Intellectual Property

  • March 27, 2024

    New England Patriots Defeat Stadium Wi-Fi Patent Case

    A patent-holding entity behind nearly a dozen infringement suits focused on Wi-Fi solutions for sports stadiums suffered its latest defeat Wednesday as a Boston federal judge dismissed its case against the New England Patriots and found the purported invention unpatentable.

  • March 27, 2024

    Judge Won't Sift Through IP Docs For Oil Co.'s Counterclaims

    A Colorado federal judge said it's "patently unreasonable" to expect her to comb through hundreds of pages to find support for an oil and gas equipment maker's patent invalidity allegations, as she dismissed three of the company's counterclaims. 

  • March 27, 2024

    PTAB Wrongly Found Laser IP Obvious, Fed. Circ. Rules

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday reversed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board finding that several claims of a Virtek Vision patent on aligning lasers used in manufacturing are invalid as obvious, while also siding with Virtek Vision on a cross appeal.

  • March 27, 2024

    Piracy Claims Against Bankrupt ISP Frontier Can Go Forward

    A New York bankruptcy judge Wednesday said a group of copyright holders can go to trial with claims internet service provider Frontier Communications is liable for failing to cut off customers who downloaded pirated music and movies.

  • March 26, 2024

    PTAB Tosses 'Smart Card' Patent Used Against Banks

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has found that all the claims of a Kioba Processing LLC patent on using a "smart card" to increase the security of wireless transactions are invalid as anticipated or obvious.

  • March 26, 2024

    Albright Told That Choice Hotel's Alice Ax Is 'Premature'

    Patent Armory has told Texas federal Judge Alan D. Albright that a bid to dismiss its patent lawsuit against Choice Hotels International is "premature" and should be set aside at least until fact discovery is done and claim construction has been issued.

  • March 26, 2024

    Consumers Push For New 9th Circ. Panel In Qualcomm Case

    Cellphone buyers are coming out strong against Qualcomm's request to have the same Ninth Circuit panel that vacated their class certification hear an appeal to revive the long-running antitrust litigation over the company's licensing practices, saying there is no reason for "meddling with the usual practice for assigning cases."

  • March 26, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Wrongly Invented New Design IP Rules, Justices Told

    A sportswear company wants the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on a federal circuit's ruling that created a new standard for how courts should review challenges to design patents, which was won by rival Oregon clothing giant Columbia Sportswear.

  • March 26, 2024

    USPTO Proposes New Trademark Fees For Next Year

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a proposal to add surcharges on trademark applications in cases where there isn't sufficient information, among other circumstances.

  • March 26, 2024

    Google Urges Texas Court To Undo $12M Voice Patent Verdict

    Google has asked a Texas federal court to undo a jury's finding that it owes $12 million to an app developer for infringing patents on a method for calling from multiple phone numbers using a single phone, reasserting that the technology was used commercially well before it was patented.

  • March 26, 2024

    Chewy, IBM Agree To End Online Ad Patent Dispute

    Online pet goods retailer Chewy Inc. and computing giant IBM Corp. have agreed to drop a patent fight in New York federal court, shortly after a federal appeals court wrote there was a "genuine dispute of material fact" surrounding infringement allegations tied to one of IBM's patent claims.

  • March 26, 2024

    Judge Declines 'Mini-Trial' Over Fees In 'Reply All' TM Suit

    A federal magistrate judge in Brooklyn has awarded nearly $1.1 million in legal fees to Spotify's Gimlet Media while calling out "the extensive finger-pointing and mutual accusations" from a software company and its lawyers over who owes fees after bringing a failed trademark suit targeting the "Reply All" podcast.

  • March 26, 2024

    Sony Ducks $500M PlayStation Patent Suit In Del.

    A Delaware federal court has sided with Sony in a $500 million patent infringement suit brought by Genuine Enabling Technology LLC over PlayStation consoles, marking a close to the case.

  • March 26, 2024

    Calif. Atty Tapped To Be RFK Jr.'s Running Mate

    Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday that a Silicon Valley lawyer will be his running mate as the pair make a longshot bid for the White House this year.

  • March 26, 2024

    Abbott Sues Over 3D TM Infringement Of Diabetes Device

    Abbott Diabetes has sued several companies for selling a Chinese-made glucose monitoring device with signs that allegedly look "identical" to the ones on its product.

  • March 26, 2024

    Casino Biz Seeks To Smother Rival's 'Mini Burning Hot' TM

    A casino tech company has asked a London court to revoke a competitor's trademark and clear the path for it to extend its "Burning Hot" logo portfolio after the rival company blocked a new application using its purportedly invalid "Mini Burning Hot" sign.

  • March 25, 2024

    Something In The Way Of Nirvana Logo Trial, Judge Told

    Counsel for a former record company employee who claims he created Nirvana's "smiley face" logo urged a California federal judge Monday to let him immediately appeal a ruling denying his ownership claim, and argued the band's copyright suit against designer Marc Jacobs over the logo should be delayed in the meanwhile.

  • March 25, 2024

    Calif. Judge Sick Of VLSI, Intel Filing Without Permission

    A California federal judge has chastised VLSI and Intel for overflowing the court with endless "repetitive and unhelpful" briefs, which they were never authorized to file.

  • March 25, 2024

    X Corp.'s Suit Against Hate Speech Watchdog Axed For Good

    A California federal judge firmly rejected X Corp.'s suit against a hate speech watchdog Monday, slamming the case as an attempt to punish the group for exercising its free speech rights and permanently dismissing X's claims.

  • March 25, 2024

    Judge Finalizes Ban On Taking $540M IP Fight To China

    An Illinois federal judge granted Motorola's request to stop Hytera from pursuing a non-infringement case against it in China, saying Monday that she would also start contempt proceedings in the case.

  • March 25, 2024

    Amgen Sues Colorado After Drug's 'Unaffordable' Rating

    Amgen has sued the Colorado Prescription Drug Affordability Review Board in federal court after receiving a determination that one of its arthritis drugs is "unaffordable," saying the board is using unconstitutionally "unguided discretion" to impose arbitrary price controls on patent-protected drugs.

  • March 25, 2024

    PacBio CEO's Words Haunt Patent Invalidity Arguments

    A California federal judge concluded Monday that statements made by the chief executive officer of biotech company Pacific Biosciences to investors at an earnings call undermined the company's invalidity arguments in a patent suit it's facing.

  • March 25, 2024

    PTAB Splits On Medtronic Bladder And Bowel Control Patents

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has issued split decisions that upheld one Medtronic patent covering an electrical stimulation system used to treat loss of bladder and bowel control and trimmed another patent in challenges brought by a smaller rival in the medical device field.

  • March 25, 2024

    'Blade Server' Patent Co. Scores $18M Waco Verdict

    A patent litigation outfit that has been filing suits for more than a decade over "blade server" technology has landed nearly $18 million from a jury in Waco, Texas, against a Taiwanese computer manufacturer that tried to refute the technology's importance by relying on testimony from the inventor of the USB drive.

  • March 25, 2024

    Berkshire Hathaway Unit's Patent Must Undergo 3 PGRs

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has instituted three post-grant reviews challenging a single Columbia Insurance Co. fire wall hanger patent, following petitions from Simpson Strong-Tie Company Inc.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.

  • Compliance Steps After ABA White Collar Crime Conference

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    Senior law enforcement officials’ statements this month at the American Bar Association's white collar crime conference suggest government enforcement efforts this year will increasingly focus on whistleblower incentives, artificial intelligence and data protection, and companies will need to update their compliance programs accordingly, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • 2 Issues For Venture-Backed Climate Tech Startups To Avoid

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    As climate tech startups become more common, poor equity dilution management and stacked seed financing are two common pitfalls that apply more acutely to climate tech startups than to the broader venture-backed startup space, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Cannabis Case Lights Up Benefits Of Creative IP Protection

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    A recently filed California federal court case, The Holding Company v. Pacific West Distributors, illustrates potential creative strategies cannabis companies can use to build intellectual property rights, such as combining federal and state registrations for copyrights and trademarks, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • Uncertainty Surrounds Patent Eligibility Restoration Bill

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    A recent U.S. Senate hearing regarding the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act, a bill that aims to overhaul patent eligibility law and establish clearer statutory exclusions, marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing patent eligibility debate, but the law’s fate remains uncertain as discussions continue, say attorneys at Marshall Gerstein.

  • 3 Litigation Strategies To Combat 'Safetyism'

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    Amid the rise of safetyism — the idea that every person should be free from the risk of harm or discomfort — among jurors and even judges, defense counsel can mount several tactics from the very start of litigation to counteract these views and blunt the potential for jackpot damages, says Ann Marie Duffy at Hollingsworth.

  • Infringement Policy Lessons From 4th Circ. Sony Music Ruling

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    The Fourth Circuit's recent decision in Sony Music v. Cox Communications, which in part held that the internet service provider was liable for contributing to music copyright infringement, highlights the importance of reasonable policies to terminate repeat infringers, and provides guidance for litigating claims of secondary liability, say Benjamin Marks and Alexandra Blankman at Weil.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

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    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • Tips On Numerical Range From Fed. Circ. Philip Morris Ruling

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    The Federal Circuit's recent RAI v. Philip Morris decision that a patent provided sufficient written description to support a claimed numerical range offers several takeaways for practitioners, including the need for a cautious approach to criticism of ranges, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • UMG-TikTok IP Rift Highlights Effective Rights Control Issues

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    Despite Universal Music Group's recent withdrawal of TikTok's licensing rights to its music catalog, the platform struggles to control uploads and reproductions of copyrighted material, highlighting the inherent tension between creative freedom and effective rights control in the age of social media, says Simon Goodbody at Bray & Krais.

  • 5 Things Trial Attorneys Can Learn From Good Teachers

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    Jennifer Cuculich at IMS Legal Strategies recounts lessons she learned during her time as a math teacher that can help trial attorneys connect with jurors, from the importance of framing core issues to the incorporation of different learning styles.

  • Fed. Circ. Patent Lesson: No Contradiction, No Indefiniteness

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    The Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Maxwell v. Amperex Technology highlights the complexities of construing patent claims when seemingly contradictory limitations are present, and that when a narrowing limitation overrides a broader one, they do not necessarily contradict each other, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

  • Data-Driven Insights On Optimizing PTAB Institution Decisions

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    A look at Patent Trial and Appeal Board institution decisions from the last six years highlights critical information a patent owner should know regarding trends in the board’s decision making when patents come under challenge, and which arguments to raise in preliminary responses, say Jacob Golan and Benjamin Anger at Knobbe Martens.

  • Golf Course Copyright Bill Implications Go Beyond The Green

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    A new federal bill, the BIRDIE Act, introduced in February would extend intellectual property protections to golf course designers but could undercut existing IP case law and raise broader questions about the scope of copyright protection for works that involve living elements or nonhuman authorship, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

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