Intellectual Property

  • May 19, 2025

    Heineken Unit Settles Palm Trees Beer Logo Dispute

    A Heineken unit's beer brand with Cuban origins and its holding company have settled their trademark infringement suit accusing a rival brewery of infringing their palm trees logo, according to a Monday notice filed in Florida federal court.

  • May 19, 2025

    Copyright Law's Nuances Pose Challenges To AI Music Suits

    The rise of music created by artificial intelligence is introducing new challenges to copyright law, especially when AI-generated songs can sound strikingly similar to the works the technology is trained on.

  • May 19, 2025

    Epic Beats $32.5M Infringement Claim Over Fortnite Concerts

    A Seattle federal jury said on Monday that Epic Games did not commit patent infringement by staging interactive concerts for players in the Fortnite virtual world starring pop artist Ariana Grande and rapper Travis Scott, rejecting an intellectual property firm's $32.5 million damages request following a weeklong trial.

  • May 19, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Sides With Samsung In PTAB Fight With Power2B

    Samsung on Monday won a fight at the Federal Circuit over Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions regarding a pair of patents on stylus detection technology, finding all the challenged claims were unpatentable.

  • May 19, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Sends TM Fight Over Perfume Mark Back To TTAB

    The Federal Circuit on Monday found that a trademark tribunal wrongly dismissed Sferra Fine Linens' opposition to Sfera Joven's trademark application, remanding the case with a directive that some of the likelihood-of-confusion factors be reanalyzed.

  • May 19, 2025

    NCAA Defends Latest NIL Deal Revisions In Bid For Approval

    Contrary to claims by some athletes that they will be harmed by roster limitations in a proposed $2.78 billion name, image and likeness settlement, the NCAA has told a California federal judge the latest changes will ensure "beyond a doubt" those athletes are treated fairly.

  • May 19, 2025

    USPTO Seeks Input On Guidelines For Fighting Online Fakes

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a notice in the Federal Register on Monday requesting comments from intellectual property rights holders, online marketplaces and others on draft guidelines to combat the illicit trade and sale of counterfeit goods on the internet.

  • May 16, 2025

    Anthropic's AI-Hallucinated Errors Taint Filing, Publishers Say

    Music publishers suing Anthropic for copyright infringement accused the artificial intelligence company on Friday of downplaying the seriousness of errors in a filing caused by Anthropic's own Claude AI tool, saying the company's counsel violated a judge's standing order and arguing that the filing at issue should be tossed.

  • May 16, 2025

    New PTAB Discretionary Denial Era Starts With First 4 Rulings

    Acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart on Friday denied two petitions challenging patents due to upcoming trials but said two others do not warrant denial, in the first orders under a new process whereby she will make all discretionary denial decisions.

  • May 16, 2025

    Epic Tells Jury Fortnite Concerts Weren't Patent Infringement

    Epic Games urged a Seattle jury on Friday to reject allegations that it committed patent infringement when it staged interactive concerts in the Fortnite virtual world starring pop artist Ariana Grande and rapper Travis Scott, contending the accuser has mischaracterized the technology used in the events.

  • May 16, 2025

    USPTO Seeks Comment On Invention Promoter Complaints

    In a Federal Register notice set to be published Monday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said it is seeking comments about how it collects information on complaints about invention promoters, which are companies that promise to help people develop or market their inventions.

  • May 16, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Backs Apple PTAB Win Over Location-Tracking IP

    The Federal Circuit has backed a series of Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions that found a trio of beacon technology patents were invalid, handing a win to challenger Apple.

  • May 16, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Makes Apple Face Fintiv Payment IP Again

    The Federal Circuit revived Fintiv Inc.'s infringement suit against Apple Inc. over contactless payments Friday, saying the Texas federal judge who freed Apple viewed what evidence is acceptable too narrowly.

  • May 16, 2025

    9th Circ. Says Lil Nas X Didn't Steal Model's Instagram Poses

    The Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a model's lawsuit accusing Lil Nas X of copying his Instagram photos, ruling Friday that the model didn't plausibly allege the musician had "access" to the pictures, as defined by court doctrine.

  • May 16, 2025

    Illumina Accuses Ex-Workers' Co. Of Infringing Gene Tech IP

    Biotechnology giant Illumina Inc. filed a lawsuit Thursday against Element Biosciences in Delaware federal court, accusing the company founded by former Illumina employees of infringing five patents related to automated gene sequencing technology.

  • May 16, 2025

    Western Digital Agrees To End Patent Suit After $262M Verdict

    Data storage giant Western Digital and MR Technologies told a California federal judge Friday they agreed to end a patent dispute that last summer had put Western Digital on the hook for $262.4 million in damages to MR Technologies for infringing patents for increasing storage capacity on disk drives.

  • May 16, 2025

    Sheeran Fights Supreme Court Review Of Copyright Ruling

    Ed Sheeran urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject an appeal to a decision concluding that his hit song "Thinking Out Loud" did not copy Marvin Gaye's classic "Let's Get it On," arguing the plaintiff wrongly contends that the Second Circuit improperly relied on the U.S. Copyright Office's administrative guidance after justices overturned the Chevron deference.

  • May 16, 2025

    Off The Bench: NIL Objectors, NFL's Bluesky Beef, Dick's Deal

    In this week's Off The Bench, the NCAA's pending $2.78 billion name, image and likeness rights settlement faces another round of objections, the NFL shreds an antitrust suit accusing it of boycotting Bluesky and retail giant Dick's Sporting Goods makes a 10-figure splurge for Foot Locker.

  • May 16, 2025

    Colo. Consultancy Says Company Ripped Off AI Tool Name

    A business consulting services company sued a software development company in Colorado federal court Thursday for allegedly ripping off the trademarked name for its artificial intelligence "change management" tool for its own AI software solutions.

  • May 16, 2025

    Calif. Atty Caught Using Claim Construction Made Up By AI

    A San Francisco-based attorney representing Magpul Industries in patent litigation has been effectively removed from the case after admitting that the claim construction chart he submitted was nearly all fabricated by artificial intelligence.

  • May 16, 2025

    Merchandising Co., Ex-Exec Drop Suit Over $47M Lowe's Deal

    A merchandising company has dropped its lawsuit against a former executive it accused of exploiting trade secrets to sabotage a $47 million deal with home improvement giant Lowe's, according to a stipulation of dismissal filed Thursday.

  • May 16, 2025

    Patent Owner Urges Justices To Take Telemedicine Case

    The owner of a pair of invalidated patents covering medical machinery pushed the U.S. Supreme Court to take up its fight over the patents' eligibility since the government said it planned to argue the patents shouldn't have been invalidated as abstract if the company's petition was granted.

  • May 16, 2025

    Trump Admin Settles Vaccine Contract Info Suit For $10K

    The Trump administration has reached a $10,000 settlement with a consumer advocacy group over allegedly withholding information about the government's billion-dollar contracts with companies that developed and manufactured the COVID-19 vaccine, including Pfizer and Moderna.

  • May 15, 2025

    Google Leads In Filing The Most AI Patent Applications

    Google is outpacing other Big Tech companies like Microsoft and IBM in filing patent applications in the artificial intelligence space, both globally and in the U.S., according to a new report.

  • May 15, 2025

    Anthropic's Atty Says Client's Own AI Created Error In Filing

    A Latham & Watkins LLP associate representing Anthropic in the artificial intelligence company's copyright fight with music publishers said Thursday that she used Anthropic's own Claude.ai tool to help draft an expert's declaration that included an erroneous citation, but she argued the error was "an honest citation mistake and not a fabrication of authority."

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • 5 Key Licensing Considerations For AI Innovations

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    As businesses increasingly integrate artificial intelligence technology into their operations, they must prepare to address complex intellectual property challenges and questions surrounding licensing AI-based innovations, which require careful consideration of ownership, usage rights and regulatory compliance, says Lestin Kenton at Sterne Kessler.

  • A Higher Bar For Expert Witnesses In Drug Patent Litigation

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    With recent decisions emphasizing courts' growing insistence on robust methodologies in pharmaceutical patent disputes, litigators must be strategic in how they utilize expert testimony and adapt to venue-specific expectations, says Jeremy Scholem at WIT Legal.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Be An Indispensable Associate

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    While law school teaches you to research, write and think critically, it often overlooks the professional skills you will need to make yourself an essential team player when transitioning from a summer to full-time associate, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • Protecting Brand Identity In An AI-Driven Marketplace

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    A lawsuit recently filed in New York federal court marks a critical moment in the intersection of artificial intelligence and trademark law, underscoring the importance of — and challenges surrounding — IP owners' ability to protect their brands as AI-generated content continues to grow, says Wendy Heilbut at Heilbut LLC.

  • Series

    Birding Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Observing and documenting birds in their natural habitats fosters patience, sharpens observational skills and provides moments of pure wonder — qualities that foster personal growth and enrich my legal career, says Allison Raley at Arnall Golden.

  • Justices May Clarify What IP Competitors In Litigation Can Say

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    If the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to weigh in on Atturo Tire v. Toyo Tire, it may be able to provide guidance on the murky questions surrounding what companies enforcing their intellectual property against competitors are allowed to say in public, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • How To Ensure Confidentiality When Using AI In Discovery

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    In light of a recent case in the Southern District of New York involving the dissemination of AI-generated content containing confidential information, there are steps that law firms and lawyers should take to protect client and third-party data during litigation, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • An Update On IPR Issue Preclusion In District Court Litigation

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    Two recent Federal Circuit rulings have resolved a district court split regarding issue preclusion based on Patent Trial and Appeal Board outcomes, potentially counseling petitioners in favor of challenging not only all the claims of an asserted patent, but also related patents that have not yet been raised in district court, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Leadership To BigLaw

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    The move from government service to private practice can feel like changing one’s identity, but as someone who has left the U.S. Department of Justice twice, I’ve learned that a successful transition requires patience, effort and the realization that the rewards of practicing law don’t come from one particular position, says Richard Donoghue at Pillsbury.

  • In-House Expert Testimony Is Tricky, But Worth Considering

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    Litigation counsel often reject the notion of designating in-house personnel to provide expert opinion testimony at trial, but dismissing them outright can result in a significant missed opportunity, say David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law and Martin Pitha at Lillis Pitha.

  • Fed. Circ. Ruling Reaffirms Listing Elements Separately Is Key

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    The Federal Circuit's decision last month in Regeneron v. Mylan reaffirms a critical principle in patent law: When a claim lists elements separately, the clear implication is that they are distinct elements, say attorneys at Taft.

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