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Intellectual Property
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June 05, 2024
USPTO Fee Hike Finds Ally In Google, But Others Have Gripes
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's plan to increase many patent-related fees beginning next year has received support from Google, but dozens of other comments came from patent litigators of all stripes who argue that the proposal is a bad idea.
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June 05, 2024
TTAB Rejects Gin Maker's Attempt To Narrow 'Iron Balls' Mark
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has refused a gin maker's bid to force a Texas brewery to limit its use of the phrase "Iron Balls" to craft microbrews instead of just "beer," saying such a change wouldn't make confusion any less likely.
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June 05, 2024
Google Hit With IP Suit By Textbook Cos. Over Pirated Books
A group of textbook publishers hit Google LLC with a copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit Wednesday in New York federal court, accusing the tech giant of allowing advertisements from websites that allegedly sell pirated books and ignoring take-down requests from the publishers for years.
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June 05, 2024
K&L Gates Adds Ex-Norton Rose IP Team In Frankfurt
K&L Gates LLP has bolstered its intellectual property practice in its 30-attorney Frankfurt office with the addition of a team from Norton Rose Fullbright LLP, including a partner who works closely with fashion and luxury product clients.
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June 05, 2024
McDonald's Loses 'Big Mac' TM Rights Over Poultry In EU
A European Union court on Wednesday stripped McDonald's of its right to use the "Big Mac" trademark on chicken sandwiches in the bloc, ruling that the fast food giant had failed to put the sign to proper use on poultry products in recent years.
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June 04, 2024
Fed. Circ. Mulls Whether To Undo $13M Jury IP Verdict
NCR Corp. has a "tough burden" on its shoulders if it wants to prove that the evidence a jury relied on to deliver a $13 million jury verdict against the company for infringing two payment processing patents was not substantial enough, a Federal Circuit judge said Tuesday.
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June 04, 2024
Judge Recommends $27.7M For Textbook Publishers In IP Suit
A federal magistrate judge in Manhattan has recommended that a group of textbook publishers be awarded nearly $27.7 million in damages in a copyright and trademark infringement complaint against nearly a dozen defendants who defaulted for not participating in a case where they were accused of selling counterfeits on Amazon.
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June 04, 2024
Paramount Hit With $142.5M 'Lucha Libre' Lawsuit
Paramount and Univision have been hit with a $142.5 million copyright lawsuit over allegedly continuing to broadcast masked "Lucha Libre" fights on Pluto TV, over a year after ending a licensing deal with a California company that markets the videos in the U.S.
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June 04, 2024
Fed. Circ. Pours Doubt On Trademark Board's 'Cognac' Ruling
Federal Circuit judges on Tuesday repeatedly expressed skepticism over a split administrative board ruling that allowed a small hip-hop record label to land a trademark using the word "cognac" over objections from the cognac distilling industry.
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June 04, 2024
PQA Tells Fed. Circ. To Deny VLSI's Speculative Stay Bid
One of the companies sanctioned for misconduct while successfully challenging a VLSI Technology LLC patent has told the Federal Circuit that there's no reason to stay VLSI's appeal while unrelated litigation plays out.
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June 04, 2024
PTAB Upholds G+ Patent After Samsung Challenge
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has refused to invalidate any claims of a G+ Communications 5G network patent following a review requested by Samsung, which argued they were either obvious or anticipated.
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June 04, 2024
Netflix Tells 10th Circ. Warhol Helps Defense In 'Tiger King' Suit
Netflix Inc. has told the Tenth Circuit that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last year finding that an Andy Warhol silkscreen of pop icon Prince infringed the photo it was based on strengthens its position in a lawsuit that accuses the streaming service of infringing a copyrighted funeral video by using a clip of it in the popular 2020 docuseries "Tiger King."
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June 04, 2024
Smartflash Says Patent Office Can't Hide Apple Docs
An inventor is arguing against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's bid to toss a D.C. federal court case challenging the office's redactions in documents regarding Patent Trial and Appeal Board reviews of patents at the center of his battle with Apple Inc.
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June 04, 2024
Houston IP Firm Settles Trade Secrets Case With Ex-Law Clerk
Houston-based intellectual property law firm Lloyd & Mousilli PLLC and a former law clerk accused of stealing confidential information while working virtually from California reached a settlement in a lawsuit brought by the firm in a Texas federal court.
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June 04, 2024
Ex-Restoration Co. Execs 'Teeter' On Contempt, Judge Says
The former presidents of a property restoration company have staved off civil contempt after narrowly convincing a North Carolina Business Court judge that they merely misunderstood an injunction curbing their business activities as opposed to flagrantly disregarding it.
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June 04, 2024
NJ Deer Repellent Co. Can't Get TRO In Trade Secret Fight
A New Jersey deer repellant maker cannot restrain a competitor in Ohio who used to license its trademarks, its formerly patented repellant formula and its secret spraying techniques, a federal judge ruled, because its trade secrets complaint has not alleged any harm that cannot be cured later with damages.
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June 04, 2024
Fish & Richardson Grows Austin IP Team With Solo Patent Pro
Fish & Richardson PC has strengthened its intellectual property practice with the addition of Gabriel J. González, previously a solo practitioner, as of counsel in Austin.
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June 03, 2024
Self-Driving Tech Co. Beats Investor Suit Over Chip Pic Gaffe
Autonomous vehicle technology company Luminar Technologies Inc. no longer faces a proposed investor class action alleging it passed off an image of a competitor's technology as its own after a Florida federal judge found that the allegedly stolen image wouldn't actually be relevant to reasonable investors.
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June 03, 2024
Michaels Stole Paint-By-Number IP, Company Says
A paint-by-number company told a jury Monday during opening arguments in Texas federal court that arts and crafts corporation Michaels Stores Inc. used the company's trademarks to create a competing product, saying it only learned of the phony product after a customer called in praising it.
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June 03, 2024
Ex-Biopharma Co. Prez Accused Of Defecting With Secrets
Biopharmaceutical firm United Therapeutics Corp. has accused a former executive of violating an employment agreement by taking ideas to a rival company to develop a competing lung treatment.
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June 03, 2024
Patent Owner Says Facts Have Changed Since It Lost At ITC
A patent licensing company accusing HP of infringing old Panasonic patents is seeking to resume its suit in Texas federal court, arguing that an invalidity ruling it lost last month at the U.S. International Trade Commission doesn't hold up in district court.
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June 03, 2024
Software Group Says IP Quality, Not Quantity, Is The Goal
Making sure patent standards are up to snuff, using artificial intelligence when looking into whether patents are viable and having the Patent Trial and Appeal Board maintain high standards when reviewing patents are goals federal patent officials should focus on, according to a trade collective of software businesses.
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June 03, 2024
Google Gets Amicus Boost In Fed. Circ. Battle With Sonos
Google's efforts to prevent the reinstatement of a $32.5 million patent infringement verdict won against it by wireless speaker company Sonos have found support in the Federal Circuit from business trade groups, public interest nonprofits and a former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office official.
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June 03, 2024
Food Co. Gets Win In 'Digital Checklist' Patent Fight
A Connecticut federal judge has found that claims in a patent owned by the Georgia-based CM Systems LLC are invalid, handing a win to TransAct Technologies Inc. in a suit over restaurant food safety technology.
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June 03, 2024
Split Fed. Circ. Backs EcoFactor's $20M Trial Win Over Google
The Federal Circuit on Monday affirmed that Google should pay EcoFactor $20 million for infringing its smart thermostat patent, but one judge took issue with allowing the damages to stand, saying her colleagues' ruling "at best muddles our precedent and at worst contradicts it."
Expert Analysis
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The Secret Sauce For Trademarking Viral Food Products
Three recent high-profile trademark disputes in the food industry illustrate the importance of protecting brands early — especially for any company aiming for viral fame — and underscore the value of intent-to-use applications, say Elliot Gee and Matthew Dowd at Dowd Scheffel.
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Chanel TM Ruling Shows Resellers Must Tread Carefully
The Southern District of New York's recent jury verdict in Chanel v. What Goes Around Comes Around, in which Chanel brought trademark infringement and false association claims, serves as a reminder that businesses must routinely ensure their practices are protected by the first sale and fair use doctrines, say Stephen Barrett and Gabriela Rios at Wilson Elser.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic
Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Fed. Circ. Ruling Shows Difficulty Of Proving Deceptive Intent
The Federal Circuit’s recent Freshub v. Amazon decision demonstrates how proving the deceptive intent requirement for inequitable conduct can be challenging, even when there is a five-year delay after abandonment before revival, say attorneys at BCLP.
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The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals
Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.
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Breaking Down The EPO's Revised Practice Guidelines
The European Patent Office's updated guidelines for examination recently took effect and include significant changes related to the priority right presumption, the concept of plausibility and artificial intelligence, providing invaluable insight on obtaining patents from the office, say lawyers at Finnegan.
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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.