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Intellectual Property
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New PTAB Briefing Plan Likely To Get Patent Owner Pushback
A proposed rule to create a separate round of briefing in Patent Trial and Appeal Board cases about whether the board should use its discretion to deny review may rankle patent owners, attorneys say, since it could effectively restrict their available arguments in many cases.
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April 27, 2024
'Woodstock' Weed TM Case Settles Before Jury Selection
The promoter of the 1969 Woodstock music fair agreed Friday to drop infringement claims against a rival purveyor of "Woodstock" trademarks in the evolving marijuana market, in a last-minute Manhattan federal court deal that avoids a jury trial.
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April 26, 2024
Albright Sinks Microsoft's Transfer Bid In Proxense Fight
U.S. District Judge Alan Albright rejected efforts by Microsoft to send an infringement lawsuit over its cloud software to its home in Washington state, citing on Friday his own "experience and effort" dealing with patents covering "a pint-sized virtual wallet" in other suits.
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April 26, 2024
Ex-USPTO Solicitor Heads To Carmichael IP
A veteran intellectual property attorney who once served as the chief legal officer at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has made the move to Carmichael IP PLLC.
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April 26, 2024
HP Defeats Video Coding Patent Case At ITC
The U.S. International Trade Commission has terminated a patent case against HP Inc. by VideoLabs Inc. over video coding patents, agreeing with an administrative law judge that the asserted claims are invalid as indefinite.
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April 26, 2024
Prince Heirs Push Del. Court To Reject 'Unfettered' Control
Four family members of the late musician Prince who claim to have taken over for two music industry veterans they once entrusted to run his estate urged a Delaware Chancery Court judge on Friday to throw out the managers' lawsuit against them, calling it "unconscionable and unreasonable."
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April 26, 2024
Truist Unit Survives Early Dismissal Bid In NC Poaching Suit
Truist Financial Corp. and its real estate finance arm can move forward with the bulk of their suit accusing three former executives of absconding for a competitor with several dozen colleagues in tow, after North Carolina's business court judge largely denied the defendants an early exit.
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April 26, 2024
Cox Says Insurers Must Pay For Settled DMCA Suit
Cox Enterprises Inc. sued two of its insurers this week over allegations they failed to cover the company's more than $15 million in expenses in defending, and ultimately settling, a novel lawsuit that aimed to hold the internet service provider liable for users' illegal downloads.
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April 26, 2024
No Coverage For Treasure Hunter's IP Row, 9th Circ. Rules
Great American Insurance Co. had no coverage obligations over a $7.5 settlement stemming from a treasure hunter's claims that his former partners refused to hand over maps and other intellectual property after they parted ways, the Ninth Circuit ruled Friday, finding the treasure hunter didn't allege insurable, accidental conduct.
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April 26, 2024
Microsoft Narrows Virtual Assistant Patent Row Ahead Of Trial
A Delaware federal judge has tossed claims that Microsoft's virtual assistant program infringed a patent initially issued to a company that developed Apple's Siri software, but declined to scratch out allegations on another patent in the dispute, which is teed up for trial early next month.
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April 26, 2024
Latham, Akin Beat NJ Suit Over Alleged IP Theft Scheme
A New Jersey federal court on Friday tossed a lawsuit claiming attorneys from Latham & Watkins LLP and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP manipulated patent litigation to steal a former Cornell University graduate student's DNA sequencing intellectual property, calling that graduate student's claims "conspiracy theories."
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April 26, 2024
TTAB Says Expired 'Zima' TM Ends Cancellation Bid
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has found that a petition to cancel a trademark for the drink Zima was no longer an issue since its owner, Molson Coors, let the registration on the product expire.
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April 26, 2024
Off The Bench: Nassar Victims, Bush V. NCAA, New ACC Suit
In this week's Off The Bench, the U.S. Department of Justice cuts a nine-figure deal for botching its sexual abuse investigation of disgraced USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar, college football legend Reggie Bush plows ahead with an NCAA defamation suit despite reclaiming his Heisman trophy, and Florida sues the ACC to detail its lucrative media rights contracts.
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April 26, 2024
JPMorgan Says Ex-Adviser Is Pilfering Clients For Wells Fargo
J.P. Morgan has accused a former investment management adviser of trying to poach clients for her new job at a competing Wells Fargo unit, saying she's been making unsolicited phone calls and sending emails to convince clients to leave in breach of her employment contract.
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April 26, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen budget airline Ryanair file a claim against NATS PLC after the air traffic controller's system collapsed, Mastercard and Visa Europe face group claims from Christian Dior and dozens of other beauty retailers, an intellectual property clash between the publisher of The Sun and ITV, and ISC Europe sue a former director for alleged money laundering. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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April 25, 2024
AI-Created Rant Tied To Principal Leads To Ex-Staffer's Arrest
Baltimore County police on Thursday arrested a former high school athletic director who is accused of using artificial intelligence to generate a racist and antisemitic audio recording falsely attributed to the school's principal, allegedly in retaliation for an investigation into the potential mishandling of school funds.
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April 25, 2024
Astellas Can't Block Generic Myrbetriq Amid Patent Suit
A Delaware federal judge has shot down Astellas Pharma's request to issue an injunction blocking rival pharmaceutical companies from selling generic copies of the overactive bladder medication Myrbetriq as they hash out a patent infringement suit, agreeing with a magistrate judge that Astellas isn't likely to win its case.
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April 25, 2024
CureVac, Acuitas Reach Deal In COVID Vax Patent Dispute
CureVac SE told a Virginia federal judge Thursday that it has reached a settlement to resolve Acuitas Therapeutics Inc.'s lawsuit inventorship credit on patents related to lipid nanoparticle technology used to develop the blockbuster Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
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April 25, 2024
Meta Can't Get TTAB To Dismiss Software Biz's TM Challenge
An administrative tribunal has dealt a setback to the tech giant formerly known as Facebook in its legal efforts to register a trademark covering its new moniker, allowing an Italian software company called myMeta to proceed with arguments that it was first.
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April 25, 2024
GSK Hits Pfizer And BioNTech With COVID Vaccine Patent Suit
GlaxoSmithKline alleged in a suit filed Thursday in Delaware federal court that the COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and BioNTech infringe five of its patents on mRNA technology, the latest in a series of lawsuits over the vaccines that have generated tens of billions of dollars in revenue.
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April 25, 2024
Judge Reopens Allstate Trade Secrets Case Against Ex-Agent
A Colorado federal judge has partially reopened a case alleging that a former Allstate exclusive agent poached customers for another agency, directing the ex-agent to explain why he shouldn't be held in contempt in the lawsuit.
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April 25, 2024
7th Circ. OKs Pausing Nail Polish IP Suit For Ownership Fight
A company registered in New Jersey that sells nail polish has failed to persuade a federal appeals court to let it move ahead with its trade secrets case in a Chicago federal court against its former business partners in China until first resolving an ownership dispute "lurking just beneath the surface."
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April 25, 2024
Dominican Republic, Uzbekistan No Longer On IP Watch List
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced Thursday it has removed the Dominican Republic and Uzbekistan from its watch list of countries with poor track records on intellectual property protection, keeping close trade partners Mexico and Canada on the roster.
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April 25, 2024
Patent Holder Settles Transfer Fraud Case Tied To $17M Win
The holder of a patent on a device that prevents New York City subways from flooding on Thursday settled a case adjacent to a $17.8 million infringement feud by agreeing to accept $850,000 from an individual and two companies accused of helping siphon money away from the infringers.
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April 25, 2024
TikTok Wins Partial Toss Of Chinese Co.'s IP Suit
A California federal judge has granted TikTok's motion to dismiss many intellectual property claims against it by Chinese software company Beijing Meishe Network Technology but gave the plaintiff a chance to amend some of the claims.
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April 25, 2024
Atty Slams Mogul's Fight For Bank Records As Waste Of Time
An attorney struck back against an airline mogul's attempt to acquire his bank records as part of a hacking lawsuit, telling a federal court that a subpoena was invalid because it was sent under an improper bank name.
Editor's Picks
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Fed. Circ.'s Fight With Newman: A Year In Review
One year has passed since it came to light that the Federal Circuit's judges were investigating whether their colleague, U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman, was mentally competent to remain on the court. In that time, Judge Newman has garnered support from many in the patent community, but has faced a series of setbacks in her legal challenges.
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Why IP Attys Are Watching This $2B Trade Secrets Battle
A case of alleged corporate espionage involving two software companies that resulted in a $2 billion verdict has all the hallmarks of a legal thriller, and attorneys are watching the appeal closely to see how it could impact trade secrets litigation.
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Trials After PTAB Invalidity Rulings Present Tricky Issues
A recent case illustrates that Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions finding patents invalid do not necessarily preclude a district court from holding an infringement trial on the same patents, though attorneys say such a scenario could raise some challenging issues.
Expert Analysis
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Trending At The PTAB: Permissible New Reply Arguments
In the time since the Federal Circuit’s Axonics ruling, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has allowed petitioners to raise new unpatentability grounds in response to unforeseeable claim constructions in petitions, and reiterated that a petition need not anticipate every argument that may be raised in the response, say Joseph Myles and Timothy May at Finnegan.
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Exploring A New Era Of IP Law Amid The Rise Of Generative AI
Attorneys at Hogan Lovells explore the effects of generative artificial intelligence in three areas of intellectual property, recent updates and emerging trends, and its significance on the IP landscape now and moving forward.
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Fed. Circ. Defines Foreign IP Damages, Raises New Questions
In Brumfield v. IBG, the Federal Circuit recently clarified which standard determines the extraterritoriality of the patent statute after the U.S. Supreme Court's WesternGeco decision, opening a new avenue of damages for foreign activities resulting from certain domestic activities while also creating some thorny questions, say Amol Parikh and Ian Howard at McDermott.
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Series
Being An Equestrian Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Beyond getting experience thinking on my feet and tackling stressful situations, the skills I've gained from horseback riding have considerable overlap with the skills used to practice law, particularly in terms of team building, continuing education, and making an effort to reset and recharge, says Kerry Irwin at Moore & Van Allen.
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Teach Your Party Representative The Art Of Nonverbal Cues
As illustrated by recent reports about President Donald Trump’s nonverbal communication in court, jurors notice what’s happening at counsel table, which may color their perceptions of the case as a whole, so trial attorneys should teach party representatives to self-monitor their nonverbal behaviors, says Clint Townson at Townson Consulting.
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Fintiv Denials Are On The Rise At PTAB
Following last year's CommScope v. Dali decision, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board is increasingly using Fintiv factors to discretionarily deny inter partes review petitions — and attorneys ignore it at their peril, say Josepher Li and Michelle Armond at Armond Wilson.
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4 Ways To Refresh Your Law Firm's Marketing Strategy
With many BigLaw firms relying on an increasingly obsolete marketing approach that prioritizes stiff professionalism over authentic connection, adopting a few key communications strategies to better connect with today's clients and prospects can make all the difference, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law.
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What Law Firms Should Know Amid Rise In DQ Motions
As disqualification motions proliferate, law firms need to be aware of the types of conflicts that most often lead to disqualification, the types of attorneys who may be affected and how to reduce their exposure to these motions, says Matthew Henderson at Hinshaw.
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What Have We Learned In The Year Since Warhol?
In the almost year since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith, which was widely seen as potentially chilling to creative endeavors, seven subsequent decisions — while illuminating to some extent — do not indicate any trend toward a radical departure from prior precedents in fair use cases, says Jose Sariego at Bilzin Sumberg.
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Practical Pointers After Fed. Circ. Double-Patenting Decision
With the Federal Circuit recently denying a full court review of In re: Cellect, a decision regarding obviousness-type double-patenting, affected patent family holders should evaluate their rights through both patent prosecution and future litigation lenses to minimize risks, say Austin Lorch and Jeff Wolfson at Haynes Boone.
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Clemson's ACC Exit Fee Suit May Have Major Consequences
Clemson University's recent suit in South Carolina state court against the Atlantic Coast Conference, which challenges the ACC's $140 million exit fee and its ownership of member schools' media rights, would likely have enormous ramifications for ACC members in the event of a definitive court ruling, say William Sullivan and Alex Anderson at Pillsbury.
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How Duty Of Candor Figures In USPTO AI Ethics Guidance
The duty of candor and good faith is an important part of the artificial intelligence ethics guidance issued last week by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and serious consequences can visit patent and trademark applicants who violate that duty, not just their attorneys and agents, says Michael Cicero at Taylor English.
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Patent Lessons From 8 Federal Circuit Reversals In March
A number of Federal Circuit patent decisions last month reversed or vacated underlying rulings, providing guidance regarding the definiteness of a claim that include multiple limitations of different scopes, the importance of adequate jury instruction, the proper scope of the precedent, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.
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Tenn. Law Protecting Artists From AI Raises Novel Issues
Tennessee recently enacted a law that extends the right of publicity protection to individuals' voices in an attempt to control the proliferation of artificial intelligence in the music industry, presenting fascinating questions about the First Amendment, the fair use doctrine and more, say attorneys at Davis Wright.
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A Look At Ex Parte Seizures 8 Years Post-DTSA
In the eight years since the Defend Trade Secrets Act was enacted, not much has changed for jurisprudence on ex parte seizures, but a few seminal rulings show that there still isn’t a bright line on what qualifies as extraordinary circumstances warranting a seizure, say attorneys at Finnegan.