Intellectual Property

  • September 11, 2025

    Google's 'Failure To Communicate' In AI Fight Irks IP Judge

    A California magistrate judge presiding over discovery in a proposed class action alleging Google's artificial-intelligence training models infringed artists' copyrights on Thursday refused, for now, to appoint a special master after plaintiffs accused Google of delaying data production by months, but she expressed frustrations with Google counsel's "failure to communicate."

  • September 11, 2025

    Apparel Co. Accuses Google Of Helping Copyright Infringers

    An apparel company that sells shirts themed around America and competitive drinking sued Google on Thursday in Ohio federal court, claiming the search engine giant assists online retailers that make copycats of its products.

  • September 11, 2025

    9th Circ. Revives 'Beauty' FX Copyright Verdict Against Disney

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday revived a verdict that Walt Disney Pictures vicariously infringed a digital effects company's facial-motion capture software by using it for the 2017 "Beauty and the Beast" film, saying the tech company presented sufficient evidence for jurors to find Disney could have stopped its effects contractor's infringement.

  • September 11, 2025

    Ex-USPTO Solicitor Says Squires Is Better Than No One

    A former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office solicitor is asking the U.S. Senate to confirm John Squires as USPTO director, saying political accountability has become more important than finding a candidate who is right for the job.

  • September 11, 2025

    PTAB To Review Nike Flyknit Patent After Stewart Remand

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has agreed to institute review of a patent covering Nike Inc.'s Flyknit line of sneakers, after the acting head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office revived Skechers' challenge to the patent.

  • September 11, 2025

    Tesla, Musk And WB Slice Off 'Blade Runner' IP Claims

    A California federal judge tossed several claims Thursday from Alcon Entertainment's lawsuit alleging Tesla, its CEO Elon Musk and Warner Bros. Discovery used an image that infringes "Blade Runner 2049," while chastising the plaintiff for a 96-page complaint he said showcases a "proclivity towards overdoing things."

  • September 11, 2025

    NC Justices Ponder How Much Of Firm Value Atty's Ex Gets

    North Carolina's top court hinted Thursday that a solo attorney's ex-wife may be able to claim at least a morsel of his law firm's worth in their divorce, as the justices pondered whether to draw a distinction between two types of business value known as personal and enterprise goodwill.

  • September 11, 2025

    Under Armour Prevails In PTAB Challenges To 4 Shoe Patents

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has invalidated a host of claims across four patents owned by a golf shoe company, handing a win to Under Armour as it fights an infringement suit over the patents in Texas federal court.

  • September 11, 2025

    RSS Co-Creator Unveils License Plan For AI Content Crawlers

    The co-creator of RSS feeds has helped launch a licensing process for AI crawlers that scrape website content to train artificial intelligence systems.

  • September 11, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Lets Ruling On Canada's Cherry Patent Stand

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday declined a request by a group of cherry growers to reinstate a court order that a patent covering the Staccato cherry variety owned by the Canadian government was invalid, saying a district judge had not acted improperly by reversing the order.

  • September 11, 2025

    Zeiss Secures $785K In X-Ray Patent Trial Against Sigray

    Sigray Inc. is on the hook for $785,000 in damages after a finding in California federal court this week that it infringed X-ray imaging patents owned by Carl Zeiss X-Ray Microscopy Inc., but the jury also found that Sigray's infringement was not willful and refused to award any lost profits. 

  • September 11, 2025

    Luminar Must Face Investor Suit Over Image Rip-Off Claims

    Autonomous vehicle technology company Luminar Semiconductor Inc. cannot escape the latest version of a proposed investor class action alleging that it passed off an image of a competitor's technology as its own after a Florida federal judge found that the amended suit now sufficiently pleads that the company made material misrepresentations.

  • September 11, 2025

    IYO Loses Sanctions Bid In OpenAI Trademark Case

    Technology firm IYO Inc. was denied a request to sanction OpenAI by a California federal judge who said IYO had not convincingly backed up its claim that OpenAI reposted materials touting products under the "IO" brand in violation of a court order.

  • September 11, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Keeps Google, Amazon Patent Fights In Calif.

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday refused to send back to Texas federal court a pair of suits from a software company accusing Google and Amazon of patent infringement, refusing to undo findings that California was the better venue.

  • September 10, 2025

    Britannica, Merriam-Webster Sue Perplexity Over Content Use

    Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. and Merriam-Webster Inc. on Wednesday sued Perplexity AI Inc. in New York federal court, alleging that the artificial intelligence-powered search engine startup was engaging in "massive copying" of their copyright-protected content and spitting out verbatim reproductions of their content without permission.

  • September 10, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revisit Double-Patenting, Soda TM Appeals

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday declined to revisit its decisions in a trio of intellectual property cases, including one where it upheld an Acadia Pharmaceuticals Parkinson's disease drug patent and addressed double-patenting, and another deeming "Kist" and "Sunkist" soft drink marks confusingly similar.

  • September 10, 2025

    Sonos Seeks Exit In $3M Royalties Suit By SoundExchange

    Sonos says it shouldn't have to face a suit claiming it and Napster failed to pay more than $3.4 million in royalties, interest and other costs related to the operation of Sonos Radio, saying it never had the responsibility of having to pay any royalties.

  • September 10, 2025

    Disney Says Forged Doc Aids $532K 'Moana' Sanctions Bid

    An attorney for Disney on Wednesday urged a California federal judge to issue $532,815 in sanctions against attorneys representing an animator who unsuccessfully alleged "Moana" lifted from his Polynesian adventure story, saying the lawyers knew or should have known a key document in the case is a forgery.

  • September 10, 2025

    Plaintiffs Seek Info From Microsoft, OpenAI In Copyright MDL

    A proposed class of authors suing over the alleged use of works to train ChatGPT has asked a Manhattan federal judge to force Microsoft to hand over documents they said could be a "smoking gun of copyright infringement," while a group of news organizations said OpenAI should turn over materials on low-quality, artificial intelligence-generated news sites. 

  • September 10, 2025

    Broadcom Urges Fed. Circ. To Undo Netflix's Patent Wins

    Broadcom has told the Federal Circuit that a California federal judge wrongly invalidated two data patents it asserted against Netflix, saying the judge erred in finding that the patents cover steps that could be carried out by a traffic cop or a 19th century switchboard operator.

  • September 10, 2025

    Vehicle Cosmetics Co. Sues Over AI-Voice Suit Threats

    A manufacturer of vehicle wax and wash products has sued a voice actor in Texas federal court, seeking a declaration that he doesn't have a claim for misappropriating his likeness, saying a rogue employee created an artificial intelligence-generated version of his voice and that no revenues were derived from it.

  • September 10, 2025

    DC Circ. Temporarily Reinstates Copyright Head After Firing

    The fired head of the U.S. Copyright Office has regained her position for the time being after a split D.C. Circuit faulted a lower court's analysis of whether she would be harmed if she didn't get her job back while fighting the Trump administration's dismissal of her.

  • September 10, 2025

    Tech M&A Pro Joins Baker McKenzie In Silicon Valley

    Baker McKenzie is strengthening its transactional team, bringing in a technology mergers and acquisitions expert, most recently with Tech Law Partners LLP, as a partner in its Palo Alto, California, office.

  • September 09, 2025

    Conservative Groups Warn Against Value-Based 'Patent Tax'

    More than three dozen conservative groups Tuesday urged the U.S. Department of Commerce to refrain from considering charging patent owners a novel "patent tax" based on the value of their patents, warning that such a levy would harm innovation in the U.S., especially for emerging technologies.

  • September 09, 2025

    2nd Circ. Won't Nix Vimeo IP Loss But Clears Path For Appeal

    The Second Circuit Tuesday mostly rejected Capitol Records' bid to revisit its loss to Vimeo over lip-dub videos set to copyrighted songs, removing a footnote that could've blocked an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, but leaving intact their finding that the record labels waived a key liability theory.

Expert Analysis

  • Using Reissue Applications To Strategically Improve Patents

    Author Photo

    Though reissue applications are an often-overlooked consideration in today's patent environment, they can offer powerful tools for correcting errors, strengthening patent protection, or adapting to evolving business and legal landscapes, says Curtis Powell at Wolf Greenfield.

  • Series

    Being A Professional Wrestler Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Pursuing my childhood dream of being a professional wrestler has taught me important legal career lessons about communication, adaptability, oral advocacy and professionalism, says Christopher Freiberg at Midwest Disability.

  • Patent Claim Lessons From Fed. Circ.'s Teva Decision

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Janssen v. Teva is an important precedent for parties drafting patent claims or litigating obviousness where the prior art has potentially overlapping ranges for a claimed element, and may be particularly instructive to patent applicants in the pharmaceutical field, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Adapting To The Age Of AI

    Author Photo

    Though law school may not have specifically taught us how to use generative artificial intelligence to help with our daily legal tasks, it did provide us the mental building blocks necessary for adapting to this new technology — and the judgment to discern what shouldn’t be automated, says Pamela Dorian at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Ch. 11 Ruling Voiding $2M Litigation Funding Sends A Warning

    Author Photo

    A recent Texas bankruptcy court decision that a postconfirmation litigation trust has no obligations to repay a completely drawn down $2 million litigation funding agreement serves as a warning for estate administrators and funders to properly disclose the intended financing, say attorneys at Kleinberg Kaplan.

  • Future-Proof Patent Law By Starting Talent Pipelines Early

    Author Photo

    Law firms struggling with a narrow talent pipeline in the intellectual property space should consider beginning their recruitment strategies for potential candidates as early as high school, and raise awareness for career opportunities that do not require a law degree, says Christine Hollis at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Demystifying The Civil Procedure Rules Amendment Process

    Author Photo

    Every year, an advisory committee receives dozens of proposals to amend the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, most of which are never adopted — but a few pointers can help maximize the likelihood that an amendment will be adopted, says Josh Gardner at DLA Piper.

  • How USPTO Examiner Memo Informs Software Patent Drafting

    Author Photo

    A memorandum recently released by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office provides useful clues as to how the USPTO and examining corps will evaluate claims in software-implemented inventions for subject matter eligibility going forward, says Michael Lew at Squire Patton.

  • FTC, CoStar Cases Against Zillow May Have Broad Impact

    Author Photo

    Zillow's partnerships with Redfin and Realtor.com have recently triggered dual fronts of legal scrutiny — an antitrust inquiry from the Federal Trade Commission and a mass copyright infringement suit from CoStar — raising complex questions that reach beyond real estate, says Shubha Ghosh at Syracuse University College of Law.

  • Parenting Skills That Can Help Lawyers Thrive Professionally

    Author Photo

    As kids head back to school, the time is ripe for lawyers who are parents to consider how they can incorporate their parenting skills to build a deep, meaningful and sustainable legal practice, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Enablement Standard Insights From Fed. Circ. Agilent Ruling

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit's recent enablement standard decision in Agilent v. Synthego underscores three critical takeaways for patent practitioners, including reaffirmation that the enablement inquiry under Section 102 of the Patent Act is distinct from the inquiry under Section 112, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • How WTO's Anti-Suit Injunction Ruling Affects IP Stakeholders

    Author Photo

    The World Trade Organization's recent ruling in favor of the European Union's challenge to Chinese courts' anti-suit injunction practices should hearten holders of standard-essential patents, while implementers can take solace that they retain mechanisms to distinguish the WTO decision when seeking anti-suit injunctions in U.S. courts, says Michael Franzinger at Dentons.

  • Series

    Teaching Trial Advocacy Makes Us Better Lawyers

    Author Photo

    Teaching trial advocacy skills to other lawyers makes us better litigators because it makes us question our default methods, connect to young attorneys with new perspectives and focus on the needs of the real people at the heart of every trial, say Reuben Guttman, Veronica Finkelstein and Joleen Youngers.

  • Why Civil RICO Claims Are Gaining Traction With Plaintiffs

    Author Photo

    A Texas federal court's recent $71 million verdict in Point Bridge Capital v. Johnson demonstrates that, when used properly, civil lawsuits under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act can be a devastating weapon — and increasingly favorable for plaintiffs, says Akiva Shapiro at Gibson Dunn.

  • You're Out?: Rooftop Views Of Sports Games Raise IP Issues

    Author Photo

    A high-profile dispute between the Chicago Cubs and a rooftop business adjacent to Wrigley Field strikes at the intersection of sports, intellectual property and Chicago neighborhood tradition, highlighting novel questions that could significantly affect IP rights in the context of live events generally, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here