Intellectual Property

  • June 04, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Invalidates Spinal Implant Patent Claims

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday invalidated patent claims covering parts used to make expandable implant devices in spinal fusion surgeries that were the basis of a $9.5 million jury verdict against Life Spine Inc. and that had been upheld by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

  • June 04, 2026

    JD Power Claims Chime's Bogus '#1' Banking Ads Rip Off TMs

    J.D. Power has hit Chime Financial Inc. with a lawsuit in New York federal court, accusing the fintech company of willfully infringing J.D. Power's trademarks to support a "widespread, multi-channel" deceptive advertising campaign falsely suggesting that the data analytics firm rated Chime "America's #1 Choice for Banking."

  • June 04, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Solidifies Google, Oath Wins In Arendi Patent Suits

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday upheld Google LLC and Oath Holdings Inc.'s wins over Arendi SARL's lawsuits that accused them of infringing various data system patents, agreeing with a Delaware federal court that the patents weren't valid to begin with.

  • June 04, 2026

    Realty Rival, Directors Barred From Poaching Brokerage Staff

    Two former sales directors for a real estate brokerage must stop recruiting former coworkers for a rival company that hired them, North Carolina's business court has said, finding the new employer should also be barred from meddling with more of the brokerage's employment contracts.

  • June 04, 2026

    Ex-Surgeon Agrees To $7.7M Tax Bill From Offshore Scheme

    A retired plastic surgeon reached a $7.7 million settlement with the federal government to resolve an Internal Revenue Service case alleging that he ran an offshore employee leasing scheme, according to an agreement filed in an Ohio federal court.

  • June 04, 2026

    6th Circ. Rejects Scotts Bid To Block P&G Weed Killer

    The Sixth Circuit on Thursday affirmed a lower court's refusal to block Procter & Gamble from selling its Spruce weed killer, holding that Scotts failed to show its Miracle-Gro packaging is distinctive enough to support trade dress claims or that the products are likely to confuse consumers.

  • June 04, 2026

    Judge Won't Rethink Insurer's Duty To Cover Data Center Row

    A California federal judge refused to allow Navigators Specialty Insurance Co. to file a reconsideration motion for a prior ruling that dismissed the insurer's claims in its coverage suit against a client company taken into arbitration over a California data center project.

  • June 04, 2026

    Ecobee's $11.5M Thermostat IP Trial Loss Erased By Fed. Circ.

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday threw out an $11.5 million award against Ecobee Technologies in a smart thermostat patent infringement suit from Ollnova Technologies, citing problems with the verdict form and how jurors were instructed to look at the patents.

  • June 04, 2026

    Supreme Court Shuts Down 'Skinny Label' Drug Patent Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ended a patent suit over Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.'s generic version of a heart drug that uses a so-called skinny label, saying Amarin Pharma Inc. had not plausibly alleged that Hikma encouraged healthcare providers to infringe its patents.

  • June 04, 2026

    AI Co. Midnight Labs Gets Sony Innovation Fund Investment

    Midnight Labs, a Dublin-based artificial intelligence company focused on intellectual property enforcement, announced Thursday it received an investment from the Sony Innovation Fund to expand its software in the U.S. and Japanese markets.

  • June 03, 2026

    CBP Says Stiiizy's New Vape Cartridges Clear Pax Patents

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection has cleared vape company Stiiizy to import its redesigned oil cartridges, ruling they do not violate patents held by rival Pax Labs Inc., despite the competitor having successfully persuaded the U.S. International Trade Commission to block an earlier version of Stiiizy's products.

  • June 03, 2026

    Squires Institutes 3 Patent Reviews, Denies 3 Others

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires on Tuesday granted three requests for review of patents under the America Invents Act, while turning down three other petitions.

  • June 03, 2026

    Samsung Can't Appeal Conflicting Alice Ruling In $78.5M Case

    A Texas federal judge has refused to let Samsung appeal a decision upholding two patents that resulted in a $78.5 million jury verdict against the South Korean tech giant after a different court found one of the patents invalid.

  • June 03, 2026

    Iconic Lamp Design Isn't MillerKnoll's, 6th Circ. Told

    Counsel for the family of the late designer George Nelson told a Sixth Circuit panel Wednesday that a lower court decision awarding intellectual property rights for his iconic bubble lamp to furniture company MillerKnoll was based on a faulty interpretation of a 2015 contract amendment and should be overturned.

  • June 03, 2026

    KeyBank, Investment Advisers Settle Suit Alleging Client Theft

    KeyBank affiliate Key Investment Services LLC has agreed to settle its suit accusing two former investment advisers of stealing trade secrets and violating their employment agreements by soliciting customers.

  • June 03, 2026

    Tech Industry Groups Back Apple High Court Bid In Epic Case

    Several technology industry groups threw their support behind Apple Inc. on Wednesday, telling the U.S. Supreme Court an injunction issued in a case brought by Epic Games Inc. tries to alter the service Apple provides to millions of developers based on complaints from a single company.

  • June 03, 2026

    Top Wireless Cos. Get PTAB To Wipe Out 5G Patent

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has invalidated a 5G technology patent that mobile providers like AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon had been accused of infringing in now-dropped litigation, after finding the claims of the patent were obvious.

  • June 03, 2026

    Patent Suit Puts Drum Carrier Function Over Form, Court Told

    Counsel for a Japanese musical instrument manufacturer asked a Pennsylvania federal judge Wednesday to toss a patent infringement case it's facing from drum-maker Pearl Musical Instrument Co. Ltd. over marching band drum carriers, arguing that Pearl wrongly focused on the functionality of its competitor's carrier rather than its looks.

  • June 03, 2026

    Electronics Co. Sues Rival Over Plasma Patents Used In Chips

    A company that offers plasma systems for manufacturing semiconductors has sued a rival in New Hampshire federal court, saying the competitor was infringing four patents covering atmospheric-pressure plasma systems.

  • June 03, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Affirms PTAB Invalidation Of Railcar Patent Claims

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday refused to revive claims across a pair of Amsted Rail Co. Inc. patents covering a way of monitoring the performance of railcars, backing Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions that the claims were invalid.

  • June 03, 2026

    Netflix Again Beats NJ Atty's IP Suit Over Boy Scouts Films

    Netflix Inc. fought off an amended complaint in New Jersey federal court Tuesday from an attorney claiming that it infringed on his copyright for a documentary about sexual abuse in the Boy Scouts of America, when the judge ruled the suit relied on uncopyrightable facts.

  • June 03, 2026

    M&A Claim Payouts Hit $1B High In North America, Aon Says

    The frequency and severity of claims made under policies for mergers and acquisitions have risen in recent years, with Aon's North American clients recovering a record-breaking $1 billion across transactional liability lines in 2025, according to a report published Wednesday.

  • June 03, 2026

    UK Requiring Google To Let Publishers Opt Out Of AI

    Google is giving publishers tools to prevent their content from being used to power the artificial intelligence features shown in search results, after Britain's competition enforcer imposed new requirements Wednesday.

  • June 02, 2026

    Google Can't Ditch Software Co.'s Patent Infringement Suit

    Google must face a software company's claim that the tech giant directly infringed one of its patents with its Google Cloud Platform and other products, a California federal judge has ruled, trimming the suit while allowing the patent owner to rework its indirect infringement claims.

  • June 02, 2026

    Finalized Trump Order Seeks Early Cyber Tests Of AI Models

    President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday to push the developers of advanced artificial intelligence models to voluntarily share their systems with the federal government for pre-release cybersecurity testing, following changes to a previous draft that the president abruptly shelved last month due to concerns about its effect on innovation. 

Expert Analysis

  • AI Agents Will Test The Bounds Of Expert Witness Rules

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    Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence does not address whether a testifying expert must be human, but as the rule’s amended admissibility framework intersects with the accelerating capabilities of agentic AI, courts may be forced to confront whether AI-generated expertise fits within existing evidentiary doctrine, says Steven Cordero at Akerman.

  • Reel Justice: 'Project Hail Mary' Can Aid Cross-Examination

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    In the new science fiction film, "Project Hail Mary," a character understood that survival depended on eliminating ambiguity — a useful lesson that trial lawyers can implement by asking statements that are delivered in the form of a question during cross-examination, says Veronica Finkelstein at Wilmington University.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Courts Can Survive The Tech Revolution

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    Colorado Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter and Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Lino Lipinsky de Orlov discuss how artificial intelligence has already fundamentally altered the legal system and offer tips for courts navigating deepfakes, hallucinations and a gap in access to AI tools.

  • 'Skinny Label' Arguments Spotlight Induced Infringement Risk

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    Recent oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in Hikma Pharmaceuticals v. Amarin Pharma highlight the uncertain boundary between lawful generic competition through so-called skinny labels and induced patent infringement, with potential implications for patent holders’ communication, enforcement and causation strategies across industries, says Anton Hopen at Trenam.

  • What Jury Holdouts Can Teach Trial Lawyers About Strategy

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    Though a hung jury can be a disappointment, a psychological understanding of jury holdouts can help trial lawyers shape their damages arguments and understand leadership and group composition as a function of jury selection, says Clint Townson at Townson Litigation.

  • Model Jury Instructions Provide Next Step In Aligning DTSA

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    As the Defend Trade Secrets Act turns 10, new model jury instructions published by the Sedona Conference map emerging issues and jurisdictional splits, representing a significant step toward harmonizing DTSA trial practice, says Amy Candido at Simpson Thacher.

  • 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.

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