Intellectual Property

  • August 28, 2025

    Barings Denied Ex-Employee Emails In Corporate Raid Case

    Investment giant Barings LLC can't force five former employees to hand over their personal emails and text messages in a corporate-raiding suit because their current employer doesn't have them, nor does it have a right to them, a North Carolina Business Court judge ruled.

  • August 28, 2025

    IP Notebook: 'Lazy Reaction' Vids, Lafufus, Proud Boys TM

    In this round of emerging copyright and trademark issues, Law360 delves into "lazy reaction video" lawsuits from YouTube creators who accuse others of pilfering video views, and the attempt by the creator of Labubu plush dolls to get ahead of the "Lafufu" knockoff craze.

  • August 28, 2025

    Attys, Judge Mull Next Steps In 'Ugly House' Trademark Trial

    A Delaware federal judge took a stab on Thursday at focusing post-trial briefing after three days of testimony on home-selling franchise HomeVestors of America Inc.'s claims that Warner Bros. Discovery's "Ugliest House In America" series has infringed its trademarks and confused customers.

  • August 28, 2025

    PTAB Won't Make USPTO Give William Shatner A Patent

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has affirmed the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's conclusion that "Star Trek" star William Shatner's proposed smartphone organization system doesn't meet patent eligibility requirements.

  • August 28, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Gives Google Another Go At Database IP Challenge

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday revived Google's challenge to the validity of claims in a pair of patents covering database systems, faulting the Patent Trial and Appeal Board for excluding portions of Google's arguments and ordering the board to apply some of the company's claim construction on remand.

  • August 28, 2025

    Truist, Ex-Execs Clash In Bids To End Poaching Dispute

    Charlotte, North Carolina-based Truist Financial Corp. and its mortgage banking arm resisted a bid for a pretrial win by its former executives' new employer, arguing that troves of evidence sustain its claims that over 50 employees were illegally poached, costing the bank tens of millions of dollars in losses.

  • August 28, 2025

    Apple, Comcast, Others Face Headwater Patent Suit Spree

    Headwater Research LLC has fired off a salvo of patent infringement suits in two Texas federal courts against technology giants Apple Inc., Amazon and Google, as well as wireless services and cable providers Comcast, Charter Communications Inc. and Dish Network, after winning $279 million against Samsung at trial over similar claims and $175 million from Verizon in a case that later settled.

  • August 28, 2025

    USPTO Offers Streamlined Patent, TM Assignment Search Tool

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is upgrading its search system for patent and trademark assignment records with a web-based platform beginning next month, the agency said.

  • August 28, 2025

    Sonos Gets Fed. Circ. To Revive IP From $33M Google Verdict

    A California federal judge wrongly invalidated claims of Sonos Inc. speaker patents after its $32.5 million jury trial win over Google LLC, the Federal Circuit said Thursday as it largely reversed the judge's holding.

  • August 28, 2025

    9th Circ. Reinstates Copyright Suit Over Liturgical Song

    The Ninth Circuit has revived a copyright suit by a songwriter who claimed that elements of his liturgical song were copied by a Christian songwriter, ruling that even though some evidence was rightly excluded, there were still triable elements to the case.

  • August 28, 2025

    First Chief PTAB Judge Remembered As Industrious Leader

    Colleagues and loved ones of James Donald Smith — the first chief judge of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board who died this spring — remembered him as a superb leader, talented violist and dear friend at a memorial service on Saturday that featured a reading of a letter from former President Barack Obama.

  • August 28, 2025

    Perplexity AI Settles TM Fight Over 'Comet' Name

    Perplexity AI and software company Comet ML have settled a trademark dispute over the "comet" mark that was sparked after Perplexity launched a search engine under that name.

  • August 27, 2025

    47 AGs Push Search, Payment Platforms To Stop 'Deepfakes'

    A bipartisan coalition of 47 attorneys general called on search engine giants Google, Microsoft and Yahoo, as well as PayPal, Apple and other payment platforms, to step up their efforts to stop the spread of computer-generated "deepfake" images and videos, warning about the need to protect young internet users.

  • August 27, 2025

    Judge Allows Bulk Of Grand Theft Auto IP Suit To Proceed

    A Los Angeles federal judge has allowed most of a copyright and trademark infringement suit brought by video game maker Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. against a website that sells cheat codes for Grand Theft Auto V to move forward.

  • August 27, 2025

    MSN Warns Justices Of 'Double Standard' In Entresto Appeal

    MSN Pharmaceuticals is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to step in after the Federal Circuit barred its generic version of Novartis' blockbuster cardiovascular drug Entresto, saying the circuit court used a broad construction of the patent to find infringement and a narrow version to uphold validity.

  • August 27, 2025

    IP Atty Beats Temu's Claims He Lied To Bag Settlements

    A Massachusetts federal judge has dismissed Chinese e-commerce platform Temu's lawsuit accusing a California intellectual property attorney of lying to secure settlements for his clients, but the judge refused Wednesday to sanction Temu and its counsel at WilmerHale and Keker Van Nest & Peters LLP for filing a frivolous suit.

  • August 27, 2025

    CoStar Says Copyright Claims Against CREXi Can't Wait

    CoStar Group Inc. told a California federal court that Commercial Real Estate Exchange Inc. is continuing to use its copyrighted images and urged the court not to put its infringement claims on hold for the rival listing platform's "makeweight" antitrust counterclaims.

  • August 27, 2025

    IP Atty Challenges 'Pittance' Valuation Of Ex-Partners' Names

    A longtime Connecticut intellectual property lawyer who left Ohlandt Greeley Ruggiero & Perle LLP to launch his own firm says the names of two deceased partners are worth more to a remaining attorney than an expert's proposed 2% licensing fee, arguing the names achieved "celebrity status" in the IP community.

  • August 27, 2025

    Grubhub Agrees To Pay $7M To End Restaurants' TM Suit

    Several restaurants told an Illinois federal judge they have reached an agreement with Grubhub under which the food delivery service will pay $7.1 million to resolve claims it used their trademarks without permission.

  • August 27, 2025

    Atty Ordered To Pay $652K In Sanctions For TM Trial Conduct

    A California federal judge has ordered an attorney to pay $652,000 of a $1.8 million sanction against a microphone manufacturer he represented that lost a trade dress infringement trial, saying the lawyer had repeatedly misrepresented the terms of a stipulation in a prior case to pursue his legal theory.

  • August 27, 2025

    Personal Injury Firm Accuses Rival Of 'Bait And Switch'

    A Boston personal injury firm facing claims it ripped off another firm's marketing plan launched a countersuit claiming that the rival is using an illegal business model and lying to try to stop a growing competitor.

  • August 26, 2025

    Teradata Asks High Court To Stay Out Of SAP Tying Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court should let sitting dogs lie when it comes to a Ninth Circuit decision reviving tying claims brought by data analytics giant Teradata against a German rival and software maker and just let the matter head to trial, according to the U.S.-based Teradata.

  • August 26, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Agrees To Compromise In Fintiv Appeal Extension

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will have extra time to respond to Google and Samsung's challenge to its Fintiv policy, but not as much as it wanted the Federal Circuit to provide, the court ruled Tuesday.

  • August 26, 2025

    Disney Prevails In Multimedia Patent Challenge At PTAB

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has sided with Disney in its challenge to claims in a patent for marketing and distributing multimedia, finding that prior inventions rendered the claims too obvious for patent protection.

  • August 26, 2025

    Expert Sees No 'Ugly House' Mixup In Warner Bros. IP Case

    During the second day of trial in Delaware federal court, a trademark litigation survey expert testified she found no public confusion with respect to Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.'s "Ugliest House in America" series and HomeVestors Inc.'s house-flipping business and "Ugliest House of the Year" campaign.

Expert Analysis

  • How Courts Weigh Section 1782 Discovery For UPC Cases

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    A look at cases from six different federal district courts reveals a number of discretionary factors that influence how courts consider Section 1782 discovery applications in connection with Unified Patent Court proceedings, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Series

    Volunteer Firefighting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While practicing corporate law and firefighting may appear incongruous, the latter benefits my legal career by reminding me of the importance of humility, perspective and education, says Nicholas Passaro at Ford.

  • Unpacking FTC's New Stance On Standard-Essential Patents

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    Under its new chairman, Andrew Ferguson, the Federal Trade Commission is likely to bring more stand-alone Section 5 cases to challenge anticompetitive conduct, and it will be important for companies to see how the FTC responds to allegations of patent holdup by standard-essential patent holders committed to fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • Unpacking USPTO Foreign Fraudulent Trademark Crackdown

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    The recent show cause order issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to Shenzhen Seller Growth Network Technology Co. Ltd. and its affiliates could lead to the cancellation of approximately 42,000 trademark registrations, highlighting the necessity of heightened vigilance in vetting foreign trademark filings, says Judy Yen at Omnus Law.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: The Perils Of Digital Data Protocols

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    Though stipulated protocols governing the treatment of electronically stored information in litigation are meant to streamline discovery, recent disputes demonstrate that certain missteps in the process can lead to significant inefficiencies, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Preparing For Corporate Work

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    Law school often doesn't cover the business strategy, financial fluency and negotiation skills needed for a successful corporate or transactional law practice, but there are practical ways to gain relevant experience and achieve the mindset shifts critical to a thriving career in this space, says Dakota Forsyth at Olshan Frome.

  • How Patent Prosecution Length Affects Infringement Findings

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    A statistical analysis of patent litigation shows an inverse correlation between the number of office actions a patent application receives before allowance and the likelihood that a patent will be found infringing, though this trend varies based on examiner toughness, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • Takeaways From Gov't Report On AI Copyrightability

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    A recent report from the U.S. Copyright Office is a critical step toward establishing a framework for determining the copyrightability of work created in whole or in part by artificial intelligence systems, solidifying the office's positions on AI tools and advanced prompt techniques, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Strategies To Help Witnesses Manage Deposition Anxiety

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    During and leading up to deposition, witnesses may experience anxiety stemming from numerous sources and manifesting in a variety of ways, but attorneys can help them mitigate their stress using a few key methods, say consultants at Courtroom Sciences.

  • 3 Red Flags To Watch For When Valuing Patent Portfolios

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    As forward-looking intellectual property valuations become increasingly popular, recognizing potential concerns during the due diligence process can help develop a more accurate understanding of a portfolio's true value and potential risk, says Keegan Caldwell at Caldwell Law.

  • A Cold War-Era History Lesson On Due Process

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    The landmark Harry Bridges case from the mid-20th century Red Scare offers important insights on why lawyers must be free of government reprisal, no matter who their client is, says Peter Afrasiabi at One LLP.

  • Series

    Improv Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Improv keeps me grounded and connected to what matters most, including in my legal career where it has helped me to maintain a balance between being analytical, precise and professional, and creative, authentic and open-minded, says Justine Gottshall at InfoLawGroup.

  • How BigLaw Executive Orders May Affect Smaller Firms

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    Because of the types of cases they take on, solo practitioners, small law firms and public interest attorneys may find themselves more dramatically affected by the collective impact of recent government action involving the legal industry than even the BigLaw firms named in the executive orders, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Opinion

    Lawsuits Shouldn't Be Shadow Assets For Foreign Capital

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    Third-party litigation financing amplifies inefficiencies from litigation and facilitates national exposure to foreign influence in the U.S. justice system, so full disclosure of financing arrangements should be required as a matter of institutional integrity, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • How To Accelerate Your Post-Attorney Career Transition

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    Professionals seeking to transition to nonattorney careers may encounter skepticism as nontraditional candidates, but there are opportunities for thought leadership and to leverage speaking and writing to accelerate a post-attorney career transition, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Evgeny Efremkin at Toronto Metropolitan University.

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