Practice Areas
Industries
Intellectual Property
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May 25, 2012
SP Newsprint Gets $5M Secrets Suit Against Employees Stayed
A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Thursday stayed a Georgia action brought by a former contractor of SP Newsprint Holdings LLC, which called the $5 million trade secrets suit against three SP employees an attempted end run around its automatic stay protection.
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May 25, 2012
Fed. Circ. Upholds $12M Verdict Over Cash Counter Patent
The Federal Circuit on Friday upheld a nearly $12 million jury verdict for currency denominator maker Cummins-Allison Corp. and reversed the district court’s tossing of a claim of one of the patents-in-suit, finding substantial evidence supported the jury’s verdict.
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May 25, 2012
Google Didn't Swipe Search Features: Calif. Appeals Court
A California state appeals court on Friday affirmed a lower court’s ruling that Google Inc. did not develop its search engine using confidential information from a Los Angeles-based Internet directory and search engine startup.
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May 25, 2012
Twitter, Others Beat Messaging Co.'s Patent Suit
A Delaware federal judge on Friday dismissed Cooper Notification Inc.'s patent infringement claims accusing Twitter Inc., Federal Signal Corp. and Everbridge Inc. of infringing its methods for sending messages to several places at once.
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May 25, 2012
Allergan, Others Look To Ice Apotex Monopoly Suit
Allergan Inc. and two Japanese drug makers urged a Delaware federal court Thursday to pause Apotex Inc.'s monopolization suit over Allergan's decision to market a new formulation of Zymar until an underlying patent dispute between the companies over the eye infection medication is resolved.
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May 25, 2012
Dow Jones, S&P Shut Down ISE's Index Option Sales
An Illinois appeals court on Friday upheld a lower court's decision barring International Securities Exchange LLC from selling Dow Jones and S&P 500-linked index options without a license, agreeing that misappropriation claims by The McGraw-Hill Cos. Inc. and others aren't preempted by federal copyright law.
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May 25, 2012
Texas Co. Says Cybex Stole Secrets, Muscled Competition
A Texas fitness equipment manufacturer on Thursday hit a former employee and Cybex International Inc. with a petition in state court accusing them of conspiring to steal trade secrets and campaigning to drive the company out of business.
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May 25, 2012
6th Circ. Burns 'Texas Toast' Crouton Mark As Generic
The Sixth Circuit ruled Friday that the term “Texas toast” could not be trademarked for use on crouton packaging because it was a generic term for oversized bread products, and not for a specific company's goods.
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May 25, 2012
Nike Trounces Clothing Co.'s IP Suit By Showing First Use
Nike Inc. on Thursday beat allegations it infringed a clothing company's trademarks by using them in a promotion for the U.S. men's soccer team after a California federal judge found that Nike had first used the disputed slogan and that the marks were therefore invalid.
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May 25, 2012
Video-Linking Site Fights Porn Site's Injunction In 7th Circ.
An attorney for pornographic website operator Flava Works Inc. told the Seventh Circuit on Friday that a preliminary injunction against video-linking website myVidster.com must be upheld because the links infringe copyrights and a previous Ninth Circuit decision the defendant claims says otherwise doesn't apply.
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May 25, 2012
Fox Rothschild Boosts DC IP Practice With Roetzel Team
The former head of Roetzel & Andress LPA's intellectual property practice group, Dr. Sunwoo Lee, has joined Fox Rothschild LLP as a partner in its Washington, D.C., office, the firm announced Wednesday, bringing with him associate Benjamin Maskell and senior patent agent Donald Monin.
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May 25, 2012
NY Republican Floats Tax Break For Patent Fees
A tax-cutting New York Republican has introduced state legislation that would give would-be inventors hefty credits to offset patent application, search and examination fees, saying Friday that the bill would remove an obstacle for Empire State entrepreneurs.
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May 25, 2012
Travelers Wants To Duck Coverage Of Realtor Copyright Suits
Travelers Casualty Insurance Co. of America asked a California federal court to declare it does not owe coverage for copyright suits against the operators of a real estate listing website because the site's operators willfully infringed the copyrights of the two rival companies that sued.
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May 24, 2012
Calif. Panel OKs Bill For New Unit Targeting Counterfeiters
A California Senate panel on Thursday approved a bill aiming to fight piracy by setting up an information gathering unit to help track down counterfeiters and others who are draining the state of an estimated $8 billion in tax revenues a year.
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May 24, 2012
Android Patent Win A Boon For Google, Attys Say
Google Inc.'s victory over Oracle Corp.'s patent infringement claims related to the Android mobile device platform may cause rival technology companies to think twice before challenging the search giant in the future, as Google has continued to bolster its already formidable patent portfolio in recent months, attorneys said Thursday.
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May 24, 2012
Eversheds Picks Up Dewey IP Leader For Paris Office
U.K.-based Eversheds LLP became the latest firm to pick up a former Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP partner on Thursday, strengthening its Paris office with the addition of a partner specializing in intellectual property, international trade and technology matters.
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May 24, 2012
EU High Court Jump-Starts Formula One Trademark Row
The European Union's highest court on Thursday revived a challenge by the licensing arm of Formula One auto racing to another company's bid for an EU-wide trademark using the term "F1," ruling that a lower court improperly called into question the validity of Formula One's own marks.
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May 24, 2012
FDA User Fee Bill Easily Slides Through Senate
The U.S. Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly approved legislation authorizing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to collect $2.8 billion in user fees from the drug and device industries, after a strenuous effort to keep controversial and anti-industry amendments, including one targeting pay-for-delay agreements, out of the bill.
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May 24, 2012
Security Firm Says Ex-Exec Helping Rival Nab Army Contract
Security firm International Biometric Group LLC on Monday sued rival Intrepid Solutions and Services Inc. and a former executive who switched companies, claiming he plans to use confidential information to help Intrepid snag a military intelligence contract, violating his IBG employment contract.
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May 24, 2012
Combined Prior Art Nixes Joint Patent, Fed. Circ. Rules
The Federal Circuit ruled Thursday that a reissue application for a patent on artificial joints would have been obvious because one skilled in the art would have been motivated to combine two earlier patents to arrive at the claimed invention.
Expert Analysis
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Charting A Course For Post-AIA False Marking Litigation
The America Invents Act has defanged false marking profiteers, but it has also imposed significant new burdens on a potential false marking plaintiff or counterclaimant, say Claire Laporte and Catherine Deneke of Foley Hoag LLP.
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Counterfeit Parts Report — A Guide For Contractors, DOD
The Senate Armed Services Committee's report on counterfeit parts is dramatic and powerful evidence that strong measures are needed at many levels of the U.S. Department of Defense supply chain to reduce vulnerability to counterfeit parts. It gives all companies in the defense supply chain a lot to study and much to learn from, say Robert Metzger and Jeffery Chiow of Rogers Joseph O’Donnell PC.
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Inside NJ’s Trade Secrets Act
In order to take full advantage of the rights and protections afforded by New Jersey's new Trade Secrets Act, trade secret owners should establish at least six protection guidelines, says Joseph Agostino of Greenberg Traurig LLP.
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Clarifying Infringement Liability Under Hatch-Waxman
The recent Delaware district court decision in Research Foundation of State University of New York v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. adds to the growing body of law holding that branded pharmaceutical companies may bring an infringement suit pursuant to § 271(e)(2)(A) against a potential generic competitor in the absence of a Paragraph IV certification, say Christine Willgoos and Evan Diamond of Paul Hastings LLP.
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An 'Obvious' Ruling In Abilify Composition Patent Case
A lead compound analysis is a common-sense guide in determining obviousness for new pharmaceuticals. It plays an important role in defending pharmaceutical development from improper hindsight bias, as demonstrated in the Federal Circuit's holding in Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. v. Sandoz Inc., regarding the anti-psychotic drug Abilify, say Brian Trinque and Giulio DeConti of Lathrop & Gage LLP.
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Case Study: Rosetta Stone V. Google
The Fourth Circuit's highly anticipated ruling in Rosetta Stone Ltd. v. Google Inc. implicitly acknowledges that keyword advertising programs are being used by some advertisers for deceptive purpose, and could renew interest in search engines as potential targets for trademark enforcement actions, say Sheldon Klein and Ashley Ewald of Gray Plant Mooty.
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Best Practices For Corporate Social Responsibility
As with many industries, the legal services industry has adapted to the demand for sustainability practices. An effective Corporate Social Responsibility program will manifest itself in all strategic planning, from best firm employee practices and environmental sustainability to providing legal services, recruiting and retention of employees, business development, marketing and philanthropy, says Howard Dakoff of Levenfeld Pearlstein LLC.
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Applying Prometheus To Myriad: Possible Outcomes
The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Mayo Medical Laboratories v. Prometheus Laboratories has been extensively discussed in the media, but its possible impact on the Federal Circuit decision in Myriad has received much less attention. Prometheus increases the invalidity risk for the isolated BRCA DNA claims of Myriad and other patents having similar claims, says Barry Wilson of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP.
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The UMG-EMI Merger And The Substitutability Of Sound
Given the heightened scrutiny placed on digital sampling after the Bridgeport decision, musicians face increased pressure to get a license to sample a sound recording. It is possible that Universal Music Group's intended purchase of EMI's recorded-music business would lead to higher prices, lower output, and a loss of original and innovative music, says Daniel Vitelli of Constantine Cannon LLP.
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Dallas — No Place For Markman Drama?
It is always priceless when judges provide insights into their thought processes. Judge David Godbey of the Northern District of Texas recently informed us all that he prefers the simple pleasures of the written word to watching a claim construction soap opera play out in his courtroom, says Gaston Kroub of Locke Lord LLP.