Expert Analysis

• A Defendant-Friendly Patent Trend In Central District Of Calif.

  

  Data from the last five years shows that in the Central District of California there has been about a 350% increase in granting motions to dismiss on Section 101 patent eligibility grounds — and these defendants are also securing affirmances on appeal, say Monica Arnold and Michelle Armond at Armond Wilson.

• Keeping Pace With IP Law As It Evolves On Generative AI

  

  As the generative artificial intelligence landscape rapidly changes, there have been several important intellectual property law developments in the courts and from the U.S. Copyright Office that affect copyright and patent strategy, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

• The NIL Legislation Race: CAPCA And The PASS Act

  

  Christina Stylianou and Gregg Clifton at Lewis Brisbois compare the College Athletes Protection and Compensation Act and the Protecting Athletes, Schools, and Sports Act — two of the latest bills introduced to federally regulate publicity rights for the name, image and likeness of college student-athletes.

• Decrease In Multiple Petitions Follows USPTO Guidance

  

  Recent data showing a decline in multiple petitions is likely due to practitioners' increased focus on crafting stronger initial petitions in the interest of higher rates of success in single filings — following the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's development of a more comprehensive body of precedents and guidelines, says Carl Kukkonen at Jones Day.

• Best Practices For Atty-Client Privilege In Patent Litigation

  

  By following best practices such as segregating opinion counsel, limiting access to the opinion, and planning for potential litigation, companies can strike a balance between relying on legal advice and preserving privilege in patent litigation, say attorneys at Finnegan.

• Series

  The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'

  

  Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.

• Sniffing Out Perfume IP Protections In Changing Landscape

  

  The use of new technologies in the perfume industry, including gas chromatography and artificial intelligence, could potentially lead to greater intellectual property protections for perfumes, but it's debatable which types of perfumers would and should benefit from such a change, says Susie Ruiz-Lichter at Squire Patton.

• 4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Introverted lawyers can build client bases to rival their extroverted peers’ by adapting time-tested strategies for business development that can work for any personality — such as claiming a niche, networking for maximum impact, drawing on existing contacts and more, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

• Copyright Cheat Sheet: Finding Substantially Similar Songs

  

  Using the recent copyright infringement case against Ed Sheeran over his hit song "Thinking Out Loud" as a case study, forensic musicologist Ethan Lustig provides an overview for attorneys of which musical elements do and do not, when altered, create the sense of a new or distinct composition — a determination increasingly sought from experts in court.

• A Practitioner's Guide To China's New Generative AI Reg

  

  China's Interim Administrative Measures for Generative Artificial Intelligence Services went into effect Aug. 15, and examining 10 frequently asked questions will help practitioners understand the most relevant regulatory issues and develop a risk assessment framework specific to generative AI products or services, say Yan Luo and Xuezi Dan at Covington.

• Barbie Deals Should Remind Brands Of IP Licensing Benefits

  

  Mattel Inc.'s recent licensing of the Barbie trademark — one of the biggest licensing campaigns of recent history — illustrates that, as long as risks are managed properly, intellectual property licensing can form part of the overall business strategy and benefit both parties, say Maria Peyman and Anousha Vasantha at Birketts.

• Opinion

  Has The NCAA Not Learned NIL Policy Lessons Of The Past?

  

  The NCAA has applied its heavy hand — which has been slapped back by courts and legislatures — again, saying that colleges must comply with its name, image and likeness policies even if they conflict with state laws, but recent antitrust decisions might caution against its reasoning, says Kenneth Jacobsen at Temple University.

• Opinion

  3 Ways Justices' Disclosure Defenses Miss The Ethical Point

  

  The rule-bound interpretation of financial disclosures preferred by U.S. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas — demonstrated in their respective statements defending their failure to disclose gifts from billionaires — show that they do not understand the ethical aspects of the public's concern, says Jim Moliterno at the Washington and Lee University School of Law.

• Despite Fears, American Axle Is Rarely Used To Nix Patents

  

  When the Federal Circuit decided American Axle v. Neapco, invalidating claims as being directed to ineligible subject matter under Section 101, practitioners feared the decision would affect the eligibility and validity of mechanical patents under the section, a fear that recent research shows hasn't been borne out, say Ryan Schermerhorn, Christopher Zahn and Daniela Dulworth at Marshall Gerstein.

• Factors To Consider In Protecting Software With Trade Secrets

  

  With trade secrets protecting subject matter that would not otherwise be eligible for a patent now a mainstay of many multinationals’ intellectual property strategies, software developers have a number of considerations in deciding whether this is a viable alternative to protect their invention, says Dave Clark at Potter Clarkson.