Intellectual Property

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The Biggest Patent Cases Of 2018

By Matthew Bultman

There have been a number of consequential patent rulings over the past 12 months, from the U.S. Supreme Court allowing patent owners to recover some foreign lost profits to the Federal Circuit finding that tribal sovereign immunity doesn’t apply at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Here's a look back at the most significant rulings of 2018.
December 17, 2018
Sens. Appear Keen On Drafting New Patent Eligibility Law

Two U.S. senators who held a closed-door meeting last week to discuss possibly rewriting the law governing patent eligibility expressed an interest in beginning the potentially lengthy process of drafting legislation on the issue, according to attorneys who attended the session.
December 17, 2018
'Fresh Prince' Actor Sues Game Makers Over 'Carlton' Dance

The actor who played Carlton Banks on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” claimed Monday in California federal court that video game makers Epic Games and Take-Two Interactive copped his choreography without permission, noting similarities between the famous “Carlton Dance” he created and moves performed by characters in two widely played video games.
December 17, 2018
Movie Studios Want VidAngel's Fair Use Defense Knocked Out

Disney and a half dozen other movie studios have relaunched their bid to have a California federal court rule that family friendly streaming service VidAngel can’t dodge liability for copyright infringement under a fair use defense.
December 17, 2018
Jury Award Cut By $40K In Pizza Puffs Trademark Dispute

An Illinois federal judge knocked $40,000 off a jury award that favored Illinois Tamale Co. in its suit alleging a Chicago-based competitor infringed its Pizza Puffs trademark, deciding the suit could have been brought sooner.
December 17, 2018
American Airlines, Expedia End 'AAdvantage' TM Squabble

American Airlines and Expedia filed a joint motion in Texas federal court Monday to dismiss a trademark suit over the travel website’s Add On Advantage program, which the airline had claimed was confusingly similar to its "AAdvantage" rewards program.
December 17, 2018
Calif. Federal Jury Finds Glitches In Finjan Malware Patent Suit

Cybersecurity company Finjan Inc. lost a bid to prove malware detection products sold by competitor Juniper Networks Inc. had infringed Finjan’s patent when a California federal jury on Friday returned a verdict in Juniper’s favor.
December 17, 2018
Ex-NWA Rep's 'Straight Outta Compton' IP Suit Nears Toss

A California federal judge on Monday tentatively threw out the third iteration of an intellectual property lawsuit accusing NBCUniversal Inc. and others of stripping a former N.W.A. manager of co-authorship rights on the film “Straight Outta Compton,” finding there wasn’t enough evidence that he was actually a co-author.
December 17, 2018
The Verdicts That Left A Mark In 2018

Trial watchers saw plenty of drama in 2018, from the latest mega-million matchup between Apple and its longtime patent nemesis in Texas to a nationwide series of back-and-forths between Johnson & Johnson and plaintiffs alleging its baby powder causes cancer, which ultimately led to billions of dollars in damages against the pharmaceutical giant. Here are a few of the biggest and most interesting verdicts from the year that was.
December 17, 2018
Fed. Circ. Won't Revisit DuPont’s Standing In PTAB Appeal

The full Federal Circuit on Friday refused to review a panel's September ruling that flipped a decision from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and invalidated a Synvina chemical patent, rejecting Synvina’s argument that rival DuPont had no standing to appeal the board’s decision.
December 17, 2018
Scientific Games To Pay Shuffle Tech $151M In Post-Trial Deal

About four months after getting dealt a $105 million verdict with trebled damages, Scientific Games Corp. has agreed to pay Shuffle Tech LLC $151 million to settle claims it used sham patent litigation to keep control of the automatic card shuffler market.
December 14, 2018
Atty Says Firm Stole Client Involved In 'Gears Of War' IP Suit

The Law Offices of Bruce J. Chasan sued Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP on Friday in Pennsylvania federal court, seeking $160,000 the firm claims Pierce Bainbridge owes for stealing its client, a wrestler suing Microsoft Studios Inc. and Epic Games Inc. for using his likeness without his consent in the "Gears of War" video game franchise.
December 14, 2018
Airline May Face Sanctions For Withholding Docs In Site Fight

A Canadian budget airline should be punished with sanctions, including dismissal of its complaint, for failure to produce crucial documents in its cybersquatting suit against a web design company, a travel consultancy and their shared director, the defendants told an Illinois federal court on Thursday.
December 14, 2018
AstraZeneca Sues Again Over Breast Cancer Drug Patents

AstraZeneca has hit more generic-drug makers with a patent infringement suit in New Jersey federal court over a generic alternative to Faslodex, its injection-administered drug for battling breast cancer past menopause.
December 14, 2018
ITC Lifts Diebold ATM Import Ban After Fed. Circ. Patent Nix

The U.S. International Trade Commission has revoked a ban blocking financial services company Diebold from importing ATMs found to infringe Nautilus Hyosung America Inc.’s patent, pointing to a Federal Circuit decision that invalidated parts of that patent, according to a Federal Register notice set to publish Monday.
December 14, 2018
Texas Justices Won't Hear Ranbaxy's Patent Arbitration Row

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday denied a petition from Ranbaxy Inc. in a lawsuit where a lower appellate court allowed a fellow generic-drug maker to move forward in arbitration with claims it had been tricked into assigning patent rights to Ranbaxy.
December 14, 2018
ITC Probing Whether Car Emissions Systems Infringed IP

The U.S. International Trade Commission has launched an investigation into foreign imports of car emissions control systems, following accusations from chemical company Ingevity Corp. that MAHLE Filter Systems North America Inc. and several foreign producers ship filter systems products into the U.S. that rip off Ingevity’s intellectual property.
December 14, 2018
Fed. Circ. Rejects Atty Fee Bid In Surgical Tool IP Suit

The Federal Circuit ruled Friday that a medical device company that beat a patent lawsuit from Spineology Inc. over a surgical tool for cutting bone is not entitled to recover its attorneys' fees, affirming a lower court’s ruling.
December 14, 2018
Fed. Circ. Reins In Reach Of Double-Patenting Doctrine

Two recent Federal Circuit decisions have cleared up lingering questions about when patents can be invalidated under the double-patenting doctrine and identified situations where it does not apply, providing patent owners with ways to prevail against invalidity arguments.
December 14, 2018
Brand Battles: ExxonMobil, 'Star Trek,' Nike

In Law360's latest roundup of new actions at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, ExxonMobil isn't happy about a double X mark, CBS aims to boldly go after a startup's slogan, and Nike files its latest case over "Just Do It."
December 14, 2018
IP Hires: Davis Wright, Greenberg Traurig

In this week’s round of intellectual property attorney moves, Greenberg Traurig launched a new video game and esports group and bolstered its IP and technology practice with the addition of a seasoned shareholder, while Davis Wright Tremaine hired a media litigator with a history of representing famous artists. Here are the details on these notable IP hires.

Editor's Picks

Law360's MVPs Are Top Of The Class In IP Law

Stand-out intellectual property attorneys this year landed multimillion dollar verdicts, prevailed at the Supreme Court, and clarified patent infringement standards at the Federal Circuit. The accomplishments of these six IP lawyers set them apart from their peers and earned them spots on Law360's list of Intellectual Property MVPs.
Iancu Says Greater Clarity Is Driving Force In USPTO Changes

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Andrei Iancu told Law360 in an interview Thursday that the many changes he has spearheaded during his busy first year in office should provide a clearer landscape where patentees and the public know better how patent disputes might play out.
What You Need To Know About IP Litigation Around The Globe

The challenges of U.S. patent litigation, combined with increasing levels of comfort with courts in Europe and Asia, are driving companies in high-stakes disputes to increasingly look beyond the U.S. and adopt global enforcement strategies. But it can be daunting to sift through the intricacies of patent litigation around the world. Here, we break down what you need to know about some of the world’s hottest patent venues.

Expert Analysis

Series

Judging A Book: Mills Reviews 'Mississippi's Federal Courts'

David M. Hargrove's new book, "Mississippi’s Federal Courts: A History," is a remarkably candid portrait of the characters and courts serving the state's federal judiciary from 1798 on, and contributes new scholarship on how judges were nominated during the civil rights era, says U.S. District Judge Michael Mills of the Northern District of Mississippi.
Companies Must Beware Street Artists' IP Suits

A California district court recently ruled in Falkner v. General Motors that a graffiti artist may move forward with a copyright infringement lawsuit. This case, among others, is emboldening street artists and muralists to seek legal affirmation of their copyrights, says Kimberly Almazan of Withers Worldwide.
The NantKwest Saga: Do Gov't Expenses Include Attys' Fees?

In NantKwest v. Iancu, since the government is seeking U.S. Supreme Court review of the meaning and scope of Section 145 of the 1952 Patent Act — concerning expenses to be paid by applicants — odds are its petition for certiorari will be granted, say members of the Association of Amicus Counsel.
Clarifying Multi-Embodiment And Single-View Design Filings

Recently, two cases in the Federal Circuit have provided some certainty on polar-opposite design application issues: the consequences related to filing multiple embodiments, and those related to filing only a single view, say Bradley Van Pelt and Alisa Abbott of Banner & Witcoff Ltd.
Guest Feature

The Subtle Art Of Fred Fielding

He was White House counsel to two presidents. When Reagan was shot, he explained the chain of command to a four-star general. And until a few years ago, many people still thought he was Deep Throat during the Watergate scandal. Fred Fielding of Morgan Lewis & Bockius may be the quintessential Washington insider. White and Williams attorney Randy Maniloff learned more.
Protecting Innovation While Justices Ponder Helsinn V. Teva

While the U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming decision in Helsinn Healthcare v. Teva Pharmaceuticals will certainly interest the patent community, a few best practices will go a long way toward rendering the outcome largely irrelevant for innovators engaged in early stage commercialization, says David Gornish of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC.
10 Tips For Law Firms To Drive Revenue Via Sports Tickets

Many law firms have tickets or luxury suites at sporting events to host clients and prospects. Matthew Prinn of RFP Advisory Group and Matt Ansis of TicketManager discuss some of the ways that firms can use those tickets effectively.
Inside Key ABA Guidance On Attorneys' Cybersecurity Duties

A recent opinion from the American Bar Association provides useful guidance on attorneys’ obligations to guard against cyberattacks, protect electronic client information and respond if an attack occurs, says Joshua Bevitz of Newmeyer & Dillion LLP.
TC Heartland's Impact In 2018

The U.S. Supreme Court decided TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods in May 2017, revitalizing the patent venue statute. Alex Chachkes and Josh Montgomery of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP review its impact over the past year and a half.
Opinion

Amrock Appeal Of Trade Secret Verdict Is No Surprise

Last month, Amrock appealed a curious verdict that awarded contract breach defendant HouseCanary $706 million on a trade secret counterclaim. There are several factors that should cause one to raise an eyebrow over this initial outcome, says Thomas Hodge of Brock and Scott PLLC.

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