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Intellectual Property
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May 20, 2013
Pfizer Can't Shake Skelaxin Pay-For-Delay MDL
A federal judge on Monday refused to dismiss multidistrict litigation accusing Pfizer Inc.'s King Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Mutual Pharmaceutical Co. Inc. of keeping generic versions of the muscle relaxer Skelaxin off the market, finding Rite Aid Corp. and others had plausibly alleged a conspiracy.
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May 20, 2013
Aereo, FilmOn Settle Trio Of Trademark Disputes
Media mogul Barry Diller and billionaire Alki David have settled three California federal court trademark disputes regarding the websites, hardware and names pertaining to their rival Aereo Inc. and FilmOn television-streaming services, the parties said in a joint statement on Monday.
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May 20, 2013
Apple Gets Potential Damages Pared In NetAirus Patent Suit
A California federal judge on Monday limited the potential damages in a suit alleging four of Apple Inc.'s iPhone models infringe a patent relating to wireless handset communications, finding NetAirus Technologies LLC can only recover damages arising from recent sales of the iPhone 4.
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May 20, 2013
High Court Could Put Patent Burden Of Proof On Licensees
The U.S. Supreme Court could establish clear rules on whether patent owners always have the burden of proving infringement, having agreed Monday to hear Medtronic Inc.'s appeal of a ruling that the burden falls on license holders when a patentee is barred from alleging infringement, attorneys say.
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May 20, 2013
Bill Would Publicize Patent Ownership To Bust Trolls
The ownership of patents would be a matter of public record under legislation introduced in Congress on Thursday that was quickly hailed by technology companies as an ideal way to crack down on the use of shell companies by so-called patent trolls.
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May 20, 2013
Fighting Agencies May Be Tougher After High Court Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's Monday ruling in favor of the Federal Communications Commission, which held that courts should apply a deferential standard of review when federal agencies interpret the limits of their own authority, may make it tougher for regulated businesses to fight agency actions, attorneys say.
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May 20, 2013
Apple, Amazon, Google Can't Nix IP Suit Over Music Licensing
A New York federal judge on Monday refused to toss out a proposed class action against Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Google Inc. and others in a copyright infringement suit claiming the tech companies failed to ensure that the music they make available for downloading is properly licensed.
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May 20, 2013
A10, Brocade Strike 11th-Hour Deal On Eve Of Damages Trial
Brocade Communications Systems Inc. reached a settlement Monday with A10 Networks Inc. on the eve of a trial in which A10 contested the methodology behind a $112 million damages award Brocade won in its patent infringement and trade secrets trial against A10 last year.
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May 20, 2013
Microsoft Accuses Licensee Of Ripping Off Software
Microsoft Corp. launched a suit in Georgia federal court Wednesday accusing Ebix Inc. of copyright infringement and breaching a licensing agreement by making unauthorized copies of programs and attempting to stymie Microsoft's efforts to investigate.
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May 20, 2013
ABA Asks Fed. Circ. To Change Claim Construction Standard
The American Bar Association on Monday urged the Federal Circuit to overturn its controversial position that claims construction rulings must be reviewed anew on appeal, arguing that patent litigation would be more efficient and predictable if district courts' factual findings were given greater deference.
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May 20, 2013
Fed. Circ. Revives 5 Mylan Drug Patents In Sunovion Row
The Federal Circuit on Monday threw out a ruling that five Mylan Inc. patents covering treatments for chronic pulmonary obstructive disease were invalid, reviving claims that Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s drug Brovana infringed the patents.
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May 20, 2013
Feds Say Execs Can't Ax DuPont Trade Secrets Charges
Federal prosecutors on Friday pushed back against a bid by USA Performance Technology Inc., its owners and a former DuPont Co. employee to escape charges over alleged trade secrets theft from the chemical company, arguing the indictment isn't unconstitutionally vague.
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May 20, 2013
Pa. Court Rejects Attys' Fee Test In Trade Secrets Cases
A Pennsylvania appeals court on Friday rejected a widely applied test used by federal courts to determine, for the purposes of awarding attorneys' fees, whether claims were brought in bad faith under the Pennsylvania Uniform Trade Secrets Act.
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May 20, 2013
Fed. Circ. Flips Noninfringement Judgment In Allegra IP Row
Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Albany Molecular Research Inc. on Monday convinced the Federal Circuit to reverse a noninfringement judgment over an Albany Molecular patent covering processes used to make a purer form of a key ingredient in allergy medication, including Sanofi-Aventis U.S.'s Allegra.
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May 20, 2013
Agencies Deserve Deference On Jurisdiction, Justices Say
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that courts should apply a deferential standard of review toward a federal agency's definition of its own jurisdiction, siding with the Federal Communications Commission in a fight with local government agencies over zoning rules for wireless facilities.
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May 20, 2013
Fed. Circ. Reverses $9M IDT Gift Card Patent Judgment
The Federal Circuit on Monday overturned part of a $9 million verdict against IDT Corp., ruling a Texas jury lacked sufficient evidence to conclude that IDT gift card systems used by Walgreen Co. and other retailers infringed an Alexsam Inc. patent.
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May 20, 2013
Zydus Defends Obvious Challenge In Zegerid Patent Row
Zydus Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., which was sued in New Jersey federal court for developing a generic version of the heartburn drug Zegerid, said on Friday that a Federal Circuit decision in a parallel case doesn't preclude it from arguing that a Santarus Inc. patent Zydus allegedly infringes is obvious.
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May 20, 2013
LSI Tried To Pump Up Royalties With ITC Probe, Judge Says
A California federal judge on Monday ruled that LSI Corp. initiated a patent complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission in an attempt to force a Wi-Fi chipmaker suing for breach of contract to pay higher royalties for the standard-essential patents.
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May 20, 2013
Dental-Care Company Infringes Crest Patents, P&G Says
The Procter & Gamble Co. filed a suit Monday in Ohio federal court alleging that CAO Group Inc. had violated three of the personal-hygiene and cleaning-product giant's patents for its teeth-whitening product Crest Whitestrips.
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May 20, 2013
New ITC Rules Aim To Reduce E-Discovery Costs
The U.S. International Trade Commission is set to publish new rules on Tuesday aimed at curbing the costs of e-discovery during patent infringement disputes before the agency.
Expert Analysis
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High Court Takes On Declaratory Judgment Burden Of Proof
With the U.S. Supreme Court granting certiorari in Medtronic Inc. v. Boston Scientific Corp., it will help clarify who bears the burden of proof in a declaratory judgment action. If the court affirms the Federal Circuit, the traditional patent law for this type of controversy will be turned on its head, requiring a licensee to disprove infringement, says Shashank Upadhye of Seyfarth Shaw LLP.
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Venue Change May Impact Actions Against Foreign Patentees
For nearly 60 years, declaratory judgment actions against foreign patentees were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Section 293 of the America Invents Act replaces the District of Columbia with the Eastern District of Virginia as the appropriate venue, which may have a profound impact on this narrow — but oftentimes crucially important — subset of cases, says Bill Sigler of Fisch Hoffman Sigler LLP.
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Rise Of The Machines — Predictive Coding Goes Mainstream
The pros of using predictive coding far outweigh the cons. Given the heavy pressure on law firms and in-house counsel to reduce discovery costs, as well as the Justice Department's recent stance on the subject, it appears predictive coding will continue to emerge from the obscure world of legal technology to the mainstream of legal practice, say Michael Moscato and Myles Bartley of Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle LLP.
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New USPTO Fee Rules, New Patent Prosecution Strategies
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's recently revised patent prosecution fee structure encourages quick and compact prosecution by raising fees for prosecution that requires significant examiner time, says Carl Schwartz of Quarles & Brady LLP.
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When And How To Consider Hiring In-House IP Counsel
When deciding whether to hire in-house intellectual property counsel, a company should consider its IP strategy and its IP budget. If a company is spending $250,000 or more on outside IP legal fees per year, it is at least worth considering hiring in-house patent counsel, says Scott Smith of Dorsey & Whitney LLP.
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Why 'Escape From Tomorrow' Likely Won't Make It To Theaters
"Escape From Tomorrow," a movie that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this year, was shot on-site at Disney World without the permission or knowledge of The Walt Disney Co. Disney didn't file suit, but it appears that the strategy of silence has largely paid off up to this point, says Brent Lorentz of Winthrop & Weinstine PA.
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What To Do Before, During And After IP Mediation
Intellectual property mediation provides parties with the power to transfer the control of the outcome of their dispute from jurors back to where it most appropriately resides — with the parties themselves. But too many litigators and too many parties approach mediation as if it is a burden to be shouldered rather than an opportunity to be embraced, say Samuel Miller and Vernon Winters of Sidley Austin LLP.
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K-V Case Tests Limits Of ITC Jurisdiction
As illustrated by the recent K-V Pharmaceutical Co. case, the U.S. International Trade Commission will likely closely review complaints that could usurp the power of another federal agency and potentially undermine that agency's application of its own rules, say Eric Fues and Mareesa Frederick of Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP.
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An Update On Joint Infringement In Cloud Computing
Assuming a feature of cloud-based email service warrants patent protection, a method claim may need to cover the conduct of two or three entities that act in concert to put the email application into service. For claims of that sort, the Akamai decision makes proving induced infringement easier, says Steven Amundson of Frommer Lawrence & Haug LLP.
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Supreme Court Got It Right In Seed Dispute
On May 13, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the Federal Circuit and ruled that a farmer infringed Monsanto Co.’s patents for Roundup Ready seeds by growing subsequent, unauthorized generations beyond the first, authorized planting. The court did not set clear limits on the holding, which may be the source of controversy going forward, say attorneys with McAndrews Held & Malloy Ltd.