Intellectual Property

  • July 29, 2026

    Longtime USPTO Employee Tapped For Acting Deputy Leader

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has selected longtime employee Anne Mendez to serve as the acting second in command of the agency after Deputy Director Coke Morgan Stewart revealed this week that she's leaving for the private sector.

  • July 29, 2026

    'Vibe Coding' Pushes Cos. To Rethink Copyright Protection

    As artificial intelligence takes on more software development projects, businesses embracing “vibe coding” are adapting to uncertain copyright protection by documenting engineers’ contributions, keeping humans involved in high-value projects and leaning more heavily on trade secrets.

  • July 29, 2026

    Christian Song Doesn't Infringe Copyright, Ore. Judge Finds

    An Oregon federal judge has agreed with a jury's advisory verdict that a Christian music songwriter did not infringe the copyright on singer Vincent Ambrosetti's song "Emmanuel," noting Ambrosetti himself was not a reliable witness.

  • July 29, 2026

    Retailer Denies Copying Sensodyne With 'Sensio' TM

    A personal care retailer has hit back at the companies behind Sensodyne and Aquafresh, arguing that its "Sensio" and "Triple Protect" toothpastes are unlikely to confuse shoppers because their packaging and designs are markedly different.

  • July 29, 2026

    Lowe's Coverage Row, NASCAR Team Tiff: NC Midyear Report

    The North Carolina courts are teeing up for a busy second half of 2026, including readying for a multimillion-dollar insurance trial with Lowe's and speeding through discovery in a high-profile trade secrets dispute involving former NFL coach Joe Gibbs' championship NASCAR team.

  • July 28, 2026

    HR Giant Rippling Stole Startup's AI Trade Secrets, Suit Says

    Human resources services provider Rippling stole confidential information about Runlayer's artificial intelligence platform technology to develop its own competing product, the startup claims in litigation filed Tuesday in New York federal court.

  • July 28, 2026

    Split PTAB Upholds Fiber Optics Component Patent

    A divided panel of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has decided that Cambridge Industries USA Inc. failed to show that any challenged claims are invalid in an Applied Optoelectronics Inc. patent on technology used in fiber optic networks.

  • July 28, 2026

    Albright Preserves Verdict Clearing Roku On Streaming Patents

    A Texas federal judge on Tuesday said he wouldn't grant a new trial or a favorable judgment to a company that asserted two patents against Roku after a jury cleared the streaming device maker in 2024.

  • July 28, 2026

    Writer Must Post $150K Bond During Romantasy IP Appeal

    A New York federal judge on Tuesday said a writer has to put up a bond of $150,000 while she appeals the dismissal of her suit accusing a best-selling fiction author of stealing her romance-fantasy book drafts to create the popular "Crave" series.

  • July 28, 2026

    Papaya Owes $719M, Atty Fees In Gaming False Ad Case

    A New York federal judge has granted Firy Inc.'s request to order Papaya Gaming Ltd. to disgorge $719 million and pay $10.1 million in attorney fees to Firy on top of a $420 million jury verdict in April for alleged misrepresentations about its mobile games being based on skill and not using bots.

  • July 28, 2026

    Judge Calls Off IP Trial, Threatens Sanctions Against Apple

    A Texas federal judge has vacated an impending trial date for a patent infringement suit against Apple, saying he needed time to resolve outstanding jurisdictional issues, but ordered Apple to explain why it shouldn't be sanctioned for raising those issues so close to trial.

  • July 28, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Won't Rethink Expert Decision In Microsoft Case

    The Federal Circuit has turned down Microsoft's request that it revisit a panel's decision that reopened the damages amount issue in a patent infringement case brought against the tech giant by Israeli company Exafer Ltd.

  • July 28, 2026

    High Court Asked To Take Another Settled Expectations Case

    E-learning company Kahoot Inc. is pushing the U.S. Supreme Court to take up its challenge to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's practice of using settled expectations as a reason to deny patent reviews, marking the second petition before the high court on the issue.

  • July 28, 2026

    OpenAI Settles TM Dispute Over 'IO' Hardware Branding

    OpenAI and startup IYO have reached a settlement in principle in their trademark dispute over the "IO" name for AI hardware, the parties told a California federal court.

  • July 28, 2026

    Fish & Richardson Slams IP DQ Bid As Possibly Manufactured

    LVMH urged a Texas federal court to reject a bid to boot Fish & Richardson PC from defending the luxury goods business against an infringement lawsuit over patents for nonfungible token display technology, saying the company behind the suit may have tried to "manufacture" a conflict to disqualify the firm.

  • July 28, 2026

    Goodwin Grows Life Sciences Group With San Diego IP Hire

    Goodwin Procter LLP announced Monday that an experienced intellectual property attorney focused on life sciences matters has joined the firm's San Diego office as a partner from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC.

  • July 28, 2026

    Pipe Inventor Says Other Parties Unneeded In Patent Suit

    The inventor of the Digger One Hitter smoking pipe is urging a Michigan federal court not to throw out his patent infringement claims against S&E Distributor Inc., saying the defendants are wrong to insist he has no right to sue.

  • July 27, 2026

    GoodPop, JonnyPops Trade Blows In Fruit Pop False Ad Fight

    GoodPop and JonnyPops have both filed summary judgment bids in a false advertising battle in Texas federal court that was filed two years ago by GoodPop, each arguing that their rival's claims over their respective frozen pops' fruit and sugar content can be tossed without going to trial.

  • July 27, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Clears Boston Scientific In $49M Stent Patent Case

    The Federal Circuit on Monday overturned a $49.4 million patent judgment against Boston Scientific, ruling that the company's drug-eluting coronary stents did not infringe a patent owned by the University of Texas System and that the patent is invalid.

  • July 27, 2026

    7th Circ. Asked To Clarify Copyright Prevailing Party Status

    A man who successfully defended himself from being held liable for damages when he was sued by a food photography company that claimed his photo of raw meat on Facebook counted as copyright infringement has asked the Seventh Circuit to find that he's the "prevailing party" for purposes of seeking attorney fees.

  • July 27, 2026

    Chobani Can't Escape Danone's Coffee TM Suit

    A New York federal judge on Monday refused to toss Danone's unregistered trademark infringement suit against Chobani over use of the phrase "Bright & Mellow," saying Danone plausibly backed up its argument that the mark was not simply generic.

  • July 27, 2026

    Verano Unit Accused Of Infringing Cannabis Extraction Patent

    A subsidiary of cannabis giant Verano Holdings LLC was hit with a patent infringement suit in Virginia federal court Monday accusing it of ripping off a California company's pioneering technology using safer, low-temperature ethanol extraction processes to obtain oils and compounds from cannabis, which helps avoid the risk of fires or explosions. 

  • July 27, 2026

    Consultant Says Fla. Co., Owner Stole Her Training Model

    A linguist claimed in a Florida federal court that the owner of a job consulting business breached their collaboration agreement and stole a training model she developed, alleging she wasn't given equity in the company as promised and that her copyrighted intellectual property was published in a book without her authorization.

  • July 27, 2026

    Google Can't Get 2nd Try At Eliminating Network-1 Patent

    A New York federal judge has denied Google's request for a second attempt at invalidating a patent asserted by a patent licensing company, rejecting its arguments that a Federal Circuit decision from last month made another try necessary.

  • July 27, 2026

    Yale, Biohaven Win $4M In Biotech Trade Secret Trial

    A Delaware federal jury has awarded Yale University and Biohaven Therapeutics $4 million after finding that venture capital firm RA Capital Management GP breached a confidentiality agreement and, along with co-defendant Avilar Therapeutics, misappropriated a Yale-developed trade secret for designing protein-degrading drug molecules.

Expert Analysis

  • Exploring The Legal Gray Area Around AI Voices In Music

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    The growing prevalence of AI music on online platforms highlights unique legal questions and ambiguities surrounding the usage of artificial intelligence to create accurate voice clones of existing singers, says Michael Maicher at Volpe Koenig.

  • 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

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    The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

  • Framing AI Risk Management In The Art World

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    With gallery professionals indicating a widening gap between operational adoption of artificial intelligence and cultural acceptance of AI as an art medium, certain intellectual property, privacy and governance considerations are becoming critical for art industry stakeholders, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

  • Salt-N-Pepa Suit May Shake Up Music Copyright Issue

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    James v. UMG Recordings is a copyright termination rights case that provides an opportunity for the Second Circuit to make concrete choices about grant language, authorship, work-for-hire status and survival of derivative works, says attorney Abdul Abdullahi.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Georgia Court Has Business On Its Mind

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    Thanks to recent legislation, the Georgia State-wide Business Court will soon offer business litigants greater access to the court than ever before, further enhancing the court's emphasis on efficiency, predictability and accessibility for sophisticated commercial disputes, says former GSBC judge Walt Davis at Jones Day.

  • Opinion

    USPTO Must Address The Right Question In Sanofi Case

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Appeals Review Panel's questions in Ex parte Baurin indicate recognition of broader doctrinal issues, but rather than approaching from separate angles, the panel should concentrate on a single fundamental question about obviousness-type double patenting, says Jeremy Lowe at Spencer Fane.

  • 4 Emerging Approaches To AI Protective Order Language

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    Over the last year, at least five federal district courts have issued or analyzed specific protective order provisions restricting the use of generative artificial intelligence platforms with protected materials, establishing that proactive AI-specific provisions are now standard practice and demonstrating that no single model works for every case, says Joel Bush at Kilpatrick.

  • What Justices Are Focusing On In 'Skinny Label' Patent Case

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    Though Hikma v. Amarin appears to be a patent dispute that could reshape inducement doctrine in the pharmaceutical context, oral argument suggests the U.S. Supreme Court may treat this as primarily a pleading-stage dispute, with important unresolved questions lurking beneath the surface, says Shashank Upadhye at Upadhye Tang.

  • Heppner Ruling Left AI Privilege Risk For Lawyers Unresolved

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    While a New York federal judge’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Heppner resolved a privilege question surrounding client-side artificial intelligence use, it did not address how to mitigate the risks that can arise when confidential information enters the operative context of an AI system used by an attorney, says Jianfei Chen at Quarles & Brady​​​​​​​.

  • How 10 Years Of Case Law Have Shaped The DTSA

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    As the Defend Trade Secrets Act reaches its 10th anniversary, attorneys at Ropes & Gray examine recent DTSA case law and highlight key takeaways regarding pleading requirements, damages and risk factors.

  • The Ethics And Practicalities Of Representing AI Agents

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    With autonomous artificial intelligence agents now able to take action without explicit instructions from — or the awareness of — their human owners, the bar must confront whether existing frameworks like informed consent and client privilege will be sufficient on the day an AI agent calls seeking counsel, say attorneys at Morrison Cohen.

  • Series

    Speed Jigsaw Puzzling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My passion for speed puzzling — I can complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in under 50 minutes — has sharpened my legal skills in more ways than one, with both disciplines requiring patience, precision and the ability to keep the bigger picture in mind while working through the details, says Tazia Statucki at Proskauer.

  • Rebuttal

    Pro Codes Act Does Not Pose Constitutional Concerns

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    A recent Law360 guest article that raises constitutional alarms concerning the proposed Pro Codes Act, under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives, overstates the potential harm to standards development organizations and mischaracterizes existing law, says James Gourley at Carstens Allen.

  • High Court's Cox Ruling Leaves ISP Copyright Rules Intact

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    Though some commentators predicted a cataclysmic impact from the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Cox v. Sony, in actuality the decision correctly maintains the status quo for internet providers' copyright infringement liability, says Courtney Sarnow at CM Law.

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