Intellectual Property

  • March 05, 2024

    $1.2B 'King Of Pop' Music Catalog Deal Leads Top 10 Ever

    As a stable asset class that has fared well amid economic uncertainty, music catalogs have attracted much attention from both private equity firms and music industry corporations that are attuned to increasingly lucrative royalty fees and spikes in music streaming. Here, Law360 breaks down the largest music catalog-related asset sales ever, based on official announcements and media reports.

  • March 05, 2024

    Avadel Told To Pay Jazz Pharma $234K Over Narcolepsy Drug IP

    A Delaware federal jury found Monday that a specialty drugmaker owes nearly $234,000 to drug manufacturer Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc. for using a patented process behind its newer narcolepsy drug, launched last year to sales of over $28 million.

  • March 05, 2024

    Microsoft Says NYT Has No 'Real' Examples Of Infringement

    Microsoft Corp. urged a Manhattan federal judge to dismiss claims from a New York Times' copyright complaint that contends ChatGPT illegally reproduces the publication's content, arguing the newspaper has not produced "a single real-world example" of that happening.

  • March 05, 2024

    Settlement Cools Off Conn. Pizza Chain's Trademark Fight

    The parties in a long-running trademark dispute involving the Connecticut-based pizza chain Colony Grill, which twice was delivered to the Second Circuit, have permanently dropped their claims against each other in the wake of a recent settlement.

  • March 05, 2024

    Judge Rips THC Drink Co.'s 'Repackaged' Injunction Bid

    A manufacturer of THC- and CBD-infused beverages shouldn't prevail on its second attempt to stop a rival from marketing drinks under an allegedly similar name, an Illinois federal magistrate judge found Monday, writing that the company's second injunction request "simply repackaged and reargued information."

  • March 05, 2024

    Bape Can't Outrun Nike's Claim It Swiped Sneaker Designs

    A New York federal judge refused Monday to end Nike's trademark action accusing Bape of copying the "iconic" look of Nike's Air Force 1 and Air Jordan sneakers, finding Nike's certificates of registration sufficiently articulate the purview of its purported trade dress, including specific, written descriptions and design details.

  • March 05, 2024

    ADI Can't Recoup Full Quinn Emanuel Bill In IP Theft Case

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday compared Analog Devices Inc.'s pricey hiring of a Quinn Emanuel attorney to monitor its former engineer's trade secrets trial in person to paying "a brain surgeon to pop a pimple" in an order denying restitution for those costs.

  • March 05, 2024

    GOP Sens. Voice Concern Over Biden Plan To Claim Patents

    Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the top Republican on the Senate health committee, and 16 other Senate Republicans recently aired concerns with the director of the National Institutes of Health about the Biden administration's plan to "illegally" seize drug patents.

  • March 05, 2024

    IP Litigation Vet Joins Wiggin and Dana's NY Office From LTL

    Wiggin and Dana LLP said Tuesday that it is welcoming a technology and life sciences expert from litigation boutique LTL Attorneys LLP to its intellectual property litigation group.

  • March 04, 2024

    USPTO Can't See Snapchat 'Spectacles' IP Win Ahead Of Trial

    A California federal magistrate judge rejected Monday the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's bid for a summary judgment win in a lawsuit by Snapchat's parent company seeking to secure trademark rights to the word "Spectacles" for its flagship virtual-reality product, sending the intellectual property dispute to a March 12 bench trial.

  • March 04, 2024

    Judge Grounds Earth, Wind & Fire Cover Band

    A Florida federal judge has handed a win to the entity that owns the intellectual property of the musical group Earth, Wind & Fire over a concert producer and a promoter it says ripped off the band's trademarks, banning them from using those marks again.

  • March 04, 2024

    WTO Conference Ends Without COVID IP Waiver Expansion

    The World Trade Organization did not reach an agreement at a conference last week on a proposal to expand a waiver on intellectual property for COVID vaccines to cover tests and treatments, a move welcomed by opponents of the plan.

  • March 04, 2024

    Insurer Wants Trade Secret Suit Dropped Sans Atty Fee Award

    A dental health insurer asked a Washington federal judge on Monday to toss its trade secret claims against an ex-executive without leeway for her to request legal fees, arguing that she can't be considered a winning party because she handed over a company laptop after being hit with the suit.

  • March 04, 2024

    OpenAI Judge Denies Writers' Calif. IP Case 'First-To-File' Bid

    A California federal judge ruled Friday that a group of authors suing OpenAI for alleged copyright infringement cannot bar the Microsoft-backed company from defending itself against a similar suit in New York federal court, saying the plaintiffs' argument that the artificial intelligence startup engaged in forum shopping "holds no sway."

  • March 04, 2024

    Maine Slams Trade Secret Claim In Lobstermen's Tracking Suit

    The Maine state government is pushing back against lobstermen who want a federal court to block a state requirement to have tracking devices on their boats, slamming arguments that the monitoring will reveal fishing patterns and locations they consider trade secrets.

  • March 04, 2024

    8 Banks Targeted In ATM Patent Campaign

    A patent-holding company has accused JPMorgan Chase Bank NA and other banks of infringing a pair of patents covering things like ATM circuitry memory.

  • March 04, 2024

    Legal Marketing Co. Sues Ex-VP Over Trade Secrets Theft

    Legal case acquisition marketing company Tort Experts LLC has sued a former senior vice president of marketing in Colorado federal court for allegedly sharing screenshots of the company's internal systems, pricing and margins with competitors in violation of an employment agreement and federal law.

  • March 04, 2024

    11th Circ. Says Broker Can't Collect Fees In Copyright Case

    The Eleventh Circuit has ruled that a Florida real estate broker cannot collect attorney fees incurred for defending himself from a copyright infringement suit by an aerial photography company because the broker was not a prevailing party once the photography company voluntarily dismissed the case.

  • March 04, 2024

    Antibe Therapeutics To Pay Nuance $24M In Licensing Fight

    Canadian company Antibe Therapeutics Inc. said Monday it has lost its dispute in arbitration with Chinese firm Nuance Pharma Ltd. over a licensing deal for an anti-inflammatory drug, saying it has agreed to pay out $24 million as the license agreement is rescinded.

  • March 04, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    A Swedish music producer's takeover, a proposed award payable in Tesla shares, Truth Social stock squabbles, and an unusually blunt slap-down from the bench added up to an especially colorful week in Delaware's famous court of equity. On top of that came new cases about alleged power struggles, board entrenchment, consumer schemes and merger disputes.

  • March 04, 2024

    Gilstrap Backs Trial In Samsung, Ex-Attys' Trade Secret Fight

    Chief U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap has signed off on a magistrate judge's recommendation to send a Texas trade secrets fight between Samsung and two tech companies operated by former Samsung attorneys to court, denying bids for an early win brought by counterclaim defendants Staton Techiya and Synergy IP.

  • March 04, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Revives Diaper IP Over 'Unsupported Assumptions'

    The Federal Circuit on Monday tossed Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions that had found claims in Paul Hartmann AG's patents on adult diapers invalid in challenges brought by Attends Healthcare, holding that the board relied on "unsupported assumptions."

  • March 04, 2024

    Fish & Richardson Reelects CEO To 2nd Term

    Global intellectual property law firm Fish & Richardson PC announced Monday that John Adkisson had been reelected to serve a second four-year term as president and CEO.

  • March 04, 2024

    Justices Pass On Hasbro's Atty Fee Fight In Copyright Win

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied Hasbro Inc.'s appeal to review the First Circuit's refusal to award its lawyers nearly $2 million in attorney fees for prevailing in a copyright suit over the Game of Life.

  • March 04, 2024

    Justices Won't Review Concrete Co. Licensing Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away a petition arguing that state courts are "eroding" the rule requiring clear evidence that a party agreed to arbitrate a particular dispute, in a case centering on an arbitral award favoring a concrete company in a licensing feud.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.

  • How The PTAB Landscape Shifted In 2023

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    Attorneys at Finnegan consider the impact of noteworthy Patent Trial and Appeal Board developments in 2023, including rulemaking, litigation, precedential decisions and director reviews that affected PTAB practice, and offer a reference for examining future proceedings and strategies.

  • FDA's Recent Litigation Records Are Strong, But Imperfect

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has notched its share of litigation wins in recent years thanks to a number of key advantages, but the FDA has been less successful in certain highly visible arenas, Jonathan Berman and Colleen Heisey at Jones Day.

  • Coming To Terms With Means-Plus-Function Patent Claims

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    Made-up patent claim terms can open arguments that means-plus-function claim interpretation applies under the Patent Act, but a series of practice tips, including the use of structural language immediately after introducing a claim element, can help avoid such perceptions, says Brad Luchsinger at Harness IP.

  • 5 Steps For Healthcare Companies After Biden's AI Order

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    Rather than simply monitoring for the issuance of agency guidelines on artificial intelligence in the wake of President Joe Biden's October executive order, health and life sciences companies should take action now and begin building internal operational and technical infrastructures designed to govern the use of AI, says Joy Sharp at Faegre Drinker.

  • Opinion

    Giving The Gov't Drug Patent March-In Authority Is Bad Policy

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    The Biden administration's recent proposal to allow government seizure of certain taxpayer-funded drug patents is a terrible idea that would negate the benefits of government-funded research, to the detriment of patients and the wider economy, says Wayne Winegarden at Pacific Research Institute.

  • How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • 7 Enforcement Predictions For US Export Controls, Sanctions

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    Federal agencies' assertions of coming increases in export-control and sanctions-violations enforcement are not new, but recent improvements in resources and inter-agency cooperation allow for certain predictions about how the administration’s latest approach to enforcement may be applied going forward, say attorneys at Akin.

  • Key Takeaways From 2023 Trade Secret Developments

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    Attorneys at Faegre Drinker parse the past year's most significant trade secret rulings for practice tips, including the importance of establishing a confidential relationship when sharing trade secrets with third parties.

  • Energy Sector Takeaways From Biden's AI Executive Order

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    While the U.S. Department of Energy begins to establish rules in accordance with President Joe Biden's recent executive order on artificial intelligence, in-house counsel can work with business lines and executive teams to consider implementing their own AI governance process, say Joel Meister and James De Vellis at Foley & Lardner.

  • 3 Types Of Evidence Excluded Pretrial In 2023 TM Cases

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    Dylan I. Scher at Quinn Emanuel reviews three areas of rulings on motions in limine from 2023 where parties successfully excluded evidence in a trademark dispute, for legal practitioners to consider for future cases.

  • Lessons From This Year's Landmark Green Energy IP Clash

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    In this year's Siemens v. General Electric wind turbine patent dispute, a Massachusetts federal court offers a cautionary tale against willful infringement, and highlights the balance between innovation, law and ethics, as legal battles like this become more frequent in the renewable energy sector, say John Powell and Andrew Siuta at Sunstein.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge D'Emic On Moby Grape

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    The 1968 Moby Grape song "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" tells the tale of a fictional defendant treated with scorn by the judge, illustrating how much the legal system has evolved in the past 50 years, largely due to problem-solving courts and the principles of procedural justice, says Kings County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Matthew D'Emic.

  • Perils Of Incorporation By Reference At The Federal Circuit

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision backing a Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruling against Medtronic illustrates the perils of arguments through incorporation by reference, which can result in waiver of arguments and an adverse decision on appeal, says Ryan Hagglund at Loeb & Loeb.

  • Series

    Performing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The discipline of performing live music has directly and positively influenced my effectiveness as a litigator — serving as a reminder that practice, intuition and team building are all important elements of a successful law practice, says Jeff Wakolbinger at Bryan Cave.

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