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Intellectual Property

  • Top Story

    Breaking Down The Appeals In $1B VirnetX-Apple Patent War

    The nearly $1 billion won by VirnetX in patent trials against Apple Inc. exists under a cloud since the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has found the patents invalid. With appeals pending from the board's decisions and one of the trials, here's a look at VirnetX's arguments that the patents shouldn't have been reviewed, and Apple's efforts to flip the verdict.

  • April 20, 2018

    Cephalon's $125M Antitrust Deal Is Valid, Atty Power Unknown

    A contract outlining terms of Cephalon Inc.’s $125 million settlement, which resolved allegations it paid competitors to delay generic versions of its Provigil drug, is binding and enforceable, a Pennsylvania federal judge said Friday, but left undetermined if an insurer-claimant’s attorneys were authorized to approval the deal.

  • April 20, 2018

    Alnylam, Dicerna Settle Trade Secrets Case Ahead Of Trial

    With a trial looming, Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced Friday it would shell out $15 million and close to a million shares of common stock to end Massachusetts state and federal court litigation with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. in which both sides accused the other of misappropriating trade secrets for technology related to RNA interference.

  • April 20, 2018

    Fed. Circ. Upholds PTAB Time-Bar Ruling Against Wi-Fi One

    Three months after the full Federal Circuit gave Wi-Fi One LLC a chance to argue Broadcom Corp. was too late with its challenges to messaging patents at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, a split panel of judges for the appeals court ruled the board correctly invalidated claims in the patents.

  • April 20, 2018

    USPTO Chief Pushes 'New Narrative' Of Patent Benefits

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Andrei Iancu on Friday called for a "new narrative" about patents that emphasizes their benefit to society, illustrating his point in a speech at a lunch for women in intellectual property by highlighting the breakthrough inventions of Hollywood star Hedy Lamarr.

  • April 20, 2018

    Brand Battles: Monster Fights 'Cleveland Monsters' Team

    In Law360's latest roundup of new actions at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, Monster Energy Co. picks a fight with Cleveland's professional hockey team over a rebranded name, the New York Yankees and several other Major League Baseball teams launch new cases, and AARP gets angry about an acronym.

  • April 20, 2018

    Experts Look To Congress To Stem Patent-Eligibility ‘Chaos’

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s patent-eligibility decisions like Alice have caused “total chaos” that diminishes patent protection for software and medical diagnostics, and it may be time for Congress to step in, the former director of the USPTO and other patent leaders said at a conference Friday.

  • April 20, 2018

    MiraLAX Generics Get FDA Reprieve Despite Bayer Objections

    Sales of generic versions of popular constipation drug MiraLAX will be allowed for an extra six months, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration revealed Friday, rejecting opposition from Bayer AG and reversing the agency's own recent order requiring sales to end promptly.

  • April 20, 2018

    Eli Manning, Giants Shed RICO Claims In Memorabilia Suit

    A New Jersey judge on Thursday tossed racketeering claims in a wide-ranging suit alleging New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning defrauded sports memorabilia dealers, finding there was no illicit enterprise, but said certain contract claims and other allegations will go to trial next month.

  • April 20, 2018

    Kraft Unit's NY Peanut Butter Arbitration Paused In Australia

    An Australian judge refused to lift an order barring a Kraft Heinz Co. subsidiary from proceeding with a New York arbitration stemming from an Australian dairy company's alleged misuse of Kraft's peanut butter jar design, saying Friday the parallel proceedings could lead to inconsistent findings.

  • April 20, 2018

    Fed. Circ. Nixes Voting IP, But Says Alice Didn't Change Law

    The Federal Circuit on Friday upheld a ruling that a Voter Verified Inc. patent on a vote verification system was invalid because it covered nothing more than an abstract idea, although judges said the U.S. Supreme Court’s Alice decision did not change the law on patent eligibility.

  • April 20, 2018

    Health Hires: Goodwin, Shook Hardy, Michael Best, Orrick

    The latest firms to expand their life sciences and health care abilities are Goodwin Procter LLP, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP, Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Harter Secrest & Emery LLP, Eversheds Sutherland and Cole Schotz PC.

  • April 20, 2018

    DNC Sues Trump Campaign, Russia Over 2016 Election Hacks

    The Democratic National Committee filed suit Friday in New York federal court accusing the Russian government, the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks of conspiring to hack the Democratic Party and doom Hillary Clinton’s chances at the 2016 presidential election.

  • April 20, 2018

    Fed. Circ. Revives Medinol Patent Suit Killed By Laches

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday revived Medinol Ltd.’s patent infringement suit against Cardinal Health unit Cordis Corp. and Cordis’ former parent Johnson & Johnson, a decision that came a year after the U.S. Supreme Court shot down the laches defense that had originally gotten the case dismissed.

  • April 20, 2018

    2nd Circ. Revives 'Sloppy Tuna' Trademark Dispute

    The Second Circuit vacated a lower court decision Friday nixing a trademark infringement suit brought by an affiliate of The Sloppy Tuna restaurant in Montauk, New York, against the eatery’s owner, saying it can’t be tossed because an earlier suit originally filed in Georgia was moved to the Empire State.

  • April 20, 2018

    Fed. Circ. Revives Inventor's Claim On Fax-To-Email Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Friday ruled that a man claiming to have invented a method for turning faxes and voicemails into digital readouts had standing to sue j2 Cloud Services LLC and Advanced Messaging Technologies Inc., finding that a contract he signed released his copyright interests but not his patent rights.

  • April 20, 2018

    Insurer Sues To Deny Surgical Tools Co. Coverage In IP Suit

    Sentinel Insurance Co. sued surgical tools company Novo Surgical Inc. in Illinois federal court Thursday, claiming it has no duty to defend Novo in an underlying suit in which a competitor accused it of infringing sales information.

  • April 20, 2018

    Morris Manning & Martin Launches Gov't Contracts Practice

    Morris Manning & Martin LLP has launched a Washington, D.C.-based government contracts practice group led by a former partner at Cohen Mohr LLP and bolstered its D.C. office with another 10 attorneys working in five different practice areas, the firm announced this week.

  • April 19, 2018

    Oprah's 'Greenleaf' Show Infringes Copyright, Writers Say

    Two writers hit Oprah Winfrey, ABC and other media properties with a copyright infringement suit in California federal court Thursday, claiming they are the true brains behind the drama television series "Greenleaf.”

  • April 19, 2018

    1st Amendment May Shield Cisco In Arista's Antitrust Suit

    A California federal judge Thursday expressed “grave concerns” about whether Arista Networks Inc.’s antitrust suit could proceed against Cisco Systems Inc. because the conduct in question — a separate copyright infringement case Cisco filed against Arista and statements by Cisco’s general counsel — may have First Amendment protection.

  • April 19, 2018

    USPTO Sets Limits On Nixing Eligibility Under Berkheimer

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday established limits on when patent examiners can reject applications for claiming patent-ineligible material, in the wake of a high-profile Federal Circuit holding that the eligibility analysis can involve factual questions.

Expert Analysis

  • 3 Things To Know About USPTO's New Memo On Eligibility

    Michelle Holoubek

    In light of the Federal Circuit’s decision in Berkheimer v. HP, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a new memorandum regarding subject matter eligibility. Patent practitioners now have a new tool to combat patent-ineligibility challenges, say Michelle Holoubek and Lestin Kenton of Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox PLLC.

  • Can A Single FTC Commissioner Constitute A Quorum?

    Stephen Calkins

    With Federal Trade Commissioner Terrell McSweeny resigning on April 28, it is possible that acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen will be left as the sole commissioner. The FTC appears to believe that it can take formal action by a 1-0 vote, but to allow this would be possibly not lawful and certainly not wise, say professor Stephen Calkins of Wayne State University and John Villafranco of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP.

  • Forum Selection Clauses Can Doom PTAB Review

    Cynthia Lambert Hardman

    Affirmance of the California federal court's decision in Dodocase v. MerchSource would have an important impact on the rights of patent licensees to challenge patentability in the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and may provide a pathway for patent owners to dispose of PTAB patent challenges, say attorneys with Goodwin Procter LLP.

  • Timing Of Priority Claims In China Vs. US

    Junqi Hang

    While the Federal Circuit's 2016 ruling in Immersion v. HTC highlights enhanced willingness in the U.S. to not disturb the validity of many patents merely due to technicalities associated with priority claim assertions, the situation is quite to the contrary in China, as evidenced by the recent Ruike decision, say Junqi Hang and Can Huang of Dragon Intellectual Property Law Firm.

  • Best Practices For Building A Better Meeting

    Nicholas Cheolas

    How can we improve meetings in the legal industry, which tends to evolve with the speed of a tranquilized water buffalo mired in quicksand? Breaking it down to three phases can yield significant benefits, says Nicholas Cheolas of Zelle LLP.

  • UK Patent Ruling Sharpens Contrast With US Practice

    Edward Kelly

    The U.K. Court of Appeal's decision last month in Regeneron v. Kymab is significant because it aligns the U.K.’s approach to the assessment of insufficiency with that of the European Patent Office. It also highlights, for U.S. companies, the stricter standard to which patent specifications are subject in Europe, say Edward Kelly and Regina Sam Penti of Ropes & Gray LLP.

  • 5 Ways Law Firms Are Becoming More Like Hotels

    Bella Schiro

    One way law firms differentiate themselves from the competition to attract and retain top talent is through their real estate and workplace strategies. Taking a lead from the hospitality industry can help create a more inviting, welcoming and collaborative workspace environment, says Bella Schiro of Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.

  • The Impact Of Tax Reform On Film, TV And Print Media: Part 2

    Michele Alexander

    The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has imposed new limitations on a corporation’s ability to take advantage of net operating losses. Certain changes will disproportionately affect media companies, impacting their debt restructuring, acquisition and disposition strategies, say Michele Alexander and Ryan Davis of Bracewell LLP in New York.

  • Fed. Circ.'s Latest Guidance On Method-Of-Treatment Claims

    Preston Ratliff

    This month's decision in Vanda v. West-Ward is the first Federal Circuit opinion to directly speak to the patent eligibility of method-of-treatment claims under the Mayo two-step framework, and builds on the court’s decision in CellzDirect in embracing the importance of step one of the Mayo test, say attorneys with Paul Hastings LLP.

  • Highlights Of ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting: Part 1

    Shylah Alfonso

    The American Bar Association’s 66th Antitrust Law Spring Meeting included a number of sessions with representatives from federal and state antitrust enforcement agencies. Attorneys with Perkins Coie LLP offer some key takeaways from those sessions.