Intellectual Property

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CRISPR Patent Ruling May Push Warring Sides To A Deal

By Ryan Davis

The Federal Circuit’s decision Monday rejecting the University of California’s efforts to secure control over patents on the breakthrough gene-editing system CRISPR in a fight with the Broad Institute leaves an unsettled patent landscape for the technology that could spur the parties to strike a deal, attorneys say.
September 18, 2018
Senate Passes Streaming Music Royalties Overhaul

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday voted unanimously in favor of legislation that would make major changes to how streaming music services like Spotify pay royalties.
September 18, 2018
Northrop Blocks NASA From Releasing Contract In FOIA Filing

A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday sided with Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. in its bid to block NASA from fulfilling a Freedom of Information Act request that the defense contractor had claimed would have exposed details about a subsidiary's contract and pricing practices.
September 18, 2018
Firm Ducks Claims It Wanted Cut Of Suit It Didn't Work On

A New York federal judge has thrown out a suit against patent law firm Niro Law Group LLC by a former client that accused the firm of attempting to collect a portion of a settlement in a suit Niro did not work on, ruling that the suit was filed in the wrong state.
September 18, 2018
Ulthera Appeals PTAB Decision Upholding Skin Care Patent

Medical device company Ulthera Inc. asked the Federal Circuit on Tuesday to rehear its challenge to a DermaFocus LLC patent related to an anti-aging skin care procedure, one day after the Patent Trial and Appeal Board upheld the remaining claims in the patent on remand from that appeals court.
September 18, 2018
Judge Won't Halt Suit Against GM Over Graffiti In Car Ad

A California federal judge said Tuesday he can't determine whether a mural painted on a parking garage is a standalone work of art or part of the building under copyright law and so refused to let General Motors Co. escape from a copyright infringement suit accusing it of featuring the design in a Cadillac marketing campaign without permission.
September 18, 2018
Ban On 'Scandalous' TMs Is Probably Dead For Good

Will the U.S. Supreme Court revive a federal ban on the registration of profane trademarks like "Fuct," less than two years after it categorically struck down a similar rule used against the Washington Redskins? Not f***king likely, experts say.
September 18, 2018
DC Circ. Sides With Copyright Board In SoundExchange Suit

The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday refused to alter a ruling by the Copyright Royalty Board that set how much streaming services like Pandora Radio must pay for music until 2020, rejecting the argument that the board had used improper benchmarks from the private market.
September 18, 2018
US Loses Bid To DQ Orrick In Fitbit Trade Secrets Case

A California federal judge on Tuesday denied a request from the government to disqualify Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP from representing an ex-Fitbit Inc. employee accused of stealing trade secrets from a prior employer, since her co-defendants — whom the firm previously represented — said they didn't mind her keeping the firm as counsel.
September 18, 2018
Fed. Circ. Ruling Takes 'Blocking Patents' To New Places

The Federal Circuit’s recent ruling invalidating patents on Acorda Therapeutics Inc.’s multiple sclerosis drug Ampyra could expand the impact of so-called blocking patents and may make it easier to show an invention is obvious, attorneys say.
September 18, 2018
Beijing Tees Up New Duties After Trump's $200B Strike

The mounting trade imbroglio between the U.S. and China continued to intensify Tuesday as Beijing plowed ahead with new duties on $60 billion in U.S. goods, a day after President Donald Trump whacked $200 billion worth of Chinese goods with tariffs of his own.
September 18, 2018
EU Lays Out Sweeping Vision For WTO Reform

As the global trading system sags amid rising tensions between the U.S. and its partners, the European Union on Tuesday unveiled an informal proposal to reform the World Trade Organization by modernizing its rules, improving its oversight function and repairing its hobbled dispute settlement system.
September 18, 2018
Smith & Nephew To Pay $10.5M To Settle Knee Implant IP Row

Smith & Nephew Inc. will shell out $10.5 million to Conformis Inc. to resolve all pending patent disputes between the two medical equipment manufacturers, Conformis said Monday.
September 17, 2018
Hershey Creamery Says Liberty Contract Covers IP Fight

Hershey Creamery Co. asked a Pennsylvania federal judge on Friday to find that a pair of Liberty Mutual companies are contractually obligated to cover the ice cream maker in a trademark dispute with a competitor over slogan infringement claims.
September 17, 2018
USPTO Seeks Help Building AI For Faster Prior Art Searches

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has asked the public for help developing tools using artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve the agency’s search capabilities and streamline the patent prosecution process.
September 17, 2018
Rimon Adds 8-Person Duane Morris Silicon Valley IP Team

Rimon PC added an eight-person intellectual property group, including four partners and an associate and three staff members, from Duane Morris LLP to its Silicon Valley office, the firm announced Monday.
September 17, 2018
Claim Juror Fears Led To Bias Can't Undo Playboy TM Win

An Illinois appellate court on Friday upheld a $6.6 million verdict that saw trebled damages for Playboy Enterprises International Inc. after a trial over a licensing dispute between the brand and an energy drink maker, saying the lower court didn’t need to flesh out jurors’ fear of certain men in the courtroom to ensure an untainted decision would be reached.
September 17, 2018
AT&T's Quick Win In Ethernet Patent Suit Upheld By Fed. Circ.

The Federal Circuit on Monday affirmed a Texas district court’s decision to grant AT&T a quick win in Advanced Media Networks' suit alleging the telecommunications giant infringed on a patent covering technology used to wirelessly connect to the internet, saying that a key term was construed correctly.
September 17, 2018
Fed. Circ. Backs Alice Invalidation Of Robotics Patents

The Federal Circuit on Monday upheld a finding that parts of four robotics patents were invalid under the U.S. Supreme Court's Alice test, preserving a victory for Invensys Systems Inc. and other companies accused of infringement in the Eastern District of Texas.
September 17, 2018
Proposed GILTI Regs' Anti-Abuse Rule Seen As Overly Broad

Proposed U.S. regulations for the global minimum tax on intangible income contain an anti-abuse provision that could allow the Internal Revenue Service to disregard the effects of certain offshore transactions even if there aren’t signs of tax avoidance, specialists say.
September 17, 2018
Trump Hits China With Tariffs On Another $200B In Goods

President Donald Trump announced Monday that he will hike tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to as high as 25 percent in an escalating dispute over Beijing’s intellectual property rules.

Editor's Picks

The Big Picture: One Year After TC Heartland

One year ago the U.S. Supreme Court issued a blockbuster ruling on where patent lawsuits can be filed. It was expected to shake up patent litigation in a big way. But did that happen? Here, Law360 takes a look at the impact the case had on the patent landscape.
The Big Picture: PTAB At The High Court

The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued two big patent rulings — upholding a system for challenging patents as constitutional, but finding the Patent Trial and Appeal Board must decide the validity of every challenged claim when it agrees to institute those American Invents Act reviews. Here, Law360 looks at how we got here, what the court ruled, and how these decisions will impact practicing before the PTAB.
The 2017 Federal Circuit Year In Review

After a three-year surge, patent suits at the Federal Circuit leveled off last year as the court showed signs of adjusting to its bustling workload. The judges found time to write more opinions, and they reached greater consensus, penning fewer separate concurrences and dissents than in 2016.

Expert Analysis

Biotech Cos. Must Respect Coexisting Gene Editing Patents

The Federal Circuit's decision in the gene editing technology battle between the University of California and the Broad Institute provides that the two parties' patents can coexist. Biotech companies using this technology should seek licenses from both UC and the Broad Institute, say attorneys at Faegre Baker Daniels LLP.
Trends In Hashtags As Trademarks

Can hashtags be “locked down” the way that clients want? And is trademarking them worth it? Recent cases and direction from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office are starting to outline the registrability and enforceability of hashtag trademarks, says Marc Misthal of Gottlieb Rackman & Reisman PC.
Tips For Tech Cos. Developing Event Sponsorship Deals

IBM recently partnered with the U.S. Open to offer tennis fans a digital experience. This type of deal offers numerous benefits, but companies seeking to leverage their innovative technology in exchange for sponsorship packages should be aware of certain legal issues, say Leon Medzhibovsky and Airina Rodrigues of DLA Piper.
Calif.'s New Rules For Lawyers Move Closer To ABA Model

The first comprehensive overhaul of California's Rules of Professional Conduct in nearly 30 years becomes operational on Nov. 1. Some of the new rules mirror the model language used by the American Bar Association, but many continue to reflect California’s unique approach to certain ethical questions, says Mark Loeterman of Signature Resolution LLC.
Surveying The Cannabis Patent Litigation Landscape

As the cannabis market continues to grow, patent infringement suits will abound contingent on federal legalization. Some in the industry worry that many current cannabis patent claims are overbroad, but the availability of post-grant proceedings may provide a solution, say Tryn Stimart and Jean Dassie of Gibbons PC.
Tallying Repetitive Inter Partes Review Challenges

We analyzed the petitioning practice of the top five filers of inter partes review — Apple, Samsung, Google, Microsoft and LG — and it is clear that serial, overlapping petitions are commonplace at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, even by a single entity, say Steven Carlson and Ryan Schultz of Robins Kaplan LLP.
Know The Limits To Atty Public Statements During A Trial

The balancing act between protecting attorneys’ speech rights and ensuring unbiased adjudications was highlighted recently in two cases — when Michael Cohen applied for a restraining order against Stephanie Clifford's attorney, and when Johnson & Johnson questioned whether a Missouri talc verdict was tainted by public statements from the plaintiffs' counsel, says Matthew Giardina of Manning Gross & Massenburg LLP.
Opinion

FTC's Public Hearings Will Be Valuable

On Thursday, the Federal Trade Commission began a series of hearings on competition and consumer protection in the 21st century. These events are an important first step in guiding enforcement priorities, says David Balto, a former policy director of the FTC Bureau of Competition.
In Calif., Questions Remain On Law Firm Conflict Waivers

In Sheppard Mullin v. J-M Manufacturing Co., the California Supreme Court ruled last month that a law firm's failure to disclose a known conflict with another current client did not categorically disentitle the firm from recovering fees. But the court didn’t provide hoped-for guidance on how to write an enforceable advance conflict waiver, says Richard Rosensweig of Goulston & Storrs PC.
Q&A

A Chat With Faegre Client Development Chief Melanie Green

In this monthly series, Amanda Brady of Major Lindsey & Africa interviews management from top law firms about the increasingly competitive business environment. Here we feature Melanie Green, chief client development officer at Faegre Baker Daniels LLP.

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