Intellectual Property

  • October 16, 2025

    Music Giants Say Cox Case Isn't About Grandma Losing Wi-Fi

    Leading music publishers have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm that internet service providers can be contributorily liable for their customers' piracy if they fail to take action, saying a jury verdict against Cox Communications that led to a $1 billion award showed that the company "made a deliberate and egregious decision" to put profits first.

  • October 15, 2025

    Jack Smith And Other Ex-DOJ Staffers Slam Trump Purge

    Former U.S. Department of Justice employees, including former special counsel Jack Smith, spoke out Wednesday in support of colleagues fired or forced to resign by the Trump administration, issuing a warning about the "existential crisis" born from efforts to use the agency to punish the president's political opponents.

  • October 15, 2025

    Monster Energy Gets Another Shot At Camping Gear IP Claims

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday found that a lower court erred in throwing out Monster Energy's trademark infringement suit against the manufacturers of 4Monster camping gear, finding that a reasonable juror could find that the marks are confusingly similar.

  • October 15, 2025

    Top Del. Judge Details Views On Willful Infringement Issues

    A lawsuit cannot provide an accused infringer with the notice needed for a patent owner to allege indirect and willful infringement, and enhanced infringement demands aren't subject to dismissal motions, Delaware's top judge has ruled.

  • October 15, 2025

    Patent Examiners Facing Productivity Push, Higher Standards

    Officials at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Wednesday detailed changes to patent examiners' performance requirements, outlining increased productivity goals, heightened supervisory scrutiny, and more strenuous evaluation standards for the examiner corps.

  • October 15, 2025

    Justices Told PTAB Has No Business Reviewing Expired IP

    Gesture Technology Partners LLC urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to consider whether the Patent Trial and Appeal Board can review expired patents, pushing back on arguments from the government and several tech giants that the justices have already ruled it can't.

  • October 15, 2025

    Smart Thermostat Makers Keep PTAB, ITC Wins At Fed. Circ.

    Causam Enterprises owns the electrical utilities control patent it has accused ecobee and others of infringing with smart thermostats, but the patent is not valid, the Federal Circuit concluded Wednesday in a pair of precedential opinions.

  • October 15, 2025

    Professor Takes 'Rapunzel' TM Case To Supreme Court

    A law professor seeking to challenge a "Rapunzel" trademark as a consumer of fairy-tale toy characters has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear her out after the Federal Circuit upheld a finding that she lacked standing because her alleged injury wasn't commercial in nature.

  • October 15, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Won't Halt Magistrate Trial In Google Patent Case

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday denied a request from a location tracking patent owner to prevent a magistrate judge from holding a bench trial on Google's equitable defenses to his infringement claims, saying the patent owner had not shown that proceeding with the case and filing an appeal after a judgment would be inadequate.

  • October 15, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Says Anti-SLAPP Motion Wrongly Denied In IP Case

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday said a California district court wrongly denied several semiconductor manufacturers' anti-SLAPP motion in a case where they are accused of stealing trade secrets, saying in a precedential opinion that filing a patent application is protected activity under the state's law.

  • October 15, 2025

    Munchkin Wants $3.9M Sippy Cup Verdict Boosted To $8.2M

    Munchkin Inc. has asked an Illinois federal court to award it almost $8.2 million in damages after a jury last month said baby product maker TOMY International owes it $3.9 million for infringing a pair of patents on a spill-proof cup.

  • October 15, 2025

    Sysnet Says Ex-Worker Breached Noncompete With New Job

    Cybersecurity company Sysnet North America Inc. has filed suit against one of its former business relationship managers in federal court for allegedly violating the restrictive covenants in his employment contract by taking a job with a "direct competitor."

  • October 15, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Again Urged To Probe Settled Expectations Rule

    A nonprofit represented by former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal has thrown its weight behind the latest Federal Circuit petition challenging the USPTO's policy of denying review of patents based on the owner's "settled expectations," saying the rule is "economically harmful and legally unsound."

  • October 15, 2025

    Cal Poly Athletes Told Objections To NIL Deal Don't Hold Water

    The members of a college swimming and diving team that was eliminated by its school last March should blame the school itself for its demise, not the negotiators of a $2.78 billion class action athlete compensation settlement, the NCAA and the athlete class representatives told a California federal court in response to their objections.

  • October 15, 2025

    Judge Shouldn't Have Axed Lens Patent Claims, Fed. Circ. Says

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday vacated a lower court's finding that claims in two eyeglass lens patents are invalid based on a Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruling on different claims, saying that decision cannot stand because courts and the board use different burdens of proof.

  • October 15, 2025

    Patent Decisions Clearing Ford, BMW Upheld By Fed. Circ.

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday refused to revive cases accusing Ford and BMW of infringing a pair of cruise control system patents, affirming how a lower court construed key claim terms when it cleared the automotive giants in the litigation.

  • October 15, 2025

    Lender Sues For Access To High-Tech Kiosks After Default

    A company that makes high-tech vending machines that dispense beauty and personal hygiene products has defaulted on a loan and is refusing to turn over credentials to keep the kiosks in operation, according to a suit filed in Massachusetts state court.

  • October 15, 2025

    Phone-Maker Oppo Wants Out Of Apple Trade Secret Case

    Chinese phone-maker Oppo has asked a California federal judge to release it from a case brought by Apple Inc. alleging that a former employee stole trade secrets when he moved to Oppo, saying the suit had no allegation that Oppo received any trade secrets.

  • October 15, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Affirms ITC Ruling That Brita Filter Patent Is Invalid

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday let stand the U.S. International Trade Commission's decision that a Brita LP water filter patent is invalid, affirming a finding that the patent wasn't adequately described and that it didn't enable someone to make the invention.

  • October 15, 2025

    Greenberg Traurig Lands Wilson Sonsini Life Sciences Pro

    Greenberg Traurig LLP has added a California partner from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati with in-house and government legal experience to enhance its capacity to handle matters for clients in life sciences, artificial intelligence, biotechnology and other industries.

  • October 15, 2025

    TTAB Denies 'Gasparilla' TM Despite Deal With Other IP Holder

    The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has rejected a bid to register "Gasparilla" for mugs and clothing, because of potential confusion with "Gasparilla Treasures," concluding in a precedential opinion that a consent agreement offered by the parties was not enough to overcome a likelihood of consumer confusion.

  • October 15, 2025

    Engineering Firm, Ex-Worker Resolve Noncompete Dispute

    A global environmental and engineering consulting firm has resolved a suit alleging a former employee violated a noncompete agreement by accepting a similar job at a direct competitor, according to a docket entry.

  • May 22, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Says Professor Lacks Standing To Fight Rapunzel TM

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday backed the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's rejection of a professor's challenge to a "Rapunzel" trademark as a consumer of fairy tale toy characters, saying the board properly used a framework laid out by the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • October 15, 2025

    Chase Accused Of IP Theft By Fintech Startup

    A fintech startup has accused JPMorgan Chase Bank NA of stealing artificial intelligence trade secrets after months of trying out the trade-optimizing technology, claiming that the bank backed out of their deal in bad faith, costing the small firm $5 million in out-of-pocket expenses as well as undetermined additional damages.

  • October 14, 2025

    Sirius XM Can't Yet Ditch Proposed Class Action Over Pricing

    An Oregon federal judge on Tuesday refused to toss a proposed class action claiming Sirius XM concealed a royalty charge from subscribers, ruling that the subscribers have adequately alleged they did not know about the fee or the true cost of their subscription when they signed up.

Expert Analysis

  • 2nd Circ. Reinforces Consensus On Vacating Foreign Awards

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    In Molecular Dynamics v. Spectrum Dynamics Medical, the Second Circuit recently affirmed that federal district courts do not possess subject matter jurisdiction to vacate foreign arbitral awards, strengthening this consensus across the circuits most active in recognition and enforcement actions, says Ed Mullins at Reed Smith.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Relevance Redactions

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    In recent cases addressing redactions that parties sought to apply based on the relevance of information — as opposed to considerations of privilege — courts have generally limited a party’s ability to withhold nonresponsive or irrelevant material, providing a few lessons for discovery strategy, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Opinion

    Section 1983 Has Promise After End Of Nationwide Injunctions

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down the practice of nationwide injunctions in Trump v. Casa, Section 1983 civil rights suits can provide a better pathway to hold the government accountable — but this will require reforms to qualified immunity, says Marc Levin at the Council on Criminal Justice.

  • Patent Ambiguity Persists After Justices Nix Eligibility Appeal

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    The Supreme Court recently declined to revisit the contentious framework governing patent eligibility by denying certiorari in Audio Evolution Diagnostics v. U.S., suggesting a necessary recalibration of both patent application and litigation strategies, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • What To Know About NCAA Deal's Arbitration Provisions

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    Kathryn Hester at Jones Walker discusses the key dispute resolution provisions of the NCAA's recently approved class action settlement that allows for complex revenue sharing with college athletes, breaking down the arbitration stipulations and explaining how the Northern District of California will handle certain enforcement, administration, implementation and interpretation disputes.

  • Fed. Circ. In June: Transitional Phrases In Patent Claims

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Eye Therapies v. Slayback Pharma takes on the rarely addressed topic of transitional phrases in patent claims, providing some useful lessons regarding restating claim language and broadly distinguishing prior art, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • Series

    Playing Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Soccer has become a key contributor to how I approach my work, and the lessons I’ve learned on the pitch about leadership, adaptability, resilience and communication make me better at what I do every day in my legal career, says Whitney O’Byrne at MoFo.

  • Expect Unprecedented Delays In USPTO Patent Examination

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    With data from the first half of this year indicating that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is on pace to have a record backlog of unexamined patent applications at the end of the fiscal year, applicants and patent prosecutors should consider strategies to mitigate delays, say Matt Kamps and Emily Miller at Husch Blackwell.

  • And Now A Word From The Panel: Back In Action

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    A lack of new petitions at the May hearing session of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation caught many observers' attention — but a rapid uptick in petitions scheduled to be heard at this week's session illustrates how panel activity always ebbs and flows, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Learning From Failure

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    While law school often focuses on the importance of precision, correctness and perfection, mistakes are inevitable in real-world practice — but failure is not the opposite of progress, and real talent comes from the ability to recover, rethink and reshape, says Brooke Pauley at Tucker Ellis.

  • Eye Drop Ruling Clarifies Importance Of Patent Phrasing

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    The Federal Circuit's recent ruling in Eye Therapies v. Slayback, rejecting the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's interpretation of "consisting essentially of," highlights the importance of using clear and consistent terms throughout a patent's filing history to shield it against future challenges, says Liliana Di Nola-Baron at Panitch Schwarze.

  • How Courts Are Addressing The Use Of AI In Discovery

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

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