Intellectual PropertyRSS

  • February 24, 2006

    Surprise Twist For Patent Dispute Over Medical Devices

    In an unusual twist, Inverness Medical Innovations Inc. has agreed to purchase ACON Laboratories’ key medical diagnostic business for $175 million, putting an end to the long-simmering patent infringement battle initiated by the medical device maker almost three years ago.

  • February 24, 2006

    Early Approval For Flonase Generic Puts Glaxo In A Bind

    A surprisingly early approval by U.S. regulators of a generic version of allergy treatment Flonase prompted GlaxoSmithKline Plc to rush to the courthouse this week, securing a restraining order that in effect also stopped shipments of its own authorized generic version.

  • February 24, 2006

    Ericsson Charges Samsung With Patent Infringement

    Talks between Swedish handset maker Ericsson Inc. and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. took a turn for the worse this week, when Ericsson filed a suit in four countries alleging the mobile phone maker is infringing a number of its patents.

  • February 24, 2006

    “Writing On The Wall” For RIM After Hearing

    Users of the Blackberry wireless e-mail device have been spared—for now—after a much-anticipated injunction hearing in Virginia district court wound up Friday without a final decision. But the exasperated federal judge overseeing the patent infringement case made it clear that embattled Research In Motion Ltd. had little to look forward to.

  • February 23, 2006

    Reed Smith Snatches Former Winston & Strawn Partner

    Capitalizing on a desire to expand its intellectual property practice, Reed Smith LLP has enticed Gregory Shatan, formerly of Winston & Strawn LLP, to join the firm’s New York office as an IP transactional partner.

  • February 23, 2006

    Kenyon & Kenyon Adds New IP Partner

    Intellectual property specialist Kenyon & Kenyon LLP has nabbed patent trial attorney Brian J. Beatus from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP to join the firm as a partner in its New York office.

  • February 23, 2006

    Day Of Reckoning In BlackBerry Courtroom Drama

    The Blackberry courtroom saga discussed at water coolers across the United States has reached its day of reckoning, with IP attorneys agreeing Friday’s hearing could result in the worst conceivable nightmare for millions of users: a total blackout of the device's wireless e-mail network.

  • February 23, 2006

    Countersuit Heats Up Web Analytics Patent Fight

    A patent battle in the lucrative Web analytics industry has intensified, with one of the market leaders, WebSideStory Inc., filing a countersuit against its closest rival in federal court.

  • February 23, 2006

    Third Wave Drops HCV Suit Against Chiron, Bayer

    Resolving all but one of the company’s patent-related disputes, molecular diagnostics company Third Wave Technologies Inc. has dismissed without prejudice its suit against rivals Chiron Corp. and Bayer Corp. over technology related to the hepatitis C virus, or HCV.

  • February 22, 2006

    WIPO Blasted Over Copyright Tips To Developing Nations

    A worldwide federation of consumer organizations has castigated the United Nations’ World Intellectual Property Organization, accusing the institution of failing some of the world’s poorest countries by doling out misleading copyright advice.

  • February 22, 2006

    Google's Fair Use Of Porn Pics Crumbles In Court

    In a precedent-setting case over fair use of copyrighted images, a federal judge has ruled that Internet search company Google Inc. violated the intellectual property rights of online pornography provider Perfect 10 when it displayed the company’s photographs as thumbnails.

  • February 22, 2006

    Court Says Feds Can Argue At BlackBerry Hearing

    A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. government will be allowed to present arguments at a hearing in the latest round of the BlackBerry patent trial, but rejected other key requests by the Justice Department, as concerns mount over the disorder a ban of the hand-held devices could cause.

  • February 22, 2006

    Medinol Claims Old Partner Infringes Stent Patents

    In an attempt to keep a former partner from sinking its teeth into the $5 billion global coronary stent market, Israel’s Medinol Ltd. filed a new legal claim Monday against Boston Scientific Corp. that alleges its stents violate three of Medinol’s patents.

  • February 22, 2006

    Microsoft Rivals Deal Fresh Antitrust Complaint In E.U.

    Microsoft Corp. continues to draw ire from rivals who say the company is monopolizing the industry by abusing its dominance in software application products and unfairly shutting out competitors.

  • February 22, 2006

    Generics Makers Denied In Diabetes Drug Patent Suit

    Takeda Pharmaceutical Company has prevailed in a patent infringement suit filed three years ago against three generic drug makers after a judge upheld the patent covering the key ingredient in the company’s blockbuster diabetes treatment ACTOS.

  • February 21, 2006

    AstraZeneca Slapped with Antitrust Lawsuit Over Toprol

    Charged once again with violating U.S. competition law, pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca stands accused of illegally trying to prevent generic versions of its blockbuster heart drug Toprol-XL from entering the marketplace, in a lawsuit filed recently by a pension fund.

  • February 21, 2006

    Federal Circuit Clarifies Willful Infringement

    A decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has further clarified the 2004 Knorr-Bremse ruling, which marked significant changes to willful infringement law over adverse jury inferences and failure to obtain counsel.

  • February 21, 2006

    MedImmune-Genentech Battle Moves To High Court

    Biotechnology company MedImmune Inc. gained another chance to fight off rival Genentech Inc. this week, with the U.S. Supreme Court agreeing to hear the previously dismissed case centering on whether a company must refuse to pay royalties before challenging a patent claim.

  • February 21, 2006

    Micron Hits Rambus With Racketeering Charges

    In the latest episode of a series of tumultuous court battles over the $30 billion memory-chip market, Micron Technology Inc. slapped Rambus Inc. with a new lawsuit Tuesday over racketeering charges.

  • February 21, 2006

    Amazon, Target Sued Over E-Commerce Patent

    Just weeks after several other online retailers were sued over a strikingly similar technology, Amazon.com and Target Corp. have been slapped with a lawsuit that accuses them of infringing a patent for storing customer data on third-party websites.