Intellectual Property

  • February 15, 2024

    Kirkland Fights Uphill To Get Atty's Info From 2 BigLaw Firms

    A California federal magistrate judge appeared skeptical Thursday of Kirkland & Ellis' bid to subpoena confidential personnel information from a former IP associate's prior employers Paul Hastings LLP and Fish & Richardson PC in Kirkland's defense against her discrimination suit, telling counsel the requests seem overbroad and "at best marginally relevant."

  • February 15, 2024

    Ex-ArentFox Client Tentatively Denied Conflict Case Discovery

    A California state judge tentatively ruled on Thursday that government contractor Peraton Corp. cannot get discovery for ArentFox Schiff's work for a business rival around the time it represented Peraton, saying since the discovery bid relates to an arbitration provision in Peraton's retainer, what happened after it was inked is irrelevant.

  • February 15, 2024

    Justices To Hear IP Case That Could Cap Copyright Payouts

    Payouts in copyright disputes could be capped to three years from the date of alleged infringement or go back much further after the U.S. Supreme Court considers the long-lingering question of whether the statute of limitations on copyright restricts damages.

  • February 15, 2024

    VLSI Asks Fed. Circ. To Halt Trial On Intel License Defense

    VLSI urged the Federal Circuit on Thursday to block a California federal court from holding a trial solely on Intel's argument that it has a license to VLSI's patents after Intel was cleared of infringement, saying the court has acted "in clear excess of its jurisdiction."

  • February 15, 2024

    Fla. Court Says Alumni Group Can't Use College's Trademarks

    A Florida federal judge permanently barred the use of a private college's trademarks by an alumni association on Thursday, saying in an order that the group is prohibited from "making or displaying any statement or representation" that's likely to make people believe members are linked to the university.

  • February 15, 2024

    Lenovo, Motorola Lose Injunction Bid In IP License Fight

    A North Carolina federal judge has rejected a bid from Lenovo and Motorola Mobility to block Ericsson from being able to enforce injunctions it got in other countries barring sales of Lenovo products in those countries.

  • February 15, 2024

    IP Forecast: 'No Labels' Party Feuds With Website Over Name

    In advance of debuting candidates for its promised "Unity Ticket for 2024," third-party political group No Labels will fight next week with a website's owners who say the group's name is merely a generic phrase any candidate can use. Here's a look at that case — plus all the other major intellectual property matters on deck in the coming week.

  • February 15, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Revives MasterObjects Patent Suit Against Meta

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday gave MasterObjects Inc. a second chance to argue Meta Platforms Inc. has infringed its search query patents, taking issue with claim construction changes as the case was transferred from Texas to California.

  • February 15, 2024

    Marketing Co. Asks Justices To Hear 'Impossible' TM Row

    Illinois-based marketing consulting firm Impossible X LLC has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision from a divided Ninth Circuit that revived plant-based burger maker Impossible Foods Inc.'s trademark lawsuit against it.

  • February 15, 2024

    Calif. Jury Clears Duplo In Trial Over MGI Printer Patents

    A California federal jury has found that Duplo USA Corp. didn't infringe any claims of MGI Digital Technology SA's printer patents it was accused of infringing and that those claims were invalid, according to a verdict made public Thursday,

  • February 15, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Gives New Life To 'Babies' Magic Tea' TM Dispute

    The Federal Circuit has thrown out a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board decision that had denied Baby Magic toiletries maker Naterra's bid to cancel a trademark owned by Samah Bensalem on Babies' Magic Tea for medicated tea for babies to treat colic and gas.

  • February 15, 2024

    Ex-DraftKings Exec Seeks Clarity On Fanatics Guardrails

    A former DraftKings Inc. executive has asked a Massachusetts federal court to clarify the type of work he can perform for competitor Fanatics Inc. while the legal fight with his previous employer plays out, warning that the court's current order is too restrictive.

  • February 15, 2024

    Intellectual Property Group Of The Year: Irell

    Irell & Manella LLP helped VLSI win a nearly $949 million verdict against Intel Corp. for infringing a patent for microchip technology, and represented Netlist in its win where a jury said Samsung owes $303 million for willfully infringing five flash memory patents, earning the firm a spot among Law360's 2023 Intellectual Property Groups of the Year.

  • February 14, 2024

    Pfizer Reaches $93M Deal With Lipitor Buyers In Antitrust MDL

    Pfizer Inc. has agreed to shell out $93 million to put to rest Lipitor buyers' claims in sprawling antitrust multidistrict litigation over the cholesterol medication that stretches back more than a decade, according to a motion filed Wednesday in New Jersey federal court.

  • February 14, 2024

    American Airlines Settles Ticketing Row With Travel Website

    American Airlines Inc. told a Texas federal court Tuesday that it has settled its lawsuit claiming that Kiwi.com sold the airline's tickets and displayed American's trademarks and copyright-protected flight symbol without permission.

  • February 14, 2024

    Honda, Ford Push For Review Of New Wireless IP

    Honda is urging U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal to vacate the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's decision not to review a Neo Wireless patent it had challenged, the same day Ford did the same.

  • February 14, 2024

    What's Left Of Judge Newman's DC Suit Likely Won't Go Far

    A D.C. federal judge may be allowing suspended U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman to pursue a handful of arguments over the constitutionality of the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act, but attorneys told Law360 they aren't convinced those claims will fare any better than those already dismissed by the court.

  • February 14, 2024

    PTAB Denies DJI's Request To Review Textron Drone Patent

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board will not review the validity of a Textron Innovations Inc. drone patent challenged by Chinese rival SZ DJI Technology Co. Ltd. after finding that DJI failed to show that the claims are likely invalid.

  • February 14, 2024

    Nokia Exposure Over $23M Oral Deal Won't Be Clear Until Trial

    A federal judge said Wednesday she won't decide until trial what framework a jury will use to decide damages in a New Hampshire telecom's case against Nokia over an alleged breach of a 2017 oral contract to integrate noise-filtering technology into Nokia's cell networks.

  • February 14, 2024

    March Trial Set For Samsung Claims Against Ex-IP Attys

    A Texas federal judge has backed a magistrate judge's recommendation to resolve Samsung's claims of misconduct against two of its former in-house intellectual property attorneys through a bench trial.

  • February 14, 2024

    Music Licensor Sues Restaurant For Performing Disco Songs

    A New York music licensor has hit a Detroit-area restaurant with a copyright suit over the unauthorized performance of three 1970s-era disco songs by artists like the Bee Gees and KC and the Sunshine Band, telling the Michigan court that it had reached out to the dining establishment over 50 times ahead of filing its claims.

  • February 14, 2024

    Albright Snubs Plea That Meta Transfer Will Doom EDTX Suits

    Western District of Texas Judge Alan Albright has rejected an oil field equipment supplier's objections to a magistrate judge's ruling that transferred a patent case against Meta from the Lone Star State to California, saying the objections don't have merit.

  • February 14, 2024

    Pentagon Rule Aims To Cut Iranian Fuel From Overseas Ops

    A proposed rule posted Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Defense would put contractors on the hook to prove that fuel they provide for military operations overseas was not sourced from prohibited countries such as Iran.

  • February 14, 2024

    Split Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Patent Case Against Bank

    Judges on the Federal Circuit split in a Wednesday finding on how exactly the courts should read the phrase "transaction partner" in a patent lawsuit against a regional bank in Indiana, with the majority opting to agree with a federal judge in Illinois that the words could only be construed in such a way that meant the patent case couldn't hold up in court.

  • February 14, 2024

    GoTV Asks For New Trial, Says Netflix 'Tainted' $2.5M Award

    GoTV Streaming LLC has asked a California court for a new damages trial after a jury found that Netflix owed the company only $2.5 million for infringing its wireless patent, arguing that Netflix misled the court and showed the jury evidence that artificially suppressed the award amount.

Expert Analysis

  • The Likable Witness: Key Traits And Psychological Concepts

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    Though witnesses must appear credible to juries, they should also be likable in order to make an emotional connection, and certain gestural, behavioral and psychological aspects of their testimony can be modified to improve their perceived likability, says Gillian Drake at On Trial Associates.

  • As AI Pricing Tools Evolve, So Does Antitrust Risk

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    As the use of pricing algorithms has given rise to regulatory scrutiny and civil actions, such as RealPage Rental Software Antitrust Litigation in the Middle District of Tennessee and Gibson v. MGM in the District of Nevada, independent pricing decisions and other best practices can help limit antitrust risk, say attorneys at Axinn.

  • Bracing For Regulatory Delays As Shutdown Looms

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    As a government shutdown looms, stakeholders should plan for regulatory delays and note that more regulations could become vulnerable to congressional disapproval under the Congressional Review Act, say Matthew Shapanka and Holly Fechner at Covington.

  • 4 Ways To Approach The Nuances Of AI Vendor Contracts

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    There is no immediate road map for negotiating contracts presented by artificial intelligence and machine learning vendors, but a phased approach can be used to direct a customer's diligence and to better assess whether additional contractual terms should be included in these agreements, say Reeya Thakrar and Ira Kalina at Faegre Drinker.

  • Exclusivity Loss Holds Power In Trade Secret Damages Claims

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    A Pennsylvania federal court's recent decision in Elite Transit v. Cunningham adds to a growing body of case law that illustrates how the loss of trade secret exclusivity alone may be sufficient for claiming damages, even when commercialization of a trade secret has not occurred, say Christopher DeBaere and Julia Bloch at Archway Research.

  • What Large Language Models Mean For Document Review

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    Courts often subject parties using technology assisted review to greater scrutiny than parties conducting linear, manual document review, so parties using large language models for document review should expect even more attention, along with a corresponding need for quality control and validation, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Tech M&A Due Diligence Checklist: Critical IP Areas Of Inquiry

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    Declining valuations are the backdrop of the current technology M&A landscape worldwide, and intellectual property is a key value driver from the vantage point of a potential acquiror, so when it comes to due diligence for technology acquisitions, there are several pitfalls to avoid, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Future Paths For AI Inventorship After Justices' Thaler Denial

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    Anup Iyer at Moore & Van Allen examines the current and future state of AI inventorship in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision not to hear Thaler v. Vidal, including collaboration, international challenges, and the need for closer examination in research and development-intensive sectors.

  • Series

    Participating In Living History Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My role as a baron in a living history group, and my work as volunteer corporate counsel for a book series fan association, has provided me several opportunities to practice in unexpected areas of law — opening doors to experiences that have nurtured invaluable personal and professional skills, says Matthew Parker at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

  • Opinion

    Private Equity Owners Can Remedy Law Firms' Agency Issues

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    Nonlawyer, private-equity ownership of law firms can benefit shareholders and others vulnerable to governance issues such as disparate interests, and can in turn help resolve agency problems, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.

  • Application Of Defend Trade Secrets Act Continues To Vary

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    Seven years after the passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act, anticipated uniformity has proved somewhat elusive, with federal courts sometimes incorporating state-law requirements into claims brought under the act instead of using it to bypass inconsistencies between state laws, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

  • Opinion

    Calif. Ruling Got It Wrong On Trial Courts' Gatekeeping Role

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    Ten years after the California Supreme Court reshaped trial judges’ role in admitting expert opinion testimony, a state appeals court's Bader v. Johnson & Johnson ruling appears to undermine this precedent and will likely create confusion about the scope of trial courts’ gatekeeping responsibility, say Robert Wright and Nicole Hood at Horvitz & Levy.

  • Cases, Issues That May Shape The Intersection Of AI And IP

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    Courts dealing with the current, and likely growing, onslaught of intellectual property litigation concerning artificial intelligence will determine whether certain common forms of AI training constitute IP violations, while the government works to determine whether AI-generated output is itself protectable under the law, say Robert Hill and Kathryn Keating at Holland & Knight and Meghan Ryan at Southern Methodist University.

  • Beware The Legal Risks Of Using AI In Software Development

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    Software companies are among the most motivated and excited by trained generative artificial intelligence engines, but the output of code writing assistants can include code, comments or other content that infringes copyright or runs afoul of a use restriction associated with its original source location, say Andrew Freyer and Palash Basu at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • How To Protect Atty-Client Privilege While Using Generative AI

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    When using generative artificial intelligence tools, attorneys should consider several safeguards to avoid breaches or complications in attorney-client privilege, say Antonious Sadek and Christopher Campbell at DLA Piper.

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