Intellectual Property

  • April 09, 2024

    Court OKs Decision Clearing Contractor Of Missed IP Deadline

    A patent docketing contractor used by major remote law firm FisherBroyles can't be held liable for a "clerical mistake" that led to a missed patent application deadline and then a neurosurgeon's lawsuit potentially seeking nearly $102 million, with a Georgia appeals court affirming a lower court decision that the surgeon never should have relied on those dates in the first place.

  • April 09, 2024

    Medieval Times Drops Appeal In TM Battle With Union

    Medieval Times has dropped its bid to revive trademark infringement claims against the labor union representing its entertainers, according to a filing in the Third Circuit.

  • April 09, 2024

    Ex-DraftKings Exec Loses Bid For $310K In Atty Fees

    A California federal judge will not award the $310,000 in attorney fees a former DraftKings executive claims it cost to handle the ping-ponging of his lawsuit between federal and state court, ruling the removal at the behest of his ex-employer was "suspect" but not unreasonable.

  • April 09, 2024

    'Education Lawyers' Challenge Isn't Over At TTAB, Firm Says

    Jacobson & John LLP's claim that its use of the marketing phrase "The Education Lawyers" has gone unchallenged for five years blatantly misled a Pennsylvania federal court about the phrase's incontestability as a trademark, according to a rival firm's bid to keep its trademark challenge alive there.

  • April 09, 2024

    Chinese Co. Wants To Nix Abbott's 3D TM For Diabetes Tech

    A group of Chinese companies hit back at Abbott's claims that they copied a 3D trademark for a continuous glucose monitoring device, arguing that the product's features shouldn't be protected in the first place.

  • April 09, 2024

    Gaming Co. Fires Back In 'Burning Hot' TM Clash With Rival

    A casino gaming business has hit back at a challenge to the validity of its "Mini Burning Hot" trademark, arguing that its rival is trying to relitigate earlier proceedings and alleging that the competitor's U.K. trademark protections are invalid.

  • April 08, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Says Law Taken Out Of Context In IP Fraud Defense

    U.S. Circuit Judge Todd Hughes on Monday told the attorney for the owner of a patent enforcement company that his attempt to beat a contempt order for his client involved reading a key rule out of context.

  • April 08, 2024

    Film Producer To Take $5.7M 9th Circ. Award Fight To Justices

    An investor in a failed venture to develop a "revolutionary" chemical-manufacturing technology has said he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether a $5.7 million arbitral award issued to the venture's founders was properly enforced by the Ninth Circuit.

  • April 08, 2024

    Nvidia Copied 'Modulus' Mark, Financial Software Co. Says

    Nvidia has been hit with a trademark infringement action in Texas federal court by competitor Modulus Financial Engineering accusing Nvidia of illegally using an identical "Modulus" mark in connection with Nvidia's open-source framework and artificial intelligence software, without Modulus Financial's permission.

  • April 08, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Won't Touch ITC's Sonos Ruling

    Neither Google nor its legal foe at speaker brand Sonos was able to persuade the Federal Circuit on Monday to change a mixed holding from the U.S. International Trade Commission that allowed some redesigned Google Home products to stay on the market.

  • April 08, 2024

    Hytera's IMs With Chinese Court Don't Sway Judge

    An Illinois federal judge told Hytera Communications on Monday it still had not done enough to be free of serious sanctions for continuing a Chinese intellectual property suit against her orders, saying recent instant messages between Hytera and the Chinese court were not proof the case was officially over.

  • April 08, 2024

    Jury Finds Patent Claims Invalid In Suit Against Nokia

    Lawyers for a Texas patent litigation outfit have convinced jurors in Marshall, Texas, that Nokia infringed one of three telecom patents that were issued nearly two decades ago to a now-bankrupt Israeli tech company, but were stuck with a verdict that found claims in that patent as well as another are invalid.

  • April 08, 2024

    Norton, Quinn Emanuel Rip Contempt Order In $600M IP Case

    A more than $600 million judgment against NortonLifeLock for infringing Columbia University patents, based partly on a contempt finding against its former law firm, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, is "indefensible" and cannot stand, the company and the firm have told the Federal Circuit.

  • April 08, 2024

    Vidal Wants PTAB To Take Fresh Look At Radiator Patent Fight

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has to take another look at its decision not to review a fight against a patent covering a way to stop decay on radiators in vehicles, the head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has ruled.

  • April 08, 2024

    Paramount Wins IP Dogfight Against 'Top Gun' Story Heirs

    A California federal judge has thrown out a copyright suit against Paramount Pictures Corp. filed by the family of a writer behind the source material of the film "Top Gun," finding that the entertainment giant did not infringe copyrighted material in the sequel, "Top Gun: Maverick."

  • April 08, 2024

    Starbucks Drops TM Suit After Fake Websites Go Dark

    Starbucks has agreed to drop a trademark lawsuit claiming a pair of websites ripped off its "twin-tailed siren" logo and other brand material to sell fake franchise deals, saying in a recent Washington federal court filing that the allegedly unauthorized activity has stopped.

  • April 08, 2024

    Ex-BigLaw Atty Takes Stalking Injunction Bid To State Court

    A former Greenberg Traurig LLP partner suing a social media influencer in a $150 million case alleging the influencer falsely accused the attorney of abuse in online videos on Monday moved to Florida state court an injunction petition to have the videos taken down. 

  • April 08, 2024

    Hogan Lovells Recruits 3M Atty In DC Amid PFAS Focus

    A former U.S. Department of Justice trial attorney has joined Hogan Lovells in Washington, D.C., from 3M Co. as businesses face growing regulatory scrutiny and litigation over chemicals known as PFAS, the firm announced Monday.

  • April 08, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Backs PTAB Decision Axing VLSI Patent Claims

    The Federal Circuit on Monday upheld a decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that found claims of a VLSI computer memory patent invalid in a challenge by Intel.

  • April 08, 2024

    New Balance, Golden Goose Agree To End 'Dad Shoe' IP Row

    New Balance and rival shoe brand Golden Goose have settled a trademark infringement dispute over a style of chunky "Dad" sneakers sold by the two companies, according to a court filing.

  • April 05, 2024

    Apple Asks Fed. Circ. To Upend ITC Watch Feature Ban

    The U.S. International Trade Commission overstepped its authority in banning the import of the Apple Watch after finding it infringes Masimo Corp. patents on technology measuring oxygen in blood, Apple told the Federal Circuit on Friday, saying Masimo rushed its claims before the commission without having a product practicing the asserted patents.

  • April 05, 2024

    Intel Takes VLSI License Defense To Texas After Dismissal

    Intel brought its effort to secure a ruling that it has a license to VLSI chip patents in a multibillion-dollar dispute to a Texas court Friday, after a California judge unsealed a dismissal order holding that contract language barred her from deciding the issue.

  • April 05, 2024

    SITO Mobile Can't Get Fed. Circ. To Revive Patents

    The Federal Circuit decided on Friday to leave unchanged a handful of patent board rulings lost by a bankrupt mobile tech company that has since launched suits against streamers such as Hulu and the fuboTV brand.

  • April 07, 2024

    7th Circ. Won't Save Hytera From 'Self-Inflicted' Wounds

    A Seventh Circuit panel this weekend said Hytera Communications could not be trusted after it filed a Chinese lawsuit behind an Illinois court's back and brought a $1 million daily fine upon itself, as a federal judge said she needed written proof that a Chinese court had really dismissed the suit.

  • April 05, 2024

    Abbott Settles TM Suit Over Gray Market Diabetes Test Strips

    Abbott Laboratories told a New York federal judge Friday that the company has settled what remains of its trademark litigation campaign against makers of gray market diabetes test strips that has been going on since 2015.

Expert Analysis

  • The Fed. Circ. In Nov.: Factual Support And Appellate Standing

    The Federal Circuit's recent Allgenesis Biotherapeutics v. Cloud Break Therapeutics decision shows that appellate standing requires specific factual support, underscoring the necessary requirements for a patent challenger in an appeal from an inter partes review at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, say Jeremiah Helm and Sean Murray at Knobbe Martens.

  • How Color Psychology Can Help Tell Your Trial Narrative

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    Research shows that color is a powerful sensory input that affects memory and perception, so attorneys should understand how, when and why to use certain shades in trial graphics to enhance their narrative and draw jurors’ focus, says Adam Bloomberg at IMS Consulting.

  • A Comparison Of Patent Dispute Resolution In US And China

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    As the U.S. and China are the two most significant arenas for patent disputes, multinational corporations must be able to navigate their patent dispute systems, which differ in speed, cost and potential damage awards, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Understanding Discovery Obligations In Era Of Generative AI

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Attorneys and businesses must adapt to the unique discovery challenges presented by generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbot content and prompts, while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and compliance with legal obligations in federal civil litigation, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • New Legal Frameworks Are Instrumental For AI In Music

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    As artificial intelligence encroaches — or complements — the deeply human art of music making, creating harmony between law and technology will require all stakeholders in the music industry to provide input on intellectual property and ethical concerns, say Ariela Benchlouch and Gai Sher at Greenspoon Marder.

  • IP Suits Over Brand Owner Font Use Offer Cautionary Tales

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    Dyan Finguerra-DuCharme and Mallory Chandler at Pryor Cashman consider the history of fonts and point to recent court decisions that show how brand owners can avoid legal typeface troubles.

  • Copyright Ruling A Victory For Innovation In Publishing Sector

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    The D.C. Circuit’s recent ruling in Valancourt v. Garland shows that demanding book copies without paying for them is arguably property theft, proving that the practice stifles innovation in the publishing industry by disincentivizing small printing companies from entering the market due to a fear of high costs and outdated government regulations, says Zvi Rosen at Southern Illinois University School of Law.

  • 3 Rulings Illustrate Infringement Hurdles For Hip-Hop Plaintiffs

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    Three district court decisions dismissing hip-hop copyright claims recently came down in quick succession, indicating that plaintiffs face significant hurdles when they premise claims on the use of words, phrases and themes that are common in the genre, say Benjamin Halperin and Shiara Robinson at Cowan DeBaets.

  • Rethinking Tech Contract Terms For Governance Of AI Use

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    Traditional considerations in technology deals are often inadequate for governing artificial intelligence use, which means lawyers should revisit and reimagine existing terms across the full spectrum of relevant contracts, ranging from procurement agreements and data licenses to customer agreements, say Marina Aronchik and Samuel Hartman at Mayer Brown.

  • Deploying Analogies To Explore AI Copyright Questions

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    Xin Shao at F. Chau & Associates translates two representative artificial intelligence copyright cases into more traditional copyright law scenarios to facilitate the direct application of legal theories to undisputed technological facts.

  • The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms

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    In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.

  • What's At Stake In Bystolic 'Side Deals' Litigation

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    In re: Bystolic Antitrust Litigation, which has oral argument set for next month, will likely shed light on how the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit views side deals, and could create a circuit split in pleading standards for reverse payment cases, say attorneys at Axinn.

  • Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary

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    The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • 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.

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