Intellectual Property

  • November 30, 2023

    Jury Awards Canadian Company $23K In Bus Sign Patent Spat

    A Michigan jury has found that lighting manufacturer Opti-Luxx willfully infringed a Canadian competitor's two patents covering illuminated school bus signs and owes about $23,000.

  • November 30, 2023

    Meta, Amazon Get PTAB To Strike Down Ad Patent Claims

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has sided with Meta and Amazon by finding that all four challenged claims in an AlmondNet Inc. advertising patent were invalid as obvious.

  • November 30, 2023

    Petition Watch: NLRB GC Authority, Copyright Atty Fees

    Law360 looks at four U.S. Supreme Court petitions filed in the past two weeks you might have missed, including questions over whether the National Labor Relations Board's general counsel is entitled to prosecutorial discretion, the proper standard for determining attorney fees in copyright cases, and how courts should treat the Board of Veterans' Affairs' silence on benefits decisions.

  • November 30, 2023

    Brandr Drops Suit Against EA Over NIL Video Game Battle

    The Brandr Group LLC on Thursday dropped its lawsuit against video game giant Electronic Arts Inc. over its use of college athletes' names, images and likenesses in an upcoming video game.

  • November 30, 2023

    32 Sens., Chamber Of Commerce Slam Digital Trade Pivot

    The Biden administration faced renewed criticism regarding its recent pullback from digital trade policy discussions in a pair of letters Thursday voicing complaints from almost three dozen members of Congress and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

  • November 30, 2023

    Invisalign Customers Get Class Certification In Antitrust Suits

    A California federal judge certified two classes of buyers of Invisalign teeth aligners, but denied a motion to certify a class that bought mouth scanners, for two separate cases proceeding in parallel, both alleging the maker of Invisalign has a monopoly on the market for teeth straightening plastic aligners.

  • November 30, 2023

    Vidal Revives Food Slicer Patent After PTAB Loss

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board wrongly glanced over evidence before determining most claims of a Provisur Technologies Inc. food slicer patent were invalid, according to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal.

  • November 30, 2023

    PTAB Sides With Apple, Samsung To Ax Smart Mobile Patent

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has again sided with Apple and Samsung as the companies seek to invalidate a number of technology patents that Smart Mobile Technologies LLC has asserted against the smartphone manufacturers in federal district court cases.

  • November 30, 2023

    Researchers Push To Restart DMCA Fight Over Speech Rights

    A civil liberties group is appealing a federal court decision that found the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's anti-circumvention provision could not be invalidated, arguing on behalf of two researchers that the provision creates an "unconstitutional speech-licensing regime."

  • November 30, 2023

    Bank, Employees Can't Escape Rival's Trade Secrets Suit

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has refused to dismiss Meridian Bank's suit accusing former employees and a Maryland-based competitor bank of misappropriating Meridian's trade secrets, ruling that the suit adequately shows employment agreements signed by Meridian's former employees determine that the court has personal jurisdiction over them.

  • November 30, 2023

    Hertz Resolves Lime's Trade Secrets Suit

    A California federal court has signed off on an agreement to end scooter company Lime's suit alleging Hertz knew one of its newly hired engineers used Lime's confidential information to build a new app.

  • November 30, 2023

    Vape Co. Says Rival Ripped Off Cannabinoid Vape Design

    Cannabis equipment maker Stache Products has hit a Los Angeles-based rival with a federal patent and trademark infringement lawsuit claiming it ripped off Stache's "Rig In One" device, which includes a built-in torch.

  • November 30, 2023

    NC Court Forces Spouse To Return Agency Assets In IP Row

    The North Carolina Business Court ordered the husband of an insurance agency owner to hand over the business records and assets he locked away from her, reasoning that the wife is likely to win on a claim that her spouse took the items to benefit his newly formed brokerage firm.

  • November 30, 2023

    Christian Radio Stations Battle Over 'Shine' Trademark

    An Illinois Christian college in a new complaint has accused a Washington-based Christian nonprofit of infringing its "Shine" trademark to launch a rival radio station, asking a Washington federal court to block the unauthorized use of its mark.

  • November 30, 2023

    Justices Told PTAB's Ax Of Ventilator Patent Was Wrong Call

    A California State University, Fullerton, professor has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Federal Circuit decision that refused to revive claims in her patent on a medical ventilator, challenging the circuit court's finding that the claims were obvious.

  • November 30, 2023

    Littler, Ex-Firm Atty Agree To Pause In Doc Theft Showdown

    Littler Mendelson PC and a former firm attorney have agreed to pause the firm's Texas state lawsuit alleging she stole confidential documents, with the reason for hitting the brakes on the hard-fought case unclear.

  • November 30, 2023

    Auto Parts Designers Actually Do 'Solve Problems,' Court Told

    A Chicago auto parts company shot back at arguments from major players in the automotive industry over how design patents should be litigated in the courts, teeing up its argument early next year in front of the full Federal Circuit that "designers do solve problems."

  • November 29, 2023

    20th Century, CAA Defeat Writer's Suit Over 'Ad Astra' Script

    A California federal judge has rejected a screenwriter's allegations that Twentieth Century Fox, Disney and Creative Artists Agency ripped off a script he pitched to them in the process of developing the 2019 Brad Pitt film "Ad Astra," ruling that the "undisputed facts" warrant siding with the companies.

  • November 29, 2023

    Traxcell Asks High Court To Review Atty Fee Fight

    Traxcell Technologies LLC has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up an appeal concerning attorney fees owed to Sprint and Verizon after the telecommunication companies beat its infringement suit, arguing that the alleged "exceptional" litigation conduct occurred before a final ruling.

  • November 29, 2023

    Fed. Circ. Told To Defer To ITC In Apple Watch IP Row

    A small Silicon Valley medical device startup's efforts to use the U.S. International Trade Commission to litigate allegations that Apple Inc. pilfered health tracking software for its smartwatches have drawn supportive amicus briefs from a handful of trade groups, a billionaire venture capitalist and a Japanese manufacturer of health monitors.

  • November 29, 2023

    PTAB Axes Conveyor Belt Patent Claims

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has found part of a conveyor belt patent was invalid, saying five claims in the patent owned by Laitram LLC were invalid.

  • November 29, 2023

    X Sues To Get Out Of TiVo Patent Licensing Deal

    The social media website formerly known as Twitter is telling a federal court in California that negotiations with the new company that owns thousands of TiVo-related patents have "reached an impasse" as Elon Musk's company no longer wants to pay $3 million a year for patented technology that X says it doesn't use.

  • November 29, 2023

    PTAB Told Sex Toy Patent Is A Copy-And-Paste Job

    In a post-grant review hearing Wednesday, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board focused many of its questions on whether Shenzhen Svakom Technology, the owner of a patent for interactive sex toys, relied too heavily on language from earlier inventions.

  • November 29, 2023

    TM Battle Over 'Wiz' Ends With Samsung Abandoning Mark

    The Federal Circuit has ordered the dismissal of an appeal by New York electronics store chain P.C. Richard & Son of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's decision to let Samsung register a mark for smartphones and tablets after Samsung abandoned its registration bid.

  • November 29, 2023

    Medical Gas Supplier Lincare And Ex-CEO Settle Data Dispute

    A federal judge in Connecticut on Wednesday approved a stipulated permanent injunction between medical gas supplier Lincare Inc. and former CEO Crispin Teufel that bans Teufel from using data downloaded from Lincare in any new role after he signed a since-scuttled deal to become CEO of a competitor.

Expert Analysis

  • What's At Stake In Bystolic 'Side Deals' Litigation

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    In re: Bystolic Antitrust Litigation, which has oral argument set for next month, will likely shed light on how the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit views side deals, and could create a circuit split in pleading standards for reverse payment cases, say attorneys at Axinn.

  • Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary

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    The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Best Practices For Defense Tech Startup Financing

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    Navigating the expanding and highly regulated defense technology sector requires careful planning and execution, starting at incorporation, so startups should prepare for foreign investor issues, choose their funding wisely and manage their funds carefully, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • 'Trump Too Small' Args Show Justices Inclined To Reverse

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    The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in the "Trump Too Small" trademark case Vidal v. Elster — and the tenor of the justices' feedback makes it clear that the refusal to register a mark under the Lanham Act most likely does not violate free speech rights, as opposed to the Federal Circuit's decision last year, says Brian Brookey at Tucker Ellis.

  • FTC Orange Book Move Signals New Pharma Patent Scrutiny

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent dispute against improper listing of drug patents in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Orange Book indicates heightened surveillance of the pharmaceutical industry, particularly where competition-related consequences of patent or regulatory processes are concerned, say attorneys at Fenwick.

  • AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

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    Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Why The Effect Of Vivint Has Been Minimal

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    A survey of recent ex parte reexamination decisions since the Federal Circuit’s 2021 In re: Vivint decision appears to support the court’s conclusion that the ruling was limited in scope and would have limited impact, says Yao Wang at Fish & Richardson.

  • Transparency And Explainability Are Critical To AI Compliance

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    Although there is not yet a comprehensive law governing artificial intelligence, regulators have tools to hold businesses accountable, and companies need to focus on ensuring that consumers and key stakeholders understand how their AI systems operate and make decisions, say Chanley Howell and Lauren Hudon at Foley & Lardner.

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

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    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • How Social Media Can Affect Trial Outcomes

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    With social media’s ability to seize upon an issue and spin it into a specifically designed narrative, it is more critical than ever that a litigation communications strategy be part of trial planning to manage the impact of legal action on a company's reputation, say Sean Murphy and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

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    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • The Scope Of Challenged Claims After Fed. Circ. Sisvel Ruling

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    Joshua Weisenfeld at Sheppard Mullin considers the Federal Circuit's recent Sisvel v. Sierra decision and its impact on claim construction and post-issuance claim amendments that broaden the scope of challenged claims.

  • A Look At Health Care Timelines Set By Biden's AI Order

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    President Joe Biden's artificial intelligence executive order establishes standards for using AI in the health care industry, including a number of staggered deadlines that should help coordinate a more unified federal approach to AI governance, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Trending At The PTAB: Administrative Procedure

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    A pair of recent Federal Circuit rulings on Patent Trial and Appeal Board inter partes review shed light on applications of the Administrative Procedure Act, adding to an ever-growing body of case law showing the board's final written decision must be based on arguments clearly put forth by the parties, say Robert High and Benjamin Saidman at Finnegan.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

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