Intellectual Property

  • April 09, 2026

    Copyright Chief Decries 'Cataclysmic' High Court Cox Ruling

    U.S. Copyright Office leader Shira Perlmutter expressed grave concern at a conference Thursday about the ramifications of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision shielding Cox Communications in a music piracy case, saying the "somewhat cataclysmic" ruling significantly restricted copyright infringement liability.

  • April 09, 2026

    ITC Opens Investigation Into Imported Screen Protectors

    The U.S. International Trade Commission on Thursday said it is opening an investigation into Belkin's claims that a rival is importing and selling screen protectors that infringe a trio of Belkin patents.

  • April 09, 2026

    PNC Tells Justices $223M Patent Win Was Rightly Axed

    PNC Bank told the U.S. Supreme Court to leave untouched a Federal Circuit ruling that nixed a set of $223 million patent infringement verdicts in suits brought by the United Services Automobile Association, saying USAA's patents were "plainly directed to an abstract idea" not eligible for patent protection.

  • April 09, 2026

    Heim Payne Adds New TM Litigation & Appeals Group Leader

    Houston-based Intellectual property boutique Heim Payne & Chorush LLP has brought on an attorney with decades of experience, including time as an examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office early in her legal career, to lead the firm's trademark litigation and appeals practice.

  • April 09, 2026

    Ex-Assurant Workers Look To Toss RICO, Trade Secrets Suit

    A group of former Assurant salesmen called the auto warranty underwriter's eighth attempt at bringing Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations and trade secrets claims a shotgun pleading, arguing in Georgia federal court that competition and criminal enterprise are not the same.

  • April 08, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Questions Specificity Needed In Oxy IP Invalidation

    A Federal Circuit panel expressed frustration with attorneys from both Purdue Pharma LP and generic-drug maker Accord Healthcare Inc. Wednesday as it tried to navigate whether the Delaware district court order invalidating Purdue's abuse-deterrence patent was explicit enough.

  • April 08, 2026

    Erotic Influencer's Pot Co. Sued For Infringing Lil Baby's IP

    An erotic content influencer, her entrepreneur boyfriend and their Miami-based cannabis company are accused of tarnishing rapper Lil Baby's brand and trademarks by using them to push contaminated marijuana products while tying them to "explicit" adult content, according to a California federal lawsuit.

  • April 08, 2026

    Vegas Performer Wants To Block Taylor Swift's 'Showgirl' Use

    A Las Vegas performer who has accused Taylor Swift of infringing her long-held "Confessions of a Showgirl" trademark asked a California federal judge to block the pop powerhouse from using "The Life of a Showgirl" on merchandise and for performances while the suit plays out in court.

  • April 08, 2026

    New Patent Owner Filings Expected To Drive Down Reexams

    A new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office procedure allowing patent owners to respond to ex parte reexamination requests has the potential to shake up the process and lead to fewer reexams being instituted since the office can now hear from both sides, attorneys say.

  • April 08, 2026

    Starbucks Ends Wash. 'Patent Troll' Suit Against 2 Irish Cos.

    Starbucks Corp. agreed to drop its lawsuit against two Irish companies the coffee giant had accused of breaking a Washington law against "bad faith" patent infringement claims, according to a joint motion Tuesday asking a Washington federal judge to dismiss the action.

  • April 08, 2026

    Samsung Wants New Trial After $78.5M Patent Verdict

    Samsung is seeking a new trial after an Eastern District of Texas jury said it owed $78.5 million for infringing patents covering automatic content recognition technology for commercial advertising, calling the first trial "fundamentally unfair."

  • April 08, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Zeroes In On Ecobee Jury Instruction Beef

    Judges on the Federal Circuit suggested that a lower court's jury form and instructions could undo at least some of an $11.5 million award against ecobee Technologies in a smart thermostat infringement row with Ollnova Technologies, particularly in light of the Federal Circuit's 2025 decision in a fight between Optis and Apple.

  • April 08, 2026

    OpenAI Witness Was Unprepared In IP MDL Depo, Judge Finds

    A New York federal judge has given news organizations and authors additional time to depose an OpenAI employee in litigation accusing the artificial intelligence company of using copyrighted material to train ChatGPT, saying the employee's lack of preparation and OpenAI counsel's "pattern of repeated objections" impeded his earlier deposition.

  • April 08, 2026

    Military Gear Co. Says Ex-Director Stole Trade Secrets

    A manufacturer of military protective equipment accused a former director in Virginia federal court Tuesday of stealing sensitive information with the intent to use it to gain an unfair advantage in his next venture.

  • April 08, 2026

    Optis Wants 4th Trial On 4G Patents Against Apple

    Optis Wireless Technologies asked a Texas federal judge for a favorable judgment or a new trial Wednesday after a jury cleared Apple of patent infringement allegations in the case's third trial in February.

  • April 08, 2026

    DOJ Backs Patent Rights In Samsung Case Against Netlist

    The U.S. Department of Justice told a Delaware federal court that having a patent included in a standard does not necessarily give the patentholder market power, while weighing in on Samsung's case accusing Netlist of exploiting the standard-setting process.

  • April 08, 2026

    Del. Judge Orders Disclosures Over PE Investors In Law Firms

    As ethics concerns mount over the growing interest in allowing outside investment in the legal industry, Delaware's top federal judge is requiring attorneys seeking pro hac vice admission in his court to certify that they do not practice law or share fees with nonlawyers, with certain exceptions.

  • April 08, 2026

    Shutterstock, Photographer Clash Over DMCA Safe Harbor

    A landscape photographer and Shutterstock have filed dueling bids for summary judgment in a copyright lawsuit in Manhattan federal court over whether the stock photo company can be held liable for allegedly infringing images uploaded by its users, or whether the claims are barred by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's safe harbor protections.

  • April 08, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Backs TTAB Order Rejecting Vape Mark Challenge

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday backed a decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board that rejected a challenge to a vape company's trademark application, finding that there was no likelihood of confusion between it and another mark.

  • April 08, 2026

    Stella Rosa Maker Sues Texas Rival Over 'Rosa 32' Name

    San Antonio Winery hit a Houston-based family-owned beverage company with a trademark infringement suit in Texas federal court on Tuesday, contesting its use of "Rosa 32" in connection with its wines, which is confusingly similar to the plaintiff's "Rosa 22" digestif that is part of its famed Stella Rosa collection.

  • April 08, 2026

    Redesigned Supplement Partially Cleared In Patent Row

    A Delaware federal court has found that most of the redesigned versions of a nutritional supplement don't infringe a patent owned by Kaneka Corp., while also saying it's still unclear how much the Japanese company is owed for earlier versions the court found did infringe.

  • April 08, 2026

    Gun Trigger Patent Suits Are Consolidated In EDTX

    Patent infringement suits asserted by a gun trigger company after striking a deal with the Trump administration have been consolidated in the Eastern District of Texas, a venue that the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation said would be convenient for the parties and witnesses.

  • April 08, 2026

    Delaware High Court Revives LG's $12.8M Patent Award

    The Delaware Supreme Court has revived a larger damages award for LG Electronics Inc. in a long-running patent licensing dispute, ruling that a lower court improperly slashed a jury verdict and wrongly denied key financial add-ons, while otherwise upholding the jury's findings that the defendants breached their agreement.

  • April 08, 2026

    DLA Piper Offered Pregnant Atty 'Dignified' Exit, Jury Told

    A former DLA Piper associate who claims she was unlawfully fired after announcing her pregnancy was offered a chance to transition out of the firm "without anyone knowing that her work was subpar," a partner told a Manhattan federal jury Wednesday.

  • April 07, 2026

    Stability AI Says Garbled Pics Don't Support Getty Claims

    Stability AI urged a California federal judge Tuesday to toss six claims from a sprawling lawsuit alleging the artificial intelligence company misused millions of Getty Images' photos, arguing garbled AI images featuring Getty's watermark don't amount to trademark dilution, trademark infringement or violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Expert Analysis

  • AI Litigation Tools Can Enhance Case Assessment, Strategy

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    Civil litigators can use artificial intelligence tools to strengthen case assessment and aid in early strategy development, as long as they address the risks and ethical considerations that accompany these uses, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • New IPR Rules Will Require A Patent Litigation Strategy Shift

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently transformed the way it considers petitions for inter partes review, in a move that swings the pendulum in favor of patent owners, making it important for litigants to reassess the role of IPRs in their litigation strategy, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Attys Beware: Generative AI Can Also Hallucinate Metadata

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    In addition to the well-known problem of AI-generated hallucinations in legal documents, AI tools can also hallucinate metadata — threatening the integrity of discovery, the reliability of evidence and the ability to definitively identify the provenance of electronic documents, say attorneys at Law & Forensics.

  • Lessons From Fed. Circ. On Expert Testimony In Patent Cases

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    Several recent decisions from the Federal Circuit are notable for their treatment of expert testimony, with relevance to the three pillars of every patent case — infringement, invalidity and damages — and offer lessons on ensuring that expert testimony is both admissible and sufficient to support the jury's verdict, say attorneys at Honigman.

  • When Atty Ethics Violations Give Rise To Causes Of Action

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    Though the Model Rules of Professional Conduct make clear that a violation of the rules does not automatically create a cause of action, attorneys should beware of a few scenarios in which they could face lawsuits for ethical lapses, says Brian Faughnan at Faughnan Law.

  • TikTok Divestiture Deal Revolves Around IP Considerations

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    The divestiture deal between the U.S. and China to resolve a security dispute over TikTok's U.S. operations is seen as a diplomatic breakthrough, but its success hinges on the treatment of intellectual property and may set a precedent in the global contest over digital sovereignty and IP control, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • Trending At The PTAB: A Potential Barrier To Serial Challenges

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    New rules proposed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office may appear similar to previous rules at first glance, but are actually much broader in how they would limit petitioners' ability to challenge a patent more than once, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Fed. Circ. In September: The Printed Matter Doctrine Expands

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    The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Bayer v. Mylan represents an extension of the doctrine that adding new words to an existing product or method will not support patentability unless there is a functional relationship, bringing new considerations for both patent holders and challengers, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • 10 Quick Tips To Elevate Your Evidence Presentation At Trial

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    A strong piece of evidence, whether in the form of testimony or exhibit, is wasted if not presented effectively, so attorneys must prepare with precision to help fact-finders both retain the information and internalize its significance, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.

  • Series

    Practicing Stoicism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Practicing Stoicism, by applying reason to ignore my emotions and govern my decisions, has enabled me to approach challenging situations in a structured way, ultimately providing advice singularly devoted to a client's interest, says John Baranello at Moses & Singer.

  • Broader Eligibility For AI-Related Patents May Be Coming

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    A series of recent developments from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office appears to signal that claims involving improvement in the operation of a machine learning model are now more likely to be considered patent-eligible, and that patent examiners may focus on questions of novelty and nonobviousness and less so on subject matter eligibility, say attorneys at Kilpatrick.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Texas, One Year In

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    A year after the Texas Business Court's first decision, it's clear that Texas didn't just copy Delaware and instead built something uniquely its own, combining specialization with constitutional accountability and creating a model that looks forward without losing touch with the state's democratic and statutory roots, says Chris Bankler at Jackson Walker.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Educating Your Community

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    Nearly two decades prosecuting scammers and elder fraud taught me that proactively educating the public about the risks they face and the rights they possess is essential to building trust within our communities, empowering otherwise vulnerable citizens and preventing wrongdoers from gaining a foothold, says Roger Handberg at GrayRobinson.

  • Adapting To USPTO's Reduction Of Examiner Interview Time

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    Reported changes to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's examiner performance appraisal plan will likely make interviews scarcer throughout the application process, potentially influencing patent allowance rates and increasing the importance of approaching each interview with a clear agenda and well-defined goals, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • What To Know About Interim Licenses In Global FRAND Cases

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    Recent U.K. court decisions have shaped a framework for interim licenses in global standard-essential patent disputes, under which parties can benefit from operating on temporary terms while a court determines the final fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms — but the future of this developing remedy is in doubt, say attorneys at Fish & Richardson.

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