Intellectual Property

  • March 20, 2024

    Spanish Investment Co. Beats Slovak TM Opposition In EU

    A Spanish investment company has won an appeal to revive its trademark application, as European officials ruled that buyers of financial services paid a "high degree of attention" and wouldn't think that the sign was linked to a Slovak company.

  • March 20, 2024

    Digital Comms Filings Bolster Record EPO Applications

    Companies and inventors filed the highest number of European patent applications to date in 2023, buoyed by marked increases in filings for digital communications and energy technologies.

  • March 20, 2024

    Tech Partner Takes Reins Of New AI Team At Phillips Lytle

    Phillips Lytle this week became one of the latest firms to unveil a dedicated team focused on artificial intelligence, with a partner experienced in technology and business matters poised to lead that group of seven attorneys overall.

  • March 20, 2024

    EU Commission Builds 'Toolkit' To Fight Counterfeiting

    The European Commission has adopted new measures to crack down on counterfeiting aimed at strengthening intellectual property rights by increasing the sanctions for criminal offenses while also designating a single contact point for enforcement issues. 

  • March 20, 2024

    Boehringer Wins Diabetes Treatment Patent On Appeal In EU

    Boehringer Ingelheim saved its diabetes drug patent from the chopping block after a European appellate board ruled that the treatment for patients with moderately damaged kidneys was new and innovative despite eight oppositions.

  • March 20, 2024

    Stroller Co., Music Publisher Agree To End IP Row Over Song

    Music distributor Third Side Music Inc. and car-seat maker Evenflo Co. Inc. have agreed to end a lawsuit that claimed Evenflo used a "sound-alike" song in its advertisements that allegedly infringed Third Side's rights to music by the electronic band Sofi Tukker, according to a filing in Ohio federal court.

  • March 20, 2024

    Upper Deck Settles Suit Over 1998 Michael Jordan Photo

    Upper Deck and the owner of a 1988 photo of NBA legend Michael Jordan have agreed to settle a California federal lawsuit that accused the trading card giant of making millions off the famous photograph without permission. 

  • March 20, 2024

    How The Supreme Court Could Narrow Chevron

    After hours of oral argument in a closely watched administrative law case, it appeared that some U.S. Supreme Court justices could be open to limiting the opportunities for lower courts to defer to federal agencies' legal interpretations in disputes over rulemaking — and legal experts said there are a number of ways they could do it.

  • March 20, 2024

    EU's AI Act Disclosure Rules Could Spark Further Litigation

    The European Union's new artificial intelligence law included some welcome guardrails to protect intellectual property rights. But lawyers say it remains to be seen whether these new rules will bridge the gap between concerned rights holders and AI pioneers.

  • March 20, 2024

    Law360 Announces The Members Of Its 2024 Editorial Boards

    Law360 is pleased to announce the formation of its 2024 Editorial Advisory Boards.

  • March 20, 2024

    Fight Over NFL Star's Statue Hinges On Who Holds Copyright

    The works of sculptors, like those of other artists, are protected by the fair use doctrine in U.S. copyright law, while photographers also have copyright protection for their work when others try to use it for their own profit. The intersection of those rights complicates a rare copyright infringement suit against the NFL and the Detroit Lions over a statue of Hall of Fame player Barry Sanders, experts say.

  • March 20, 2024

    US Chamber's Litigation Funding Concerns Spur 2 State Laws

    Amid concerns from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce about third-party litigation funding, including from potentially hostile foreign entities, state legislatures in Indiana and West Virginia have recently passed bills imposing restrictions on the practice.

  • March 20, 2024

    Wise Hits Back At Bad Faith TM Allegations From Tech Rival

    Payments firm Wise has hit back at a counterclaim from software company WithWise, urging the High Court to reject WithWise's claim that Wise's trademark is invalid because it is overbroad and being used as a legal weapon.

  • March 20, 2024

    Google Fined €250M By France For Media Copyright Breaches

    France's competition regulator said Wednesday that it has hit Google with a €250 million ($271 million) fine for using content from news agencies without alerting them or payment.

  • March 19, 2024

    2 Men Behind Chinese Co. Stole Tesla Trade Secrets, Feds Say

    Brooklyn federal prosecutors have charged a Canadian man residing in China and his Chinese business partner with scheming to sell secret battery manufacturing technology that belongs to Tesla, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

  • March 19, 2024

    Copyright Office Prevails In British Sculptor's Challenge

    The U.S. Copyright Office was within its rights to refuse registration to an artist after finding that his sculpture "lacks the necessary level of creativity to warrant copyright protection," a D.C. federal judge ruled Monday, finding that the Copyright Office didn't err in its analysis of the sculpture.

  • March 19, 2024

    Schumer Scolds McConnell For Judge-Shopping Policy Rebuff

    Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday lauded the Judicial Conference's updated policy on random case assignments to prevent litigants from judge-shopping, saying that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is pushing back against the policy since it'd make it tough for hard-right partisans "to hijack our courts for their purposes."

  • March 19, 2024

    USPTO Stresses Clarity On Means-Plus-Function Patents

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office told patent examiners Tuesday to provide "consistent and clear analyses" when evaluating patent applications containing so-called means-plus-function claims, saying that will ensure any issues are addressed early in the process.

  • March 19, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Backs PTAB Invalidation Of Sisvel Wireless Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday backed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision that found many claims in a Sisvel patent on improving the efficiency of LTE wireless networks for cellphones were invalid as obvious.

  • March 19, 2024

    Acorda Says Tribunal Ignored Patent Law In MS Drug Feud

    Acorda Pharmaceuticals is pressing the Federal Circuit to award it nearly $66 million more than the $16.5 million it won in arbitration against Irish biopharmaceutical company Alkermes in a licensing fight over a multiple sclerosis drug, arguing that the tribunal disregarded clear patent law.

  • March 19, 2024

    Reddit Reveals Patent Complaint From Nokia As IPO Nears

    Reddit Inc. on Tuesday said it received a letter from Nokia Corp. alleging that it has infringed certain Nokia patents, a disclosure that comes just ahead of the social media platform's long-anticipated initial public offering.

  • March 19, 2024

    Netflix Can't Get PTAB To Ax Patent Amid Ownership Dispute

    A board of administrative patent judges has decided to shut down its review of a data communications network patent that a Finnish businessman claimed to own, after a federal court in California ruled earlier this year that he had transferred the patent nearly two decades ago to a startup that eventually went bankrupt.

  • March 19, 2024

    Law Firm Hit With Suit Over Abandoned Patent Application

    A Louisiana-based medical software company has sued a law firm that was hired to help it with an application for a patent for its platform, saying the firm's alleged negligence led to the application being abandoned.

  • March 19, 2024

    Full 4th Circ. Won't Hear Record Labels' Piracy Fight With ISP

    The Fourth Circuit will not reconsider its decision to vacate a $1 billion verdict against Cox Communications for allowing piracy on its networks, it said Tuesday, despite neither side being happy with its ruling.

  • March 19, 2024

    NY Times Says Microsoft's AI 'Free-Riding' Threatens Revenue

    The New York Times blasted Microsoft's contention that the paper hasn't provided "real-world" examples of ChatGPT lifting its content, contending Monday its complaint references "widely-publicized" occurrences of infringement and that Microsoft and OpenAI's actions reduce the publication's revenue by keeping users within the tech companies' search ecosystem.

Expert Analysis

  • Best Practices For Defense Tech Startup Financing

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    Navigating the expanding and highly regulated defense technology sector requires careful planning and execution, starting at incorporation, so startups should prepare for foreign investor issues, choose their funding wisely and manage their funds carefully, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • 'Trump Too Small' Args Show Justices Inclined To Reverse

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    The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in the "Trump Too Small" trademark case Vidal v. Elster — and the tenor of the justices' feedback makes it clear that the refusal to register a mark under the Lanham Act most likely does not violate free speech rights, as opposed to the Federal Circuit's decision last year, says Brian Brookey at Tucker Ellis.

  • FTC Orange Book Move Signals New Pharma Patent Scrutiny

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent dispute against improper listing of drug patents in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Orange Book indicates heightened surveillance of the pharmaceutical industry, particularly where competition-related consequences of patent or regulatory processes are concerned, say attorneys at Fenwick.

  • AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

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    Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Why The Effect Of Vivint Has Been Minimal

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    A survey of recent ex parte reexamination decisions since the Federal Circuit’s 2021 In re: Vivint decision appears to support the court’s conclusion that the ruling was limited in scope and would have limited impact, says Yao Wang at Fish & Richardson.

  • Transparency And Explainability Are Critical To AI Compliance

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    Although there is not yet a comprehensive law governing artificial intelligence, regulators have tools to hold businesses accountable, and companies need to focus on ensuring that consumers and key stakeholders understand how their AI systems operate and make decisions, say Chanley Howell and Lauren Hudon at Foley & Lardner.

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

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    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • How Social Media Can Affect Trial Outcomes

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    With social media’s ability to seize upon an issue and spin it into a specifically designed narrative, it is more critical than ever that a litigation communications strategy be part of trial planning to manage the impact of legal action on a company's reputation, say Sean Murphy and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

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    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • The Scope Of Challenged Claims After Fed. Circ. Sisvel Ruling

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    Joshua Weisenfeld at Sheppard Mullin considers the Federal Circuit's recent Sisvel v. Sierra decision and its impact on claim construction and post-issuance claim amendments that broaden the scope of challenged claims.

  • A Look At Healthcare Timelines Set By Biden's AI Order

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    President Joe Biden's artificial intelligence executive order establishes standards for using AI in the healthcare industry, including a number of staggered deadlines that should help coordinate a more unified federal approach to AI governance, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Trending At The PTAB: Administrative Procedure

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    A pair of recent Federal Circuit rulings on Patent Trial and Appeal Board inter partes review shed light on applications of the Administrative Procedure Act, adding to an ever-growing body of case law showing the board's final written decision must be based on arguments clearly put forth by the parties, say Robert High and Benjamin Saidman at Finnegan.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

  • First-Of-Its-Kind Artist AI Ruling Offers Liability Guidance

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    A California judge recently became the first federal judge in Andersen v. Stability AI to rule at the pleading stage on a challenge to claims that training artificial intelligence models involves mass-scale copyright infringement, providing insight into the potential legal exposure of AI-enabled products, say attorneys at Fenwick.

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

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    Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

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