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Intellectual Property
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Featured
High Court's 'Narrow' Jack Daniel's Opinion Having Big Impact
When the U.S. Supreme Court decided a year ago that the maker of a squeaky dog toy that looks like a Jack Daniel’s whiskey bottle had no free speech protections against trademark infringement claims, the justices described their holding as narrow, but lawyers and academics are now suggesting the opinion is having broader implications.
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June 12, 2024
Biden Names Picks For Minn., Calif. And Pa. District Courts
President Joe Biden announced nominees Wednesday for district courts in Minnesota, California and Pennsylvania.
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June 11, 2024
Martin Shkreli Told To Hand Over Wu-Tang Album
A New York federal judge ordered Martin Shkreli on Tuesday to hand over any copies he might have of the Wu-Tang Clan's album he once bought before it was sold off by the federal government to settle a $7.3 million tab from Shkreli's criminal judgment on securities fraud.
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June 11, 2024
Calif. Judge Won't Let Apple Escape Tech Patent Case
A California federal judge has found Apple can't dodge a patent suit, allowing claims to move forward that the tech giant's "back tap" feature infringes a patent owned by technology company Haptic Inc.
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June 11, 2024
Quinn Emanuel Swapped Sides For X Suit, Data Co. Says
Israeli data collector Bright Data Ltd. asked a California federal judge on Tuesday to disqualify law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP from representing social media company X Corp., which is suing Bright Data over its data-scraping practices, accusing the firm, which was once contracted by the data company for advice in a similar matter, of switching sides.
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June 11, 2024
Fed. Circ. Reinstates Parts Of Blood Analyzer Secrets Verdict
The Federal Circuit decided Tuesday that a Rhode Island jury was right to find that an Italian company's blood analyzer computer code was stolen by a U.S. rival, but another jury will have to determine any damages.
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June 11, 2024
AI No Scarier Than Nail Guns Or Microscopes, Kappos Says
Former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director David Kappos cautioned attorneys Tuesday to "keep ourselves grounded" about the use of artificial intelligence in intellectual property, saying it's just a tool like a microscope or nail gun, rather than something justifying "panic."
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June 11, 2024
6th Circ. Judge Wary Of Party Dissenters' 'Right' To Use Logo
A Sixth Circuit judge seemed skeptical on Tuesday that limiting a dissenting faction of the Libertarian Party of Michigan's use of the name and logo of the Libertarian National Committee infringes the group's speech rights, saying members can still voice their opinions.
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June 11, 2024
NCAA Hit With NIL Suit By '83 Wolfpack Players
Members of North Carolina State University's 1983 championship basketball team have accused the National Collegiate Athletic Association of exploiting their names, images and likenesses for profit.
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June 11, 2024
Adeia, X Reach Deal In IP Dispute
A California federal judge has agreed to stay a case where X, formerly known as Twitter, filed a declaratory judgment action against Adeia, while the parties work through a settlement.
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June 11, 2024
Ex-DraftKings Exec Seeks Fast Trial To Test Noncompete Law
A former DraftKings executive wants a snap trial to unwind a noncompete blocking him from work at sports-betting rival Fanatics, calling the fiercely litigated, bicoastal dispute a "test case" for California's recent law reinforcing a ban on restrictive covenants.
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June 11, 2024
ArentFox Adds 17-Person Team From Burns & Levinson
A few months after adding a four-partner automotive team from Burns & Levinson LLP, ArentFox Schiff LLP on Tuesday announced the addition of 17 more attorneys and professionals from the firm with experience ranging from intellectual property matters to business litigation.
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June 11, 2024
Cigar Co. Can Keep Using Contested 'Dragon' Name For Now
A tobacco company facing a rival's copyright infringement lawsuit over its "Year of the Dragon" cigar boxes can keep using the phrase on products, a Florida federal judge ruled, declining to say the plaintiff is the true owner of the phrase because the company hasn't secured the trademark just yet.
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June 11, 2024
Paramount Asks Court To Send 'Top Gun' IP Suit Packing
Paramount Pictures has asked a California federal court to dismiss a right of publicity complaint from the actor who played Henry "Wolfman" Ruth in the original "Top Gun" movie, saying his claim over a photo of his character included in the film's sequel without his permission falls squarely under the so-called Rogers test, a free speech doctrine that protects expressive works.
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June 11, 2024
10 Firms Seek $13M Fee For Effexor Antitrust Deal
Ten law firms asked a New Jersey federal judge on Monday to award $13 million in counsel fees and an additional $2.1 million in costs for representing direct buyers in a $39 million settlement with Pfizer Inc. unit Wyeth over an alleged scheme to delay generic competition for the antidepressant drug Effexor XR.
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June 11, 2024
Longtime Orrick IP Partner Jumps To White & Case In DC
An Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP partner, who spent over 14 years with the firm litigating a range of patent and other matters, has joined White & Case LLP to continue working on intellectual property appellate issues, the firm announced Tuesday.
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June 11, 2024
After Circling Globe, IP Litigator Returns To Fish & Richardson
Fish & Richardson PC has strengthened its intellectual property litigation group in Houston with a familiar face who left the firm over a year ago to trot the globe with his wife.
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June 11, 2024
Immigration Firm Says Rival Poached Workers And Stole TM
A Washington immigration law firm specializing in visas for domestic violence and sex trafficking victims is accusing a competing Texas firm of poaching its employees and stealing a Spanish phrase it registered a trademark for — "Arreglar sin salir!" — which translates to "fix without leaving."
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June 10, 2024
Microsoft Wants $242M IP Verdict Axed Or Cut To $1.9M
Microsoft has urged a Delaware federal judge to toss a $242 million jury verdict that found Microsoft's virtual assistant Cortana infringed a patent originally issued to a company that developed Apple's Siri software, arguing infringement wasn't proven and the "grossly inflated" award should at least be cut to $1.95 million.
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June 10, 2024
5 Teva Inhaler Patents Kicked Out Of Orange Book
A New Jersey federal judge said Monday that a handful of patents covering Teva-brand asthma inhalers were "improperly listed in the Orange Book," a legal holding that U.S. Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan quickly took some credit for.
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June 10, 2024
Biz Defends $525M Data Storage Patent Win Against Amazon
Efforts by Amazon to dislodge a $525 million jury verdict are too late and amount to sour grapes, a small Chicago software company that won the amount has told an Illinois federal court.
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June 10, 2024
USPTO Makes Filing Delist Requests Slightly Easier
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will begin to make it easier for anybody to ask the agency to delist "precedential" administrative board rulings, it announced by email on Monday.
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June 10, 2024
Software Alliance Urges Congress To Tackle Deepfakes
The Software Alliance, a trade group that includes Microsoft Corp., Adobe Inc. and IBM, urged Congress Monday to pass legislation that addresses the proliferation of digital replicas made possible with artificial intelligence, telling lawmakers that unauthorized deepfakes harm artists who rely on their reputation and public recognition.
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June 10, 2024
Pink Floyd Secures TRO Against Site In Counterfeit Merch Suit
Pink Floyd secured an emergency order on Monday blocking a website from using the band's name on apparel and other products, days after suing the website for allegedly selling counterfeit merchandise and using offshore bank accounts to evade detection.
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June 10, 2024
Ex-Sports Illustrated Publisher Countersues Owner In TM Row
The former publisher of Sports Illustrated has filed a countersuit alleging that the magazine's owner, Authentic Brands Group, made it impossible to run the magazine and then conspired to install a competitor as the new publisher.
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June 10, 2024
Another Ex-Sheppard Mullin IP Atty Joins Dickinson Wright
Dickinson Wright PLLC has added another intellectual property attorney from Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP to its Silicon Valley office, saying Monday that she arrives with more than 1,000 past U.S. and international patent matters under her belt.
Editor's Picks
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Fed. Circ.'s Fight With Newman: A Year In Review
One year has passed since it came to light that the Federal Circuit's judges were investigating whether their colleague, U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman, was mentally competent to remain on the court. In that time, Judge Newman has garnered support from many in the patent community, but has faced a series of setbacks in her legal challenges.
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Why IP Attys Are Watching This $2B Trade Secrets Battle
A case of alleged corporate espionage involving two software companies that resulted in a $2 billion verdict has all the hallmarks of a legal thriller, and attorneys are watching the appeal closely to see how it could impact trade secrets litigation.
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Trials After PTAB Invalidity Rulings Present Tricky Issues
A recent case illustrates that Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions finding patents invalid do not necessarily preclude a district court from holding an infringement trial on the same patents, though attorneys say such a scenario could raise some challenging issues.
Expert Analysis
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Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent
As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.
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Momofuku Chili War May Chill Common Phrase TM Apps
Momofuku’s recent trademark battle over the “Chili Crunch” mark shows that over-enforcement when protecting exclusivity rights may backfire not just in the public eye, but with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as well, says Anthony Panebianco at Davis Malm.
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Trademark In Artistic Works 1 Year After Jack Daniel's
In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court's Jack Daniel's v. VIP Products ruling, courts have applied Jack Daniel's inconsistently to deny First Amendment protection to artistic works, providing guidance for dismissing trademark claims relating to film and TV titles, say Hardy Ehlers and Neema Sahni at Covington.
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NCAA Settlement May End The NIL Model As We Know It
The recent House v. NCAA settlement in California federal court, in which the NCAA agreed to allow schools to directly pay March Madness television revenue to their athletes, may send outside name, image and likeness collectives in-house, says Mike Ingersoll at Womble Bond.
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Legal Battles Show Brands' Dilemma In Luxury Resale Trend
Recent litigation, such as Chanel's pending case against The RealReal, underscores the intricate balance luxury brands must strike between protecting their trademarks and embracing the burgeoning secondhand market that values sustainability, says Prachi Ajmera at Michelman & Robinson.
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AI-Generated Soundalikes Pose Right Of Publicity Issues
Artificial intelligence voice generators have recently proliferated, allowing users to create new voices or manipulate existing vocals with no audio engineering expertise, and although soundalikes may be permissible in certain cases, they likely violate the right of publicity of the person who is being mimicked, says Matthew Savare at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Why Jurors Balk At 'I Don't Recall' — And How To Respond
Jurors often react negatively to a witness who responds “I don’t remember” because they tend to hold erroneous beliefs about the nature of human memory, but attorneys can adopt a few strategies to mitigate the impact of these biases, say Steve Wood and Ava Hernández at Courtroom Sciences.
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Beware Of Trademark Scammers Leveraging USPTO Data
Amid a recent uptick in fraudulent communications directed at trademark applicants, registrants must understand how to protect themselves and their brand from fraudulent schemes and solicitation, say Michael Kelber and Alexandra Maloney at Neal Gerber.
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Series
Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
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10 Tips To Build Trust With Your Witness During Trial Prep
Preparing a witness for deposition or trial requires more than just legal skills — lawyers must also work to cultivate trust with the witness, using strategies ranging from wearing a hat when conducting mock cross-examination to offering them a ride to court before they testify, say Faye Paul Teller and Sara McDermott at Munger Tolles.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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PTAB Rulings Shed Light On Quantum Computing Patents
Recent Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions on enablement rejections against quantum computing patent claims provide patent practitioners with valuable guidance on best practices for avoiding and overcoming enablement, say Fred Qiu and Alex Nie at Sheppard Mullin.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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Fed. Circ. Rulings Crystallize Polymorph Patent 'Obviousness'
A comparison of two recent Federal Circuit obviousness challenge decisions regarding polymorph patents provides helpful insight into the assessment of screening arguments, particularly the issue of reasonable expectation of success, say Michael Green and John Molenda at Steptoe.