Intellectual Property

  • October 18, 2024

    Off The Bench: Wemby Suit, Antitrust Fights In NASCAR, MMA

    In this week's Off The Bench, NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama sues over illicit merchandise bearing his likeness, while antitrust litigation rocks NASCAR and mixed martial arts promotion Bellator.

  • October 18, 2024

    Western Digital Hit With $315.7M Verdict In Patent Suit

    Western Digital must pay SPEX Technologies nearly $316 million in damages for infringing its patent related to hardware encryption technology in Western Digital's Ultrastar and My Book data storage devices, a California federal jury decided on Friday.

  • October 18, 2024

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

    This past week in London has seen Professor Cat Jarman, Earl Spencer's new girlfriend, sue his ex-wife, Bitcoin fraudster Craig Wright file a £911 billion ($1.18 trillion) claim against BTC Core, journalist Oliver Kamm hit novelist Ros Barber with a defamation claim, and a barrister at Cloisters face a claim from a former client. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • October 18, 2024

    NCAA's $2.78B NIL Deal Still Faces Long Road To Final OK

    The absence of noticeable change to address concerns flagged by a California federal judge about the NCAA's $2.78 billion name, image and likeness compensation settlement made that same judge's preliminary approval of the deal last week surprising, and experts say those same problematic provisions likely will make final approval an uphill battle.

  • October 17, 2024

    OnePlus Owes Pantech $1M After Patent Verdict Do-Over

    A Texas federal jury Thursday determined that Chinese phone company OnePlus owes Pantech Corp. almost $1 million in damages for infringing four patents related to technology used to comply with 5G wireless standards, after the initial $10 million verdict was tossed as "excessive."

  • October 17, 2024

    'More Honesty' Needed In Philips IP Row, Judge Says

    A Texas federal judge told the owner of a company accused of pilfering around $12 million worth of Philips North America LLC's trade secrets that things might have gone better if he had "been more honest," pointing out that he had given contradictory testimony during a hearing Thursday.

  • October 17, 2024

    VLSI To Del. Judge: 'There Is Nothing Else To Disclose'

    VLSI Technology LLC has fully complied with its disclosure requirements for ownership and litigation funding, and Intel Corp.'s claims otherwise in patent licensing litigation don't hold up, VLSI told a Delaware federal judge.

  • October 17, 2024

    Temu Says Shein Launched IP Theft Suit To Stifle Competition

    The companies behind e-commerce platform Temu have fired back at fast fashion company Shein's intellectual property infringement claims against them, accusing Shein of filing a meritless suit to interfere with Temu's business and stifle its competition "by any means possible."

  • October 17, 2024

    USPTO Told More Clarity Needed On AI And Patent Eligibility

    Numerous companies and industry groups have said they welcome the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's new guidance on when inventions involving artificial intelligence are eligible for patents, but many urged the agency to provide additional clarity and practical examples.

  • October 17, 2024

    Microsoft Fights IP, Antitrust Suit Alleging Cartel With Nvidia

    Microsoft slammed a lawsuit brought by a startup accusing it, Nvidia and a third company of engaging in patent infringement and an illegal buyers' cartel suppressing the price of graphic processing units used in powering artificial intelligence, urging a Texas federal judge Wednesday to deny an injunction bid due to lack of evidence.

  • October 17, 2024

    How Muhammad Ali's Ex-Photog Won $2.7M From Brand Co.

    When Muhammad Ali's former personal photographer brought a copyright suit against a powerful brand management company, his attorneys faced a daunting challenge at trial: How can they convince jurors that Authentic Brands Group was liable for willful infringement?

  • October 17, 2024

    Gov't Tells Justices To Reject Return Mail's Alice Petition

    The federal government says the U.S. Supreme Court should not hear a small Alabama company's appeal of a lower court's invalidation of claims in its patent on processing undeliverable mail, arguing that the claims were not patent eligible.

  • October 17, 2024

    Hospital Can Use TM Fraud Claim As Shield, Not Sword

    A North Carolina hospital and healthcare provider can't pursue a trademark fraud counterclaim in a weight loss clinic's infringement dispute but can assert the claim as an affirmative defense, a federal judge ruled.

  • October 17, 2024

    Justices Urged To Fix 'Novel Misreading' Of IP Safe Harbor

    Edwards Lifesciences is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rein in what's covered under a drug-development safe harbor to avoid patent infringement, saying the Federal Circuit wrongfully expanded it in a "novel misreading" of the law.

  • October 17, 2024

    Cisco Foe Takes Computer Security Patent Feud To Fed. Circ.

    A cybersecurity startup that saw its multibillion-dollar patent win against Cisco erased is pinning the failure, in part, on a new judge's "eleventh-hour, sua sponte claim construction" and is asking the Federal Circuit to overturn it.

  • October 17, 2024

    Northwestern Hits Moderna With Patent Suit Over COVID Vax

    Northwestern University has launched a patent infringement lawsuit in Delaware federal court accusing Moderna of wrongly taking research that the school did when the company was making its COVID-19 vaccine.

  • October 17, 2024

    Texans Say Rapper Is Tripping With Suit Over 'Still Tippin'

    The Houston Texans are asking a Texas federal judge to toss a suit lodged by a rapper who claims the NFL team stole his song, "Still Tippin," characterizing his claims as "frivolous" and "not viable."

  • October 17, 2024

    Jury Says Phillips 66 Owes $605M In Fuel Trade Secrets Fight

    A jury in California state court said Wednesday a retailer of low-carbon fuels is owed $604.9 million after finding that Phillips 66 swiped trade secrets relating to data, such as sales information and pricing methods.

  • October 17, 2024

    Google Asks 9th Circ. To Immediately Pause Epic Injunction

    Google filed an emergency motion late Wednesday in its antitrust battle with Epic Games Inc. asking the Ninth Circuit to stay a lower court's injunction that's set to take effect Nov. 1 requiring Google to open up its Play Store to competing app stores, slamming the injunction as harmful and "unworkable."

  • October 17, 2024

    Moderna Wants Fees For 'Frivolous' COVID-19 Vax Suit

    Moderna is asking a Delaware federal judge to award it about $2.8 million in legal costs for its defense of claims in a patent suit brought by Alnylam Pharmaceuticals over its coronavirus vaccine, arguing the Boston-based company pursued "frivolous" claims that wasted court resources.

  • October 17, 2024

    Industrial Pipe Co. Hits Rival, Ex-Exec With Trade Secrets Suit

    Industrial pipe manufacturer Atkore International Inc. took one of its former senior-level executives and the rival company he went to work for to North Carolina state court, alleging the former employee sabotaged operations on his way out the door and took valuable trade secrets with him.

  • October 17, 2024

    Randy Newman Sells Music Rights To Carlyle-Backed Litmus

    Musician and songwriter Randy Newman has sold his stake in his recorded music and publishing rights to Carlyle-backed music rights business Litmus Music, a transaction that includes decades of popular recordings and music from feature films, including the song "You've Got A Friend In Me" from 1995's "Toy Story," Litmus said Thursday.

  • October 16, 2024

    Spex Jury Can't Use Kingston Deal To Calculate IP Damages

    A California federal judge ruled Wednesday that jurors deciding whether Western Digital infringed Spex Technologies' data security patent can't consider Spex's 2009 licensing agreement with Kingston Technology to calculate potential damages, since there was no way to tease the value of the patent-at-issue out of the broader deal. 

  • October 16, 2024

    Nike Still Owes Fees In 'Cool Compression' TM Case

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Wednesday ruled for a second time that Nike is on the hook for legal fees in a trademark lawsuit after the Third Circuit ordered him to take a closer look at the details of the case to determine if the outcome was truly "exceptional."

  • October 16, 2024

    Philips Says $12M Sanction Needed For Evidence Destruction

    A spoliation sanctions hearing for around $12 million in royalty damages turned terse when the owner of a medical device equipment sale and servicing company seemingly hedged his statements, with a Texas federal judge saying, "Oh my gosh, just answer the question," during the Wednesday hearing.

Expert Analysis

  • The Fed. Circ. In August: Secret Sales And Public Disclosures

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    Two recent Federal Circuit rulings — Sanho v. Kaijet and Celanese International v. ITC — highlight that inventors should publicly and promptly disclose their inventions, as a secret sale will not suffice as a disclosure, and file their patent applications within a year of public disclosure, say Sean Murray and Jeremiah Helm at Knobbe Martens.

  • Trending At The PTAB: Obviousness In Director Reviews

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    Three July decisions from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office favoring petitioners indicate a willingness by the director to review substantive issues, such as obviousness, particularly in cases where the director believes the Patent Trial and Appeal Board provided incorrect or inadequate rationale to support its decisions, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • AI Art Ruling Shows Courts' Training Data Cases Approach

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    A California federal court’s recent ruling in Andersen v. Stability AI, where the judge refused to throw out artists’ copyright infringement claims against four companies that make or distribute software that creates images from text prompts, provides insight into how courts are handling artificial intelligence training data cases, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • FTC Focus: What Access To Patent Settlements Would Mean

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    Settling parties should adopt a series of practice tips, including specifying rationales to support specific terms, as the Federal Trade Commission seeks to expand its access to settlements before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, say Shannon McGowan and David Munkittrick at Proskauer.

  • Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles

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    Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.

  • Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.

  • Takeaways From UPC's Amgen Patent Invalidity Analysis

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    The Unified Patent Court Central Division's decision in Regeneron v. Amgen to revoke a patent for lack of inventive step is particularly clear in its reasoning and highlights the risks to patentees of the new court's central revocation powers, say Jane Evenson and Caitlin Heard at CMS.

  • How Cos. Can Leverage IP In Corporate Bankruptcy

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    In light of an increase in year-to-date Chapter 11 filings, businesses must understand the importance and value of intellectual property in corporate bankruptcy and restructuring, from contributing to enterprise value, to providing leverage in negotiations and facilitating recovery, says Gregory Campanella at Ocean Tomo.

  • 5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond

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    As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.

  • Examining Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Of AI Inventions

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    In light of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office data showing that patent applications for artificial intelligence inventions are likelier to get rejected based on patent-ineligible subject matter, inventors seeking protection should be aware of the difficulties and challenges pertaining to patent eligibility, say Georgios Effraimidis at NERA and Joel Lehrer at Goodwin.

  • IP Hot Topic: The Intersection Of Trademark And Antitrust Law

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    Antitrust claims – like those in the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent case against Apple – are increasingly influencing trademark disputes and enforcement practices, demonstrating how antitrust law can dilute the power of a trademark, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • When Trauma Colors Testimony: How To Help Witnesses

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    As stress-related mental health issues continue to rise, trial attorneys must become familiar with a few key trauma-informed strategies to help witnesses get back on track — leaning in to the counselor aspect of their vocations, say Ava Hernández and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

  • How Law Firms Can Avoid 'Collaboration Drag'

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    Law firm decision making can be stifled by “collaboration drag” — characterized by too many pointless meetings, too much peer feedback and too little dissent — but a few strategies can help stakeholders improve decision-making processes and build consensus, says Steve Groom at Miles Mediation.

  • When The Supreme Court Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade

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    Instead of grousing about the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions overturning long-standing precedents, attorneys should look to history for examples of how enterprising legal minds molded difficult decisions to their advantage, and figure out how to work with the cards they’ve been dealt, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

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