Intellectual Property

  • March 11, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Cuts Down Netflix's Appeal Of Broadcom Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Monday backed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in finding that an Avago Technologies distributed computing patent was valid, handing a loss to Netflix.

  • March 11, 2024

    Judge Won't Enhance $42.5M Christmas Tree Verdict

    A federal judge in Minneapolis held that evidence of "copying" is not enough to "definitively show egregious infringement" in a dispute over lights used in artificial Christmas trees that led to one of the largest patent verdicts in the history of Minnesota federal court.

  • March 11, 2024

    Fed. Circ. OKs Boston Drug Developer's Patent Win

    A Boston-area biotech developer that has yet to bring a product to market persuaded the Federal Circuit on Monday to affirm a finding by an administrative patent board last year that stripped a smaller Chinese rival of a patent covering a way of using a type of sulfonic acid to potentially treat Alzheimer's disease.

  • March 11, 2024

    Atty-Writer's Suit Against CAA Poised To Move Forward

    An attorney for Creative Artists Agency urged a California judge Monday to rethink his tentative ruling to allow an attorney-turned-writer's suit against the agency to move toward a trial, saying the court's finding of substantial similarity between allegedly stolen script elements and the plaintiff's script threatens writers' creative freedom.

  • March 11, 2024

    Tech, Retail Industries Say No To Patent Eligibility Reforms

    A coalition of tech companies, retailers and tech activist groups lined up on Monday in opposition to the latest legislative effort to limit patent invalidation in the courts, warning that unseating legal precedents over eligibility would lead to a coming "wave of crippling litigation."

  • March 11, 2024

    5th Circ. Revives Dish's Bid To Take Down Arabic TV Site

    The Fifth Circuit has revived Dish Network's suit against a German resident for sharing Arabic-language programming pirated from Dish after finding the defendant purposefully advertises to viewers in the United States.

  • March 11, 2024

    Designer Says USPTO's F-Bomb TM Refusal Is Retaliatory

    An artist and clothing designer who wants to register the F-bomb as a trademark told the Federal Circuit on Monday that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is retaliating against him for his role in overturning a ban on immoral or scandalous marks, saying the USPTO is inventing reasons to deny his application.

  • March 11, 2024

    Writers Target Nvidia, Databricks In AI Copyright Litigation

    Several writers have filed a pair of proposed class actions in California federal court that accuse technology-based companies of ripping off their copyright-protected works.

  • March 11, 2024

    Woodsford Affiliate Prevails In Fee Feud With SF Firm

    An affiliate of British litigation funder Woodsford has secured a $1.8 million arbital award and $1.2 million in interest from a San Francisco law firm following the 2019 settlement of a lawsuit against Google, a Delaware federal judge confirmed Monday.

  • March 11, 2024

    EasyGroup Fights Tefal's Bid To Revoke Its 'Easy' TMs

    EasyGroup has hit back at Tefal's claim that its trademarks are invalid and therefore cannot be infringed in an ongoing battle over the French cookware maker's "Easy Fry" air fryers.

  • March 08, 2024

    Cahill Has 'Great Ambitions' To Take IP Litigation By Storm

    Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP has spent the last year building up a new intellectual property practice, with a veteran of top law firms leading the way and attorneys from White & Case LLP joining the firm earlier this year.

  • March 08, 2024

    Patent Case Over Air Conditioners For Boat Use Sinks At ITC

    The U.S. International Trade Commission has decided that a Swedish manufacturer of air conditioners for use on boats doesn't have a patent case against a handful of rivals based in Florida and China after all.

  • March 08, 2024

    Apple Settles Long-Running Patent Fight With Israeli Startup

    More than six years after an Apple negotiator allegedly told an Israeli startup that "it would take years and millions of dollars in litigation" before the smartphone maker would settle patent infringement accusations involving iPhone lenses, Apple has settled with the startup, now owned by rival Samsung.

  • March 08, 2024

    ITC Clears LKQ, Others In Car Lamp Patent Cases

    The U.S. International Trade Commission has undone administrative findings that Chicago parts maker LKQ Corp. and other companies flouted federal patent law by allegedly importing certain headlights and taillights.

  • March 08, 2024

    New Inventors Get More Time For Patent Pilot Program

    Federal patent officials are giving a yearlong extension to a program that allows smaller inventors who are filing their first patent applications to cut the line for their inventions to be reviewed.

  • March 08, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Argues Judge Newman's Ethics Law Challenge Fails

    A D.C. federal judge must reject suspended U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's challenge to the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act, as her constitutional arguments are too limited, the Federal Circuit Judicial Council said Friday.

  • March 08, 2024

    $88M Final Judgment Entered In RFID Patent Case

    An Oregon federal magistrate judge has determined that Adasa Inc. is owed about $88.3 million in a case where Avery Dennison was found to infringe a patent on radio frequency identification tags, while also saying Adasa was owed ongoing royalties and interest.

  • March 08, 2024

    EasyGroup Denies Volkswagen's IP Claims Over EV Charging Site

    EasyGroup Ltd. has disputed Volkswagen's claim that a website for electric-vehicle charging stations wrongly used a VW vehicle logo, among other issues, asserting that EasyGroup wasn't responsible for the site and had filed an "easyCharging" trademark in good faith.

  • March 08, 2024

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen Barclays initiate legal proceedings against top Russian private bank JSC Alfa-Bank; Lex Greensill, founder of the collapsed Greensill Capital, suing the U.K.'s Department for Business and Trade; Wikipedia's parent company hit with a libel claim; and a sports journalism teacher filing a data protection claim against Manchester United FC. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • March 07, 2024

    Ralph Lauren Settles With Convicted Ga. Fake Polo Dealer

    The parent company of fashion giant Ralph Lauren said Thursday the company has reached a settlement with a convicted seller of counterfeit apparel, ending nearly three years of litigation against the Atlanta-area clothing store owner.

  • March 07, 2024

    Nokia Owes Would-Be Tech Partner $23M Over Oral Deal

    Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy owes telecom company Collision Communications $23 million after reneging on an oral contract to license noise-filtering technology, a New Hampshire federal jury found Wednesday.

  • March 07, 2024

    Caliber Says Ex-Exec's Terms With Predecessor Still Apply

    Caliber Home Loans Inc. has urged a Dallas federal court to reject a former executive's bid to trim a lawsuit accusing him of raiding the company's workforce when he defected for a competitor, arguing that a contract breach claim still stands even though he worked for a predecessor when he signed the contract at issue. 

  • March 07, 2024

    'Hatchet Wielding' Killer Has No Part In Netflix Suit, Court Told

    A Kentucky man who accused Netflix of wrongfully using his image in a true-crime documentary titled "The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker" has asked a Texas federal judge to keep the real hatchet-wielding hitchhiker out of his lawsuit, saying the convicted murderer has nothing to do with his litigation against the streaming giant.

  • March 07, 2024

    IP Forecast: 2nd Circ. To Consider Whether Seltzer Is Beer

    The Modelo brand will head to the Second Circuit next week to argue that a Manhattan jury erred when it found that Corona's flavored seltzer is just about the same as beer in light of a contract that the companies entered. Here's a look at that case — plus all the other major intellectual property matters on deck in the coming week.

  • March 07, 2024

    Penn State Suit Sets Off Debate Over Trademarks' Function

    The Pennsylvania State University and sports apparel retailer Vintage Brand are locked in a legal battle that could force courts to reexamine how trademarks function in merchandise licensing and potentially make it harder to prevail on counterfeiting claims, according to attorneys.

Expert Analysis

  • Expect National Security Scrutiny Of Higher Ed To Continue

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    In 2023, the federal government significantly elevated the national security responsibilities of academic communities, so universities and research laboratories should take a more rigorous approach to research partnerships, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Medtronic's Cautionary Tale Of Fed. Circ. Word Limits

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    The Federal Circuit's ruling in Medtronic v. Teleflex that Medtronic waived an argument that it had sought to incorporate by reference illustrates the pitfalls facing parties in complex patent cases involving numerous issues that cannot all be addressed within the strict word limits for appellate briefs, say Sean Murray and Jeremiah Helm at Knobbe Martens.

  • What One Litigator Learned Serving On A Jury

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    Kilpatrick attorney April Isaacson shares insights for trial lawyers from her recent experience serving on a jury for the first time, including lessons about the impact of frequent sidebars, considerations for using demonstratives, the importance of clear jury instructions, and the unconscious habits that can drive jurors mad.

  • Lessons In Navigating Collateral Estoppel Of Similar Patents

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    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board's recent holding in Google v. Parus that rehearing was appropriate under collateral estoppel illustrates best arguments in inter partes review for any issue that could arise in a later proceeding, including dependent claim limitations, say attorneys at Akin.

  • Fed. Circ. Ruling Seemingly Offers PTAB Deadline Immunity

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    The Federal Circuit's recent Purdue Pharma v. Collegium Pharmaceutical Inc. decision that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board had authority to issue a final written decision in a post grant review after the prescribed statutory deadline underscores how courts should consider the overall objective of the statutory scheme when balancing the classic conflict between bright-line rules and flexible standards, says Matthew Dowd at Dowd Sheffel.

  • 4 Legal Ethics Considerations For The New Year

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    As attorneys and clients reset for a new year, now is a good time to take a step back and review some core ethical issues that attorneys should keep front of mind in 2024, including approaching generative artificial intelligence with caution and care, and avoiding pitfalls in outside counsel guidelines, say attorneys at HWG.

  • What Brands Need To Know About Consumer Reviews In 2024

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    Testimonials, endorsements and consumer reviews have been on the Federal Trade Commission's radar for years — and since this evolving area will continue to be an enforcement priority in 2024, now is the time to ensure your house is in order, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Opinion

    Waiving COVID-19 IP Protections Would Harm US Industry

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    President Joe Biden should turn down a World Trade Organization proposal to waive crucial intellectual property protections behind COVID-19 tests and diagnostics — protections that allow U.S. companies to sustain millions of jobs and develop life-saving treatments that benefit patients in every country, says former U.S. Circuit Judge Paul Michel, now at the Council for Innovation Promotion.

  • Fed. Circ. Patent Decisions In 2023: An Empirical Review

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    The Federal Circuit decided 306 patent cases last year, which is still well down from the pre-pandemic norm of around 440, and on the whole the court's decisions were markedly less patentee-friendly in 2023 than in 2022, says Dan Bagatell at Perkins Coie.

  • What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like

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    As the legal landscape shifts, it’s become increasingly clear that the BigLaw business model must adapt in four key ways to remain viable, from fostering workplace flexibility to embracing technology, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • 4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News

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    Media coverage of new lawsuits exploded last year, demonstrating why defense attorneys should devise a public relations plan that complements their legal strategy, incorporating several objectives to balance ethical obligations and advocacy, say Nathan Burchfiel at Pinkston and Ryan June at Castañeda + Heidelman.

  • Trouble Indemnity: IP Lawsuits In The Generative AI Boom

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    Attorneys at Ropes & Gray explore the contours of the intellectual property indemnification protections offered by providers of generative AI models — including their scope, coverage, conditions, exclusions and caps — to assess where businesses may still face liability exposure.

  • 6 AI Cases And What They Mean For Copyright Law

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    Artificial intelligence cases filed last year, some decided and others pending, demonstrate how the appellate courts that set binding precedent look at the intersection between copyright and AI, so legal frameworks must adapt and provide clarity in order to foster innovation, protect creators, and ensure fair and equitable outcomes, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Why Fed. Circ. Affirmed Attorney Fee Award In PersonalWeb

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    A recent Federal Circuit decision to leave a $5.2 million fee award in place in the PersonalWeb patent case underscores district courts' discretion to sanction unreasonable arguments and litigation tactics under the U.S. Code's attorney fee provision, say attorneys at Shearman. 

  • How AI Is Changing The Game Of Professional Sports

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    As more professional sports teams and organizations employ the use of artificial intelligence, counsel should keep a critical eye on several legal issues, including both state and federal regulatory developments, data privacy concerns, and how AI tools could potentially affect applicable intellectual property rights, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

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