Intellectual Property

  • October 01, 2025

    Elf On The Shelf Maker Lands On Font Creator's Naughty List

    A Wisconsin-based retro font designer has sued the company behind The Elf on the Shelf brand in Georgia federal court, accusing it of infringing copyrighted font software by using it without authorization in connection with more than 70 products.

  • September 30, 2025

    Banker Defamed Jack Nicklaus After Pact Ended, Jury Told

    Jack Nicklaus told a Florida state court jury on Tuesday that a banker and his associates defamed him after discontinuing a 15-year business relationship, saying their public relations campaign intentionally smeared his reputation after he refused to make a deal with Saudi Arabia.

  • September 30, 2025

    3rd Circ. Parses 'Could' And 'Would' In Lipitor Lawsuit

    A Third Circuit panel questioned Tuesday whether drug wholesalers and health plans had offered enough evidence that Pfizer Inc. and Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. conspired to delay generic competition for the cholesterol drug Lipitor, focusing on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would have approved the competitor earlier than November 2011.

  • September 30, 2025

    Biogen Told To Pay Genentech $88M After IP Royalties Mistrial

    Biogen MA Inc. owes Genentech Inc. more than $88 million in royalties related to expired patents, a California federal judge ruled Tuesday in a rare post-mistrial verdict arrangement.

  • September 30, 2025

    Merrill Lynch Denied Bid To Block Rival Firm's Launch

    A Georgia federal judge on Tuesday refused to grant Merrill Lynch's bid for a temporary restraining order against a dozen former employees, Charles Schwab and Dynasty Financial Partners in a case concerning an alleged attempt to start a new independent financial advisory firm with Merrill's staff and confidential information. 

  • September 30, 2025

    4 Federal Circuit Clashes To Watch In October

    The Federal Circuit will hear arguments next week in cases where a nearly $42 million patent win for Seagen hangs in the balance due to a later post-grant review invalidity decision and where Regenxbio is seeking to undo the invalidation of its gene therapy patent for covering a natural product.

  • September 30, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Largely Unravels $4M Judgment In Curtain IP Fight

    The Federal Circuit overruled most of a New York federal judge's $4 million infringement judgment against two hospitality providers on Tuesday, in a multifaceted appeal over hookless shower curtains.

  • September 30, 2025

    Wu-Tang Trade Secret Ruling Hints At New Way To Protect Art

    A New York federal judge caused a splash last week when she ruled that a one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album can constitute a trade secret, and attorneys say the surprising decision could broaden the scope of trade secret protections to cover artistic works.

  • September 30, 2025

    Patent Owner Wants District Judge To Oversee Google IP Trial

    The owner of a location tracking patent on Tuesday told the Manhattan federal court that he opposes having a magistrate judge conduct a bench trial on Google's equitable defenses to his infringement claims, saying he would invoke his Seventh Amendment rights unless the trial is heard by U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.

  • September 30, 2025

    Nevada Hospital Nets $510M Verdict In Staff Poaching Suit

    A Nevada hospital won a jury award of more than $510 million in its lawsuit accusing Universal Health Services of raiding its staff and swiping its trade secrets during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • September 30, 2025

    SEC Beats Law Prof's Suit To Protect NFTs That 'Troll' Agency

    A Louisiana federal judge Tuesday permanently tossed a pre-enforcement challenge targeting the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's treatment of nonfungible tokens from a law professor and a musician who were seeking to protect projects that "troll" the SEC.

  • September 30, 2025

    College Athlete Advocates Join Supporters Of Senate NIL Bill

    A day after three Democratic U.S. senators introduced a bill promising more protections for college athletes — including women, athletes in smaller sports and those at smaller institutions — under the new revenue-sharing rules, the proposal on Tuesday drew praise from advocates for athletes and labor, including an official from the AFL-CIO.

  • September 30, 2025

    Landlord Faces TM Suit Over Trump-Themed Burger Biz

    The companies behind a Donald Trump-themed burger restaurant in Texas have filed a federal trademark lawsuit against their landlord, accusing him of hijacking the concept and operating the restaurant as his own establishment.

  • September 30, 2025

    Justices Could Enable IEEPA Taxes On Any Trade, Experts Say

    If the U.S. Supreme Court decides that a president's power to regulate imports and exports under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act encompasses tariffs, a president could tax services, investments and intellectual property flowing into or out of the country, trade experts said Tuesday.

  • September 30, 2025

    Judge Freezes Chinese Cos.' Assets In X-Ray IP Suit

    Two Chinese companies were barred from doing business in the United States and had their U.S.-based assets frozen by a Chicago federal judge until they comply with an earlier injunction order, with the judge stopping short of referring the pair and two of their executives for criminal contempt charges.

  • September 30, 2025

    Deel Urges Court To DQ Quinn Emanuel In Trade Secrets Fight

    Payroll and human resources company Deel Inc. is urging a Delaware state court to disqualify Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP from representing its competitor Rippling in a trade secrets fight, saying its request is "a textbook case for disqualification" due to a conflict of interest.

  • September 30, 2025

    Law Professors, Tech Groups Back ROSS In Westlaw IP Fight

    A tech startup appealing an adverse fair use ruling to the Third Circuit has received nearly a dozen briefs in support of its position that it did not infringe copyrighted material from Thomson Reuters' Westlaw platform to create a competing legal research tool driven by artificial intelligence.

  • September 30, 2025

    3M Wins Toss Of $1.7B Suit Over Post-It Notes IP Deal

    A New York federal judge has tossed an inventor's $1.7 billion lawsuit challenging the terms of a settlement of his earlier intellectual property case against 3M over the inventorship of the Post-it note, saying his claims are barred by earlier litigation.

  • September 30, 2025

    Fla. Lawyer Charged With Battery While Facing Suspension

    A Florida lawyer accused of scamming dozens of clients and facing emergency suspension was arrested Monday night on a domestic violence charge, a development that could hasten bar disciplinary action against him.

  • September 29, 2025

    Supreme Court Considers 7 Patent Petitions

    The U.S. Supreme Court held its first conference Monday, presenting the justices with several petitions of interest to patent practitioners before the court's new term kicks off next week.

  • September 29, 2025

    Pfizer Says Drugmaker Moving Too Early On Arthritis Generic

    Pfizer has asked a Delaware federal court to block generic-drug maker Prinston Pharmaceutical from moving forward with plans to sell a generic version of the arthritis drug Xeljanz that would allegedly infringe Pfizer's patent.

  • September 29, 2025

    DLA Piper Must Face Trial In Pregnancy-Firing Suit

    A New York federal judge on Monday said DLA Piper must face trial in a discrimination case by a former lawyer who was fired two months after disclosing her pregnancy, saying the former seventh-year IP associate has made out a case around the circumstances of her 2022 departure.

  • September 29, 2025

    6 Copyright, TM Cases On Tap As Justices Begin New Term

    The new U.S. Supreme Court term could be an eventful one for intellectual property law, with a $1 billion copyright fight on deck between music publishers and Cox Communications that is expected to clarify the bounds of liability for internet companies over their customers’ illegal downloads. Here's a look at some of the IP cases under review as the justices begin their new term Oct. 6.

  • September 29, 2025

    House GOP Lawmakers Back ITC Import Ban Won By Oura

    A group of House Republicans want the U.S. Trade Representative to uphold the U.S. International Trade Commission's decision to block Ultrahuman and RingConn from importing products it held infringed an Ouraring Inc. wearable computing device patent.

  • September 29, 2025

    Meta Stole Plan For Instagram Shopping, Antitrust Suit Alleges

    A British company Friday sued Meta Platforms Inc. in California federal court, claiming the tech giant was only able to build Instagram Shopping and create a "Meta monopoly" over the tag-based shopping market by secretly stealing the startup's proprietary business plan and exploiting its social network dominance.

Expert Analysis

  • How Hyperlinks Are Changing E-Discovery Responsibilities

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    A recent e-discovery dispute over hyperlinked data in Hubbard v. Crow shows how courts have increasingly broadened the definition of control to account for cloud-based evidence, and why organizations must rethink preservation practices to avoid spoliation risks, says Bree Murphy at Exterro.

  • Beaming Up Lessons From William Shatner's Failed Patent Bid

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    In a tale that boldly goes where few celebrity inventors have gone before, William Shatner's unsuccessful attempt to patent a smartphone file organization system offers insights about potential pitfalls to avoid in patent applications, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • The Pros And Cons Of Levying Value-Based Fees On Patents

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    The potential for a recurring, value-based maintenance fee on patents, while offering some benefits, raises several complications, including that it would likely exceed the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's statutory authority and reduce research and development activities in the U.S., says Sandip Patel at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Strategies To Get The Most Out Of A Mock Jury Exercise

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    A Florida federal jury’s recent $329 million verdict against Tesla over a fatal crash demonstrates how jurors’ perceptions of nuanced facts can make or break a case, and why attorneys must maximize the potential of their mock jury exercises to pinpoint the best trial strategy, says Jennifer Catero at Snell & Wilmer.

  • Series

    Writing Musicals Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experiences with writing musicals and practicing law have shown that the building blocks for both endeavors are one and the same, because drama is necessary for the law to exist, says Addison O’Donnell at LOIS Law.

  • Between The Lines Of EPO's Adoption Of Color Drawings

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    The European Patent Office's decision to accept patent drawings in color starting in October may enhance clarity in technical disclosures and streamline the examination process, and could also enable new patent filing strategies for international applicants, say attorneys at Miller Canfield.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From Va. AUSA To Mid-Law

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    Returning to the firm where I began my career after seven years as an assistant U.S. attorney in Virginia has been complex, nuanced and rewarding, and I’ve learned that the pursuit of justice remains the constant, even as the mindset and client change, says Kristin Johnson at Woods Rogers.

  • 2 Fed. Circ. Rulings Underscore Patent Prosecution Pitfalls

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    Two recent patent decisions from the Federal Circuit, overturning significant judgments, serve as reminders that claim modifications and cancellations may have substantive effects on the scope of other claims, and that arguments distinguishing prior art and characterizing claims may also limit claim scope, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • 7 Document Review Concepts New Attorneys Need To Know

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    For new associates joining firms this fall, stepping into the world of e-discovery can feel like learning a new language, but understanding a handful of fundamentals — from coding layouts to metadata — can help attorneys become fluent in document review, says Ann Motl at Bowman and Brooke.

  • Fed. Circ. Rulings Refine Patent Claim Construction Standards

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    Four Federal Circuit patent decisions this year clarify several crucial principles governing patent claim construction, including the importance of prosecution history, and the need for error-free, precise language from claims drafters, say attorneys at Taft.

  • Avoiding Unforced Evidentiary Errors At Trial

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    To avoid self-inflicted missteps at trial, lawyers must plan their evidentiary strategy as early as their claims and defenses, with an eye toward some of the more common pitfalls, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.

  • How Value-Based Patent Fees May Shape IP Strategies

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    If the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office implements rumored plans to correlate patent fees with patent value, the financial and strategic consequences would largely depend on the specifics of how, when and how often patent values are assessed, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Agentic AI Puts A New Twist On Attorney Ethics Obligations

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    As lawyers increasingly use autonomous artificial intelligence agents, disciplinary authorities must decide whether attorney responsibility for an AI-caused legal ethics violation is personal or supervisory, and firms must enact strong policies regarding agentic AI use and supervision, says Grace Wynn at HWG.

  • Using Reissue Applications To Strategically Improve Patents

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    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

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    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.

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