Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Intellectual Property
-
October 01, 2025
Inventor's $11M Award Slashed To $5M Over Pet Device IP
A New Jersey federal judge has hit two pet supply companies with a $5 million damages bill for misappropriating a woman's idea for a skin medicine applicator for dogs and cats, more than four years after the Federal Circuit faulted the original $11 million award in the long-running case.
-
October 01, 2025
DC Circ. Won't Rethink Return Of Head Of Copyright Office
The D.C. Circuit said Wednesday that it won't rethink its decision to temporarily reinstate the head of the U.S. Copyright Office, who was fired by President Donald Trump as her lawsuit against the administration plays out in court.
-
October 01, 2025
Gambling Machine Patent Owner Can't Get New Trial
The owner of a gambling machine patent that a jury ruled was not infringed has lost its bid for a new trial, after a Nevada federal judge rejected the argument that the accused infringer made a "highly prejudicial and inflammatory" damages request on its unsuccessful defamation counterclaim.
-
October 01, 2025
UBS Says Ex-Advisers Poached $1.4B In Clients For New Firm
UBS Financial Services has accused several of its former financial advisers of violating nonsolicitation and confidentiality agreements by plotting to launch a rival firm and poaching clients with $1.4 billion in assets, damaging UBS and its other former employees still entitled to client revenue.
-
October 01, 2025
NY Judge Undoes Order Freeing NFL's Lions From IP Suit
A New York federal judge has reversed an order that let the Detroit Lions football team out of a suit brought by a photographer who says the team modeled a statue of Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders on his photo.
-
October 01, 2025
Nirvana Defeats Child Pornography Case Over Album Cover
A California federal judge has ended a case over child pornography claims brought by a man who was depicted as a naked infant on the cover of Nirvana's 1991 album "Nevermind," saying he was having "a difficult time understanding" the argument that the image depicted the plaintiff as a sex worker reaching for a dollar.
-
October 01, 2025
USPTO Lays Off Employees, Closes Rocky Mountain Office
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office laid off some employees Wednesday as part of a reduction-in-force that's affecting around 1% of the agency's workforce, making the move on the first day of the government shutdown, according to sources familiar with the plans.
-
October 01, 2025
Ford Loses Bid To Overturn $13M Verdict In IP Dispute
A Michigan federal judge on Tuesday said he wouldn't touch a verdict awarding $13 million to a California-based vehicle technology supplier that alleged Ford Motor Co. profited from misappropriating a trade secret related to the supplier's interface module product, finding the jury had "substantial" evidence to find in favor of the tech company.
-
October 01, 2025
Fed. Circ. Sends Social Media Patent Fight Back To PTAB
The Federal Circuit on Wednesday partly revived Snap's challenge to substitute claims in a You Map patent covering a way of displaying social media posts on a map, finding that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board needs to take another run at the issue.
-
October 01, 2025
InterDigital Wants Disney's Video Tech Antitrust Case Tossed
Wireless technology company InterDigital Inc. has asked a Delaware federal judge to dismiss an antitrust suit brought by Disney that claims InterDigital isn't offering reasonable licenses on patents for streaming video, saying the entertainment giant's claims were either deficient or time-barred.
-
October 01, 2025
Sheppard Mullin Eyes Rebrand Ahead Of 100th Anniversary
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP has filed a trademark application to potentially shorten its branding and logo to one word in anticipation of the firm's 100 years in business.
-
October 01, 2025
4th Circ. Won't Rethink Dance Teachers' Use Of 'Inspire' Name
The Fourth Circuit has rejected a North Carolina charter school's request to reconsider blocking two former teachers from using the name "Inspire" for their dance company, dealing the school another blow in its trademark infringement and false advertising suit.
-
October 01, 2025
Elf On The Shelf Maker Lands On Font Creator's Naughty List
A Wisconsin-based retro font designer has sued the company behind The Elf on the Shelf brand in Georgia federal court, accusing it of infringing copyrighted font software by using it without authorization in connection with more than 70 products.
-
September 30, 2025
Banker Defamed Jack Nicklaus After Pact Ended, Jury Told
Jack Nicklaus told a Florida state court jury on Tuesday that a banker and his associates defamed him after discontinuing a 15-year business relationship, saying their public relations campaign intentionally smeared his reputation after he refused to make a deal with Saudi Arabia.
-
September 30, 2025
3rd Circ. Parses 'Could' And 'Would' In Lipitor Lawsuit
A Third Circuit panel questioned Tuesday whether drug wholesalers and health plans had offered enough evidence that Pfizer Inc. and Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. conspired to delay generic competition for the cholesterol drug Lipitor, focusing on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would have approved the competitor earlier than November 2011.
-
September 30, 2025
Biogen Told To Pay Genentech $88M After IP Royalties Mistrial
Biogen MA Inc. owes Genentech Inc. more than $88 million in royalties related to expired patents, a California federal judge ruled Tuesday in a rare post-mistrial verdict arrangement.
-
September 30, 2025
Merrill Lynch Denied Bid To Block Rival Firm's Launch
A Georgia federal judge on Tuesday refused to grant Merrill Lynch's bid for a temporary restraining order against a dozen former employees, Charles Schwab and Dynasty Financial Partners in a case concerning an alleged attempt to start a new independent financial advisory firm with Merrill's staff and confidential information.
-
September 30, 2025
4 Federal Circuit Clashes To Watch In October
The Federal Circuit will hear arguments next week in cases where a nearly $42 million patent win for Seagen hangs in the balance due to a later post-grant review invalidity decision and where Regenxbio is seeking to undo the invalidation of its gene therapy patent for covering a natural product.
-
September 30, 2025
Fed. Circ. Largely Unravels $4M Judgment In Curtain IP Fight
The Federal Circuit overruled most of a New York federal judge's $4 million infringement judgment against two hospitality providers on Tuesday, in a multifaceted appeal over hookless shower curtains.
-
September 30, 2025
Wu-Tang Trade Secret Ruling Hints At New Way To Protect Art
A New York federal judge caused a splash last week when she ruled that a one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album can constitute a trade secret, and attorneys say the surprising decision could broaden the scope of trade secret protections to cover artistic works.
-
September 30, 2025
Patent Owner Wants District Judge To Oversee Google IP Trial
The owner of a location tracking patent on Tuesday told the Manhattan federal court that he opposes having a magistrate judge conduct a bench trial on Google's equitable defenses to his infringement claims, saying he would invoke his Seventh Amendment rights unless the trial is heard by U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.
-
September 30, 2025
Nevada Hospital Nets $510M Verdict In Staff Poaching Suit
A Nevada hospital won a jury award of more than $510 million in its lawsuit accusing Universal Health Services of raiding its staff and swiping its trade secrets during the COVID-19 pandemic.
-
September 30, 2025
SEC Beats Law Prof's Suit To Protect NFTs That 'Troll' Agency
A Louisiana federal judge Tuesday permanently tossed a pre-enforcement challenge targeting the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's treatment of nonfungible tokens from a law professor and a musician who were seeking to protect projects that "troll" the SEC.
-
September 30, 2025
College Athlete Advocates Join Supporters Of Senate NIL Bill
A day after three Democratic U.S. senators introduced a bill promising more protections for college athletes — including women, athletes in smaller sports and those at smaller institutions — under the new revenue-sharing rules, the proposal on Tuesday drew praise from advocates for athletes and labor, including an official from the AFL-CIO.
-
September 30, 2025
Landlord Faces TM Suit Over Trump-Themed Burger Biz
The companies behind a Donald Trump-themed burger restaurant in Texas have filed a federal trademark lawsuit against their landlord, accusing him of hijacking the concept and operating the restaurant as his own establishment.
Expert Analysis
-
How Courts Are Addressing The Use Of AI In Discovery
In recent months, several courts have issued opinions on handling discovery issues involving artificial intelligence, which collectively offer useful insights on integrating AI into discovery and protecting work product in connection with AI prompts and outputs, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.
-
AI Infrastructure Growth Brings Unique IP Considerations
The explosive rise of artificial intelligence has triggered an equally dramatic transformation in the supporting infrastructure required to meet growing AI demand, and the technology used in these data centers has its own intellectual property considerations to navigate, says Vincent Allen at Carstens Allen.
-
Series
Adapting To Private Practice: From ATF Director To BigLaw
As a two-time boomerang partner, returning to BigLaw after stints as a U.S. attorney and the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, people ask me how I know when to move on, but there’s no single answer — just clearly set your priorities, says Steven Dettelbach at BakerHostetler.
-
IPR Decisions Clarify Stewart's 'Settled Expectations' Factor
Recent discretionary denial decisions from U.S. Patent and Trademark Office acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart have begun to illuminate the contours of her "settled expectations" doctrine, informing when it might be worth petitioning for inter partes review if the patent at issue has been in force for a few years, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
-
How To Increase 3rd-Party Preissuance Patent Submissions
Attorneys Marian Underweiser and Marc Ehrlich, who helped draft the America Invents Act, discuss changes that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office could potentially implement to facilitate its hopes for increased participation in front-end patent challenges.
-
Anthropic Ruling Creates Fair Use Framework For AI Training
A California federal court’s recent ruling that Anthropic’s use of copyrighted books to train its large language model qualified as fair use provides important guidance for both artificial intelligence developers and copyright holders because it distinguishes between transformative uses and unauthorized uses involving pirated or format-shifted works, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
-
Series
Playing Baseball Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing baseball in college, and now Wiffle ball in a local league, has taught me that teamwork, mental endurance and emotional intelligence are not only important to success in the sport, but also to success as a trial attorney, says Kevan Dorsey at Swift Currie.
-
Assessing Impact Of USPTO's New Patent Policies
Recent data shows how the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's new patent policies are affecting America Invents Act trial institution rates, including spurring an uptick in discretionary denials, say attorneys at Armond Wilson.
-
Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Skillful Persuasion
In many ways, law school teaches us how to argue, but when the ultimate goal is to get your client what they want, being persuasive through preparation and humility is the more likely key to success, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.
-
Fed. Circ. Ingenico Ruling Pivotal For IPR Estoppel Landscape
The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Ingenico v. Ioengine brings long-awaited clarity to the scope of inter partes review estoppel, confirming that a patent challenger is not precluded from relying on the same or substantially similar prior art in both IPR and district court proceedings, so long as it is used to support a different invalidity theory, say attorneys at Irwin IP.
-
Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss
Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
-
How Patent Attys Can Carefully Integrate LLMs Into Workflows
With artificial intelligence-powered tools now being developed specifically for the intellectual property domain, patent practitioners should monitor evolving considerations to ensure that their capabilities are enhanced — rather than diminished — by these resources, say attorneys at McDonnell Boehnen.
-
The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine
The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
-
New PTAB Denial Processes Grow More And More Confusing
Guidance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office about the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's new workload management and discretionary denial processes has been murky and inconsistent, and has been further muddled by the acting director's seemingly contradictory decisions, say attorneys at Finnegan.
-
EU Space Act Could Stifle US Commercial Operators
The EU Space Act, proposed last month, has the potential to raise global standards for safety and sustainability in space, but the U.S. and EU need to harmonize their regulatory approaches to avoid imposing regulatory burdens that undermine commercial innovation and agility, say Jessica Noble and Adriane Mandakunis at Aegis Space Law.