Intellectual Property

  • September 28, 2023

    Apple Gets PTAB To Invalidate 2 Biometric Security Patents

    Apple has persuaded the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to invalidate claims of two biometric security patents-at-issue in an infringement suit over the tech giant's Touch ID and Face ID features, which was transferred from Texas to California by a Federal Circuit order.

  • September 28, 2023

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Masimo Medical Alarm IP

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday affirmed that claims of a Masimo Corp. alarm system patent are invalid, following a Patent Trial and Appeal Board challenge lodged by fellow medical device company Sotera Corp.

  • September 28, 2023

    Dr. Martens Faces TM Cancellation Bid From Steve Madden

    Retailer Steve Madden has asked the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to throw out a pair of trademark registrations footwear brand Dr. Martens has on its famous boots, the latest intellectual property dispute between the companies.

  • September 28, 2023

    NHL, Seattle Kraken Dismiss TM Fight With Florida Apparel Biz

    The National Hockey League and the Seattle Kraken have ended their trademark dispute with a Florida apparel maker they labeled a serial infringer of intellectual property after the company filed a preemptive lawsuit arguing its Kraken-inspired T-shirts are protected speech.

  • September 28, 2023

    Judge Won't Force Utah Credit Union To Rebrand In TM Row

    A federal judge has ruled that Utah-based University First Federal Credit Union can continue using the "UFirst" trademark despite New York-based UFirst Federal Credit Union's claims that the similarities between the two names are causing customer confusion, finding that because the two financial institutions are on opposite sides of the country, they do not share the same customer market.

  • September 28, 2023

    MSN Beats Allergan's Generic Patent Row In Bench Trial

    A Delaware federal judge has found numerous patents covering Allergan's bowel treatment drug Viberzi were invalid, handing a win to Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and MSN Pharmaceuticals.

  • September 28, 2023

    Full DC Circ. Won't Rethink Webcaster Royalty Hike Suit

    The full D.C. Circuit is not interested in rehashing a decision made earlier this month by a three-judge panel to shoot down a challenge to the Copyright Royalty Board's latest hike in royalty rates for web broadcasters.

  • September 28, 2023

    NJ Broker-Dealer Accused Of Failing To Stop Impostor's Fraud

    A Swedish woman wants a New Jersey broker-dealer to compensate her after it allegedly failed to shut down an impostor website, allowing fraudsters to steal more than $180,000 from her, a New Jersey federal lawsuit says.

  • September 28, 2023

    Missing Word Sinks $2.65M Honeywell Fee Bid In Royalty Row

    Honeywell lost out on $2.65 million in attorney fees following a win in a scanner royalties dispute with a Japanese competitor in part because an agreement between the two companies didn't use the word "attorney" in a provision the American company invoked to try to receive the award.

  • September 28, 2023

    EU Told IP Identification Can Be Used For Copyright Probes

    Allowing copyright enforcers to obtain personal data linked to IP addresses of potential repeat infringers does not breach European Union laws if it is the only means of identifying perpetrators, an adviser to the bloc's highest court wrote Thursday.

  • September 27, 2023

    Adobe Hit With $33.8M Verdict For Infringing Viatech Patent

    A Delaware federal jury on Wednesday found that Adobe Inc. must pay nearly $33.8 million for infringing Viatech Technologies Inc.'s patent used for checking software licenses, and held that Adobe failed to show that the patent is invalid.

  • September 27, 2023

    RJ Reynolds Hit With Latest Patent Suit Over Vape Tech

    R.J. Reynolds is facing another patent infringement suit over its Vuse Alto e-cigarette, this time from Healthier Choices Management Corp., which alleges Reynolds' vape pen and corresponding flavor pods copy its patented technology.

  • September 27, 2023

    Amazon, Ferragamo Score Win In Joint Counterfeit Suit

    A Washington federal judge on Tuesday granted Amazon.com Inc. and Italian luxury goods maker Salvatore Ferragamo SpA's request for a permanent injunction against a counterfeiter, saying they've proven "irreparable injury" from the sale of knockoff belts on the retail giant's platform.

  • September 27, 2023

    Winery Trademark War Largely Ends In $666K Judgment

    A Southern District of New York judge has found that a Napa County winery owes an Italian rival more than $666,000 in a trademark fight over similarly named wines, a dispute that has been aging in the courts since the early 2000s.

  • September 27, 2023

    AI Not Yet Ready To Take Patent Drafting Jobs, Attys Say

    Artificial intelligence tools might one day be able to handle many of the tasks involved in drafting patent applications, but the technology is currently far from that point, and humans will always play a key role in the process, attorneys said at an event Wednesday.

  • September 27, 2023

    Lawmakers Reintroduce TM Bill Targeting Counterfeit Goods

    A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators has reintroduced a bill that would hold e-commerce marketplaces liable under trademark law for fake products sold on their platforms.

  • September 27, 2023

    Copyright Office Says It's Stumped By AI, Too

    A top agency official at the U.S. Copyright Office on Wednesday fielded questions from members of the U.S. House of Representatives about the promises and anxieties over the commercial use of artificial intelligence, prompting her to say that in the last nine months, "we've moved to a somewhat different world than we were in before."

  • September 27, 2023

    Mylan Dodges Contract Breach Claim In Takeda IP Fight

    A Delaware federal judge on Wednesday agreed to hand Mylan a win on a breach of contract claim from Takeda Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. over its gout drug Colcrys, agreeing with Mylan's interpretation of an earlier settlement agreement.

  • September 27, 2023

    Qualcomm Gets Rest Of Calif. Consumer Chip Case Tossed

    A California federal court granted Qualcomm's bid to extinguish the remaining claims from cellphone buyers alleging they overpaid due to the chipmaker's licensing practices, following a loss by federal enforcers on similar claims and the dismantling of a consumer class.

  • September 27, 2023

    LGE Can't Trim Pantech IP Suit, Texas Judge Says

    A Texas federal judge has sided with South Korean mobile-phone maker Pantech and adopted a magistrate judge's earlier recommendation to deny LG Electronics' bid to narrow Pantech's patent suit, finding that LGE didn't show that the patent in question was ineligible.

  • September 27, 2023

    Wonderful Pistachios' Trade Dress Fight With Rival Is Canned

    A New York federal judge has tossed with prejudice a trademark infringement suit filed by The Wonderful Co. LLC alleging that a competitor copied the packaging of its Wonderful Pistachios product, saying the packaging is not so strikingly similar that it could create customer confusion.

  • September 27, 2023

    Apple Beats Suit Over Photos In Billie Eilish Documentary

    A New York federal judge has tossed a photographer's copyright case against Apple over photos he took that appeared in the background of a documentary about musician Billie Eilish, saying any appearance of the photos was either minimal or considered fair use.

  • September 27, 2023

    UC System Settles LED IP Fight With Amazon, Walmart, GE

    The Regents of the University of California have cut separate deals with Amazon, Walmart and General Electric to resolve the university's lawsuits in California federal court alleging major retailers infringed the university's patent for filament LED lighting by importing unauthorized versions of the product.

  • September 27, 2023

    Mintz Bolsters IP And Finance Benches With 2 New Partners

    Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC has brought on a former Dentons corporate partner to its recently launched Toronto office, as well as an intellectual property partner from King & Spalding LLP to its New York office.

  • September 27, 2023

    Netflix Loses German Battle Over Broadcom Video Patent

    A court in Germany has ruled that Netflix infringed patents linked to video streaming tech by Broadcom, a victory for the U.S. chip giant that has previously accused the online entertainment channel of tanking its business.

Expert Analysis

  • As AI Pricing Tools Evolve, So Does Antitrust Risk

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Participating In Living History Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Opinion

    Design And Utility Patents Should Get Same Obviousness Test

    Author Photo

    The principles of the U.S. Supreme Court's KSR v. Teleflex decision should apply to design patents in the pending Federal Circuit LKQ v. GM Global Technology case because both utility and design patents are subject to the same prohibition against obviousness, say Alexander Chen and Katja Grosch at InHouse Co. Law Firm.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!