. Fed. Circ. Upholds Dish Sanctions In DVR Patent Suit

Thursday, Mar 04, 2010

A federal appeals court has affirmed a district court decision holding Dish Network Corp. and former parent EchoStar Corp. in contempt for violating a permanent injunction that barred them from infringing TiVo Inc.’s digital video recorder patent and ordered them to disable DVR functionality in certain devices.

5. Jury Hands Novellus Win In Linear's Fraud Suit

Tuesday, Mar 02, 2010

Novellus Systems Inc. has won a jury verdict ending Linear Technology Corp.'s eight-year-old fraud and breach of contract suit accusing the semiconductor supplier of selling equipment to Linear that allegedly infringed on patents owned by Texas Instruments Inc.

6. GraphOn's Firewall Patent Suit V. Juniper Sent To Calif.

Monday, Mar 01, 2010

GraphOn Corp.’s patent infringement lawsuit against Juniper Networks Inc. over hardware security and firewall technology is hopping venues yet again, following a federal judge’s decision to send the case from Texas to California.

7. MIT Seeks To Exit Max Planck RNA Patent Suit

Friday, Feb 26, 2010

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Max Planck Institute have filed a joint motion to dismiss the university from Max Planck's suit over RNA interference patents, following MIT's agreement to be bound by any declaratory judgment against its co-defendants.

8. Shrewd Firms Reaped Profits In Downturn

Tuesday, Feb 23, 2010

As law firms begin disclosing their financial numbers for 2009, experts say the industry winners grasped the scope of the economic slump early on, while the losers dragged their feet before implementing necessary changes.

9. Syntax Shareholders To Get $10M In Fraud Action

Friday, Feb 19, 2010

A federal judge has given final approval to a $10 million settlement in a securities fraud class action accusing officials at bankrupt Syntax-Brillian Corp. of concealing problems at the once-successful television maker.

10. Opponents Face Off Over Google Books Deal

Thursday, Feb 18, 2010

After a nearly five-hour-long contentious hearing before a packed courtroom, the judge tasked with sifting through the antitrust, intellectual property and privacy concerns raised by a proposed settlement to let Google Inc. create a massive digital library refused to rule on the dispute Thursday, saying there was "just too much to digest."

11. Pacific Life Hits BNY Mellon Over $80M Sigma Loss

Thursday, Feb 18, 2010

Pacific Life Insurance Co. says Bank of New York Mellon NA cost the insurer $80 million by blocking its bid to take its money out of a fund heavily invested in a structured investment vehicle managed by Sigma Finance Corp.

12. Jury To Hear Max Planck RNA Interference Patent Suit

Thursday, Feb 11, 2010

A magistrate judge has denied a bid by the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Massachusetts to strike the Max Planck Institute's demand for a jury in a suit over the licensing of RNA interference patents worth millions.

13. Dish To Pay TiVo $5.8M In Attys' Fees In IP Suit

Monday, Feb 08, 2010

Dish Network Corp. and former parent EchoStar Communications Corp. has agreed to pay $5.8 million in attorneys' fees that TiVo Inc. has incurred bringing contempt allegations against the satellite television provider in an ongoing patent infringement suit over digital video recording technology.

14. Latham & Watkins Associate Bonuses Up The Ante

Friday, Jan 22, 2010

Latham & Watkins LLP has reportedly made some associates very happy as reports of the firm’s 2009 bonuses trickle in.

15. Understanding The Risks Of Dual Representation

Thursday, Jan 14, 2010

The recent U.S. v. Nicholas decision highlights the “treacherous path” tread by outside corporate counsel conducting an internal investigation while simultaneously representing the company and key officers in parallel civil litigation, say Chad R. Hutchinson, Donna Brown Jacobs and Ashley H. Nader of Butler Snow O'Mara Stevens & Cannada PLLC.

16. Confidential Discovery OK'd For Spansion, Tessera

Thursday, Jan 14, 2010

A bankruptcy judge has approved confidentiality requirements for discovery in a patent-related dispute between bankrupt flash memory chip maker Spansion Inc. and rival Tessera Inc., which has vowed to successfully assert an administrative expense claim for hundreds of millions of dollars that could doom Spansion's Chapter 11 reorganization plan.

17. Norvir Antitrust Cases Survive Abbott's Bid To Dismiss

Wednesday, Jan 13, 2010

Four suits accusing Abbot Laboratories of illegally jacking up the price for its HIV drug Norvir will remain intact now that a judge has rejected Abbott's motion arguing that the plaintiffs' claims should be thrown out because the drugmaker's actions didn't amount to exclusionary conduct.

18. Spansion Wants Tessera Expense Claims Capped

Wednesday, Jan 13, 2010

Flash memory chip maker Spansion Inc. has asked a bankruptcy judge to determine the maximum amount of any administrative expense claim rival Tessera Inc. might make in relation to its patent infringement claims against Spansion, saying Tessera's claims won't undermine the feasibility of Spansion's Chapter 11 plan of reorganization.

19. IP Cases Of The Decade

Wednesday, Jan 13, 2010

As a new decade gets under way, lawyers took a moment to reflect on several landmark rulings over the last 10 years that have shaped the intellectual property landscape, including one that has made it easier for accused infringers to invalidate a patent based on obviousness and another that has made it harder for patent holders to win an injunction.

20. MoFo Offers Up To $30K In Bonuses To NY Associates

Monday, Jan 11, 2010

Morrison & Foerster LLP associates in New York reportedly stand to collect 2009 bonuses ranging from $7,500 to $30,000, as well as a so-called contribution bonus.