Mealey's Intellectual Property
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September 29, 2025
Tech Companies, PTO Tell High Court PTAB Can Review Expired Patents
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Apple Inc., Google LLC, LG Electronics Inc. and an affiliate tell the U.S. Supreme Court in a pair of Sept. 26 briefs that it should reject a patent-holding company’s petitions for writs of certiorari because they raise arguments about the constitutionality of inter partes review (IPR) proceedings before the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) that the high court has previously rejected.
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September 26, 2025
Federal Circuit: TTAB Misapplied DuPont Factors For Trademark Application
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) erred in its consideration of two of the likelihood-of-confusion factors when weighing whether to allow a banking entity to register marks using the name “Aspire Bank,” a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Sept. 25 in an opinion that affirmed other aspects of the board’s analysis.
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September 26, 2025
Mapping Patent Claims Rightly Found Abstract, Federal Circuit Holds
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel saw no errors in an Illinois federal judge’s finding that all asserted claims in patents related to methods for displaying brand information on a geographic map were invalid as abstract, affirming the judge’s dismissal with prejudice of the patent holder’s suit in a nonprecedential Sept. 25 opinion.
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September 26, 2025
Judge Affirms Limits On Dataset Discovery In AI Copyright Fight
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Sept. 25 denied a motion for relief from a magistrate judge’s order limiting discovery into the datasets used to train artificial intelligence, saying courts regularly impose such limits when the discovery exceeds the allegations in a complaint.
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September 26, 2025
Judge: No Summary Judgment On IP Claims In Learning Materials Sharing Case
HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut federal judge held that the owner of an online platform that allows users to share educational resources with each other will face copyright and trademark claims from a private university in the state, but the judge granted the platform owner’s motion for summary judgment as to certain state law claims.
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September 26, 2025
Authors Challenge Limits On Shadow Library Discovery In Nvidia AI Copyright Case
SAN FRANCISCO — Responding to a motion by authors arguing that a magistrate judge improperly limited discovery to a single dataset in an artificial intelligence copyright suit, Nvidia Corp. told the court that the order merely limits the plaintiffs to their own allegations and that there was no error sufficient to overturn the nondispositive order.
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September 26, 2025
Judge Preliminarily Approves $1.5B Settlement In AI Copyright Case
SAN FRANCISCO — A $1.5 billion settlement between authors and Anthropic PBC in a copyright case took a step toward resolution on Sept. 25 when a federal judge in California granted preliminary approval in a docket-only minute entry. The authors previously told the judge in a supplemental brief that changes to the agreement addressed concerns about its completeness.
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September 25, 2025
EcoFactor To High Court: Federal Circuit Wrong To Vacate Jury’s Patent Damages
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Google LLC on Sept. 24 waived its right to a respond to a smart thermostat company’s petition for a writ of certiorari in which the company argues that the en banc Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ decision to order a Texas federal judge hold a new trial on damages wrongly eschewed the jury’s factual findings in its favor.
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September 25, 2025
Federal Circuit Vacates $166 Million Award Against Nokia, AT&T In Patent Fight
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Sept. 24 vacated a jury’s $166 million damages award against AT&T Mobility LLC and Nokia of America Corp., holding that a Texas federal judge should have granted the companies’ request for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) of noninfringement against a plaintiff-appellee wireless technology company.
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September 25, 2025
Federal Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment In Wig Product Patent Dispute
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a California federal judge’s grant of summary judgment of noninfringement to defendant wig product manufacturers in a patent infringement suit, finding no error in the judge’s construction of a disputed claim term.
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September 25, 2025
Federal Circuit: No Error In PTAB Rejection Of Motorola Challenge To Lens Patent
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) final written decision upholding all claims in a patent regarding an optical lens assembly for compact devices challenged by Motorola Mobility LLC, holding that substantial evidence supported the board’s finding that there was no motivation to combine Motorola’s cited prior art references.
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September 24, 2025
Federal Circuit Partly Vacates PTAB’s Obviousness Ruling Against Bayer
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Sept. 23 agreed with the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) that some claims in a patent held by Bayer Pharma Aktiengesellschaft are unpatentable as obvious, but the panel vacated the board’s finding of obviousness for other claims, holding that it was based on an incorrect claim construction regarding the administration of aspirin in a cardiac medication regimen.
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September 24, 2025
Judge Tosses FCA Suit Related To Drug Patent Pursuant To Public Disclosure Bar
BOSTON — A Massachusetts federal judge on Sept. 23 dismissed a qui tam relator’s suit alleging violations of the federal False Claims Act (FCA) and related state laws regarding pharmaceutical companies’ purported fraudulently obtained patents for the drug Xyrem resulting in government health insurers reimbursing Xyrem prescriptions “at inflated prices,” finding that facts in the complaint were previously disclosed and that the public disclosure bar applies.
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September 24, 2025
Lilly, Medical Centers’ Trademark Dispute Settlement Halted By Federal Judge
SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge refused to sign off on a joint motion filed by Eli Lilly and Co., two medical centers and two of their physicians who prescribe patients compounded versions of tirzepatide, a Food and Drug Administration-approved drug for diabetes and weight loss, for a consent judgment and permanent injunction to end a trademark case, finding that the motion “suffers from numerous defects.”
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September 24, 2025
Magistrate Judge Won’t Order Immediate Damages Update In AI Music Copyright Suit
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A federal magistrate judge in California declined to order music publishers to immediately supplement damages computations under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 in an artificial intelligence copyright suit, noting the novelty and complexity of the issue.
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September 24, 2025
Judge Denies Preliminary Injunction In Latest Copyright Case Over Hulk Hogan Tape
TAMPA, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida dissolved a temporary restraining order against a radio personality barring him from publishing portions of a sex tape featuring the late professional wrestler known as Hulk Hogan in a documentary film about the tape; the judge held that the record indicated that the use of the tape in the film is likely a fair use.
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September 24, 2025
AI Copyright Authors: Revised Plan Should Relieve Concerns Over $1.5B Settlement
SAN FRANCISCO — Changes to the proposed $1.5 billion artificial intelligence copyright settlement between authors and Anthropic PBC address court concerns through “a state-of-the-art notice plan” and a streamlined claims process that both encourages submissions and adequately handles multi-claimant situations, plaintiffs told a federal judge in California in a supplemental brief.
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September 23, 2025
U.S. Moves To Participate In High Court Oral Arguments In ISP Infringement Case
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. government on Sept. 23 requested leave to participate in oral arguments when the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals erred when it found an internet service provider (ISP) was liable for contributory infringement for piracy actions from internet users; the government previously filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the ISP.
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September 23, 2025
Petitioner Seeks 11th Circuit Rehearing On Sub Shop Copyright Claims
ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals was wrong to affirm a Florida federal judge’s decision to dismiss a pro se plaintiff-appellant’s copyright infringement claims against the commercial entity behind the Firehouse Subs restaurant chain, the appellant tells the court in a petition for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc, arguing that the panel misunderstood the facts when writing its unpublished opinion.
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September 23, 2025
Federal Circuit Vacates Jury’s Patent Verdict Over Faulty Claim Construction
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A jury’s finding of noninfringement in a patent dispute involving magnetic objects used in data recording may have been based in part on a Pennsylvania federal judge’s improper construction of a patent claim term, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held, vacating the jury’s verdict and remanding for a new trial.
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September 23, 2025
Magistrate Judge Won’t Order Production Of NYT’s AI Chat Usage
NEW YORK — A federal magistrate judge in New York denied a motion to compel by OpenAI entities and Microsoft seeking user logs from The New York Times’ internal ChatGPT-based tool, ruling that the logs are irrelevant to the fair use defense and would cost nearly $1 million and three months to review and produce.
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September 23, 2025
2nd Circuit Affirms Kimmel’s Copyright Win Over Former New York Rep.
NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel agreed with a New York federal judge that late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel’s use of videos recorded by former Congressman George Santos on his show was a fair use, affirming the judge’s decision to dismiss Santos’ copyright infringement claim against the host and related entities.
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September 22, 2025
9th Circuit Denies App Maker’s Rehearing Bid In Peloton Infringement Suit
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected an app maker’s request for panel rehearing or rehearing en banc, leaving in place a panel’s finding that factors “overwhelmingly” favored a finding that Peloton Interactive Inc.’s “Peloton Bike+” was not likely to be confused with the petitioner’s mobile app called “Bike+.”
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September 18, 2025
Del. Federal Judge Won’t Order Permanent Injunction Barring Bid For FDA Approval
WILMINGTON, Del. — A pharmaceutical company that sought “equitable relief that is unprecedented under” federal law “has not established that its story warrants such relief,” a Delaware federal judge said, denying a motion that sought to bar a competitor from seeking approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a drug to treat narcolepsy.
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September 17, 2025
Weight Loss Company Loses Motion To Dismiss Trademark Infringement Case
SAN DIEGO — The manufacturer of Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus, fended off a motion to dismiss after a California federal judge found that a weight loss company facing claims of trademark infringement and unfair competition did not show that its application of the trademarks was within the nominative fair use doctrine.