Intellectual Property

  • August 07, 2024

    NC Biz Court Bulletin: The Battles Making Summer Sizzle

    A 1983 championship basketball team's intellectual property rights and a public feud between Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP and its insurer are among the legal battles that have kept North Carolina Business Court judges and Tar Heel state private practice attorneys busy this summer. In case you missed those and others, here are the highlights.

  • August 07, 2024

    Amgen Waged Lawfare To Overcharge For Drug, Suit Claims

    Maryland-based independent licensees of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association claim pharmaceutical giant Amgen Inc. and its subsidiaries have engaged in unlawful monopolistic practices that have inflated the cost of the blockbuster drug Enbrel.

  • August 07, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Won't Rethink Amazon Patent Program Suit Revival

    The Federal Circuit issued an order Wednesday declining to hold a panel rehearing or a full court rehearing on its May decision to revive an electric outlet cover maker's declaratory judgment action over alleged infringement through Amazon's patent evaluation program.

  • August 07, 2024

    Dykema Faces Sony Sanctions Bid In Baseball Game TM Suit

    Attorneys from Dykema representing a baseball training program in its trademark battle against Sony hit back at the media juggernaut's bid for punitive sanctions Tuesday, blasting the request as baseless.

  • August 07, 2024

    Apple Loses Fight To Keep Bid For Patent Suit Docs In Del.

    Delaware's chief district judge has transferred Apple's bid to force litigation funding company Omni Bridgeway LLC to turn over documents explaining its financial interest in patent litigation against Apple in California to that state, saying he couldn't "think of a good reason" why he should decide the matter.

  • August 07, 2024

    Pool Co. Can't Get Atty Fees After Losing False Ads Trial

    A pool parts supplier on the hook for a $16 million false advertising and unfair business practices judgment isn't entitled to attorney fees in the case, a North Carolina federal judge has ruled, finding there's "no question" the winning party is its opponent given the eight-figure damages award.

  • August 07, 2024

    CoComelon Attys Score Over $6.6M In Fees, Costs For IP Win

    A California federal judge on Tuesday awarded the company behind the popular children's YouTube channel CoComelon more than $6.6 million in fees and costs after its copyright trial win against a Chinese rival, given its "nearly perfect success at trial" and the defendant's "unreasonable arguments throughout the case."

  • August 07, 2024

    GrubHub Must Face Restaurants' TM Infringement Suit

    Grubhub Inc. must face a proposed class action brought against it in Illinois federal court for allegedly using restaurants' trademarks without permission and listing them on its food delivery app without their consent, even though most of the lead plaintiffs have not registered the marks at issue.

  • August 06, 2024

    AstraZeneca Can't Duck $107.5M Patent Loss To Pfizer Unit

    An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday refused to upend a jury's determination that AstraZeneca owes $107.5 million in royalty damages for infringing Pfizer-brand cancer treatment patents, rejecting AstraZeneca's arguments that the patents are unenforceable and the asserted claims are invalid.

  • August 06, 2024

    Japanese Restaurant In Aspen Sued For TM Infringement

    A Florida restaurateur's intellectual property company has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in Colorado federal court against a Japanese restaurant and its interim manager in Aspen, claiming they continued without permission to use the name and logo the IP company created.

  • August 06, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Told Edwards Filed Safe Harbor Suit With Bad Intent

    The Federal Circuit rightfully held Meril Life Sciences was protected by a patent safe harbor when bringing its preapproval transcatheter heart valve system to an industry conference and that Edwards Lifesciences' attempts to prove otherwise are just delay tactics, Meril told the full court.

  • August 06, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Pours Out Trademark Board's 'Cognac' Ruling

    A cognac distilling industry trade group persuaded the Federal Circuit on Tuesday to scrap an administrative board holding that let a small record label register a trademark using the word "cognac," setting new law on how to determine the fame of "certification marks."

  • August 06, 2024

    Try Samsung's Petition Again, USPTO's Vidal Tells PTAB

    The head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office decided to give Samsung another shot at killing off infringement claims that a patent licensing outfit is trying to assert over the Galaxy Watch In Texas federal court.

  • August 06, 2024

    Louis Vuitton Slams 'Prolific' TM Infringement At Conn. Market

    French luxury brand Louis Vuitton Malletier SAS is seeking statutory damages of up to $2 million per counterfeited mark from the operator of a Connecticut flea market where fake goods were repeatedly sold despite a June 2018 agreement to cease such activity, according to a federal lawsuit.

  • August 06, 2024

    Tech Giants' Fight To Ax Fintiv Rule Returns To Fed. Circ.

    Apple and three other major technology companies have again asked the Federal Circuit to abolish a rule allowing the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to refuse to review patents based on related litigation in court, saying it is unlawful because it was implemented without formal rulemaking.

  • August 06, 2024

    Military Part Supplier Says Competitors Stole Equipment, Info

    A machining manufacturer that supplies parts for military aircraft said in a complaint filed in Michigan federal court on Monday that some of its former workers used their access to steal confidential information and equipment to start competing businesses.

  • August 06, 2024

    Music Licensor Settles Disco Song Row With Detroit Eatery

    Music licensor Broadcast Music Inc. and two other major recording companies have settled a copyright infringement lawsuit against a Detroit restaurant, resolving claims of unauthorized performances of three popular disco songs.

  • August 06, 2024

    Harvard Says Samsung Chips Infringe Chemical Patents

    Harvard University's president and fellows sued Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and multiple affiliated entities in the Eastern District of Texas, claiming that the production process for some of its microprocessors and memory chips infringe two patents on chemical layering assigned to the school.

  • August 06, 2024

    Subway, Chick-Fil-A Ink Deals In Mystery Shopper IP Suit

    Subway and Chick-Fil-A Inc. have entered agreements with Fall Line Patents LLC to resolve the patent company's claims that they infringed its data management patent with their respective mobile apps, according to a pair of joint filings with the Eastern District of Texas.

  • August 06, 2024

    Penn Says BioNTech Owes Royalties For COVID-19 Vax

    BioNTech was hit with a breach of contract suit Monday in Pennsylvania federal court by the University of Pennsylvania over alleged unpaid royalties on global net sales of its blockbuster COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty, which was developed using the school's crucial messenger RNA patents and has made more than $75 billion.

  • August 06, 2024

    Jones Day Slams Ex-Client's Bid To Exit $2M Fee Fight

    Jones Day wants to prevent former client Soverain Software LLC from exiting a decade-long spat over $2 million in unpaid legal fees, telling an Illinois state court that Soverain's bid to bring the litigation to a close "is a house of cards that collapses with the slightest breeze."

  • August 06, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Knocks Out Scottish Search Co.'s Patent Case

    A Scottish tech company failed to breathe new life into patents that cover supposed advances in reverse image searching on the internet when the Federal Circuit on Tuesday ended its suit against a different, more successful rival.

  • August 06, 2024

    DC Circ. Rules Russia Is Immune From Suit Over Jewish Texts

    The D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday that the federal court never had jurisdiction over a Jewish group's decades-old allegations that Russia is illegally holding on to its long-lost sacred texts, finding that the country has sovereign immunity and voiding nearly $200 million in fines levied against Russia.

  • August 06, 2024

    Lowe's Must Face Retail Logistics Co.'s Software IP Suit

    Lowe's Home Centers LLC lost its bid to dismiss a retail logistics company's claims it ripped off a merchandise return management software and breached its contract with that software's manufacturer, with a North Carolina federal judge declining to fully toss any of the claims but flagging that some contradicted each other.

  • August 05, 2024

    No Atty Fees For Either Side After $8K Copyright Verdict

    A Washington federal judge refused Monday to grant plaintiff Enterprise Management's request for over $920,000 in fees after winning an $8,000 copyright verdict, finding that although it was the prevailing party, it "filed meritless claims, knowingly pursued baseless claims, and sought settlement amounts that exceeded the value of this case."

Expert Analysis

  • Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent

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    Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.

  • Direct Claims Ruling May Alter Gov't Ties To Software Firms

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    A recent Federal Circuit decision allowing a software developer to pursue legal action under the Contract Disputes Act could change the government's relationship with commercial software providers by permitting direct claims, even in third-party purchase situations, say Dan Ramish and Zach Prince at Haynes Boone.

  • The Fed. Circ. In February: A Reminder On Procedure Rule 28

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    Because the Federal Circuit does not often issue a sua sponte precedential order emphasizing an important rule of practice, it is useful to look at how the court applied the restrictions of appellate procedure Rule 28 in Promptu v. Comcast last month, and in cases that preceded it, say Jeremiah Helm and Sean Murray at Knobbe Martens.

  • Calif. High Court Ruling Has Lessons For Waiving Jury Trials

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    The California Supreme Court’s recent decision in TriCoast Builders v. Fonnegra, denying relief to a contractor that had waived its right to a jury trial, shows that litigants should always post jury fees as soon as possible, and seek writ review if the court denies relief from a waiver, say Steven Fleischman and Nicolas Sonnenburg at Horvitz & Levy.

  • A Defense Strategy For Addressing Copyright Fee-Shifting

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    Permissive fee-shifting under Section 505 of the Copyright Act poses unique challenges for copyright defendants, carrying an outsize impact on the economic incentive structure in copyright litigation, but relying on a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure may offer a potential solution by allowing defendants to recover attorney fees, say Hugh Marbury and Molly Shaffer at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Design Rights Can Build IP Protection, EU Lego Ruling Shows

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    The EU General Court's recent ruling in Delta Sport v. EU Intellectual Property Office — that Lego's registered community design for a building block was valid — helps clarify when technically dictated designs can enjoy IP protection, and demonstrates how companies can strategically use design rights to protect and enhance their market position, says Christoph Moeller at Mewburn Ellis.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Facts Differ But Same Rules Apply

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    Zachary Jacobson and Sarah Barney at Seyfarth examine two decisions illustrating that reliance on a technicality may not save an otherwise untimely appeal, and that enforcement of commercial terms and conditions under a federal supply schedule contract may be possible.

  • Untangling The Legal Complexities Of Trade Secrets And AI

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    With broad adoption of generative artificial intelligence, some have suggested trade secret law is the best means for protecting innovations, but while this protection may apply to all forms of information, the breadth of coverage may make identifying the information and later misappropriation difficult, say Joshua Lerner and Nora Passamaneck at WilmerHale.

  • Series

    Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.

  • Judge-Shopping Policy Revisal May Make Issue Worse

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    The Judicial Conference at its March meeting unveiled a revised policy with the stated goal of limiting litigants’ ability to judge-shop in patent cases, but the policy may actually exacerbate the problem by tying the issue to judge-shopping in polarizing political cases, making reform more difficult, say Robert Niemeier and William Milliken at Sterne Kessler.

  • Securing A Common Understanding Of Language Used At Trial

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    Witness examinations in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump illustrate the importance of building a common understanding of words and phrases and examples as a fact-finding tool at trial, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • A Rainbow Of Lessons From Fruity Pebbles' TTAB Loss

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    The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s January decision to deny Post Foods' bid to register a trademark on its Fruity Pebbles cereal brand underscores the importance of the interplay among mark description, mark drawing and goods identification when seeking protection for trade dress, say Troy Viger and Jenevieve Maerker at Finnegan.

  • Why Oncology Deal Making Continues To Fuel Biotech M&A

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    The biotech sector's potential for advancements in cancer care continues to attract deal-maker interest, and the keys to successful mergers and acquisitions include the ability to integrate innovative therapies, leverage technological advancements and respond to the dynamic needs of patients, say Bryan Luchs and Mike Weir at White & Case.

  • TTAB Ruling May Broaden Alcohol Trademark Analysis

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    A February U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board decision that wine is inherently related to bars and cocktail lounges for trademark protection purposes appears to broaden the scope of exclusivity, highlighting that the more similar the marks, the less related the products must be for the TTAB to refuse registration, says William Borchard at Cowan Liebowitz.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year

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    As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.

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