Analysis

The Biggest Copyright Decisions Of 2024: A Midyear Report

By Ivan Moreno

The justices ruled there's no time limit for how far back copyright plaintiffs can pursue infringement damages as long as their claims are timely, and an Ohio jury said video game developers didn't infringe a tattoo artist's works by depicting the images on basketball players. Here's a look at some of the most notable copyright decisions so far in 2024.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fed. Circ. Backs Penn. Jury Invalidating Sherwin-Williams IP

By Dani Kass

A Pennsylvania federal judge rightfully invalidated claims of several Sherwin-Williams Co. paint coating patents after a jury trial, and properly barred inconsistent assertions from the company, the Federal Circuit held Thursday.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Both Sides Seek Fees After Jury Axes Elevated Stairs Patent

By Ryan Davis

Following a jury verdict this month invalidating a patent on elevated stairs used by law enforcement, both the patent owner and the accused infringer, his former employer, have moved for attorney fees, with each claiming the opposing side's arguments were baseless.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

7-Eleven Settles TM Suit Against Seven Eleven Law Group

By Ivan Moreno

7-Eleven Inc. and a Chicago-based law practice called Seven Eleven Law Group have settled the trademark complaint the convenience store chain filed in November, alleging the firm was infringing its mark and causing consumer confusion.

Notice attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Shkreli Says He Has Right To Use Wu-Tang Clan Album Copies

By Aislinn Keely

Martin Shkreli pushed back on a crypto project's bid to force him to hand over copies of the one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album he once owned, saying his original purchase agreement of the album entitled him to make the copies and the album's current crypto owner hasn't shown how Shkreli's duplicates irreparably harm the value of the original.

Memorandum attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Pfizer Calls GSK Patents In COVID Vax Case Unenforceable

By Ryan Davis

Pfizer and BioNTech have fired back at GlaxoSmithKline's patent suit against them over the COVID-19 vaccine, saying GSK's patents are unenforceable because the company delayed in filing its applications and then crafted them to cover the blockbuster vaccine after it became available.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DC Panel Upholds FDA's Win Against Ipsen's Generics Suit

By Gina Kim

A D.C. panel declined to revive Ipsen's challenge to regulators' refusal to classify its acromegaly drug as a biologic, which would have blocked generic versions of it, finding Thursday the drug's active ingredient doesn't meet the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act's definition of a protein to be considered a biologic.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Patent Atty Seeks Closure Over Ex-Firm's Back Wages

By James Boyle

Discovery in a patent attorney's suit against his former firm, Pittsburgh-based Keevican Weiss & Bauerle LLC, has produced enough evidence to support summary judgment on some of his claims, according to a new motion filed this week in Allegheny County.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Tobacco Products Co. Hits Wash. Pot Business With TM Suit

By Ivan Moreno

Wholesaler BBK Tobacco & Foods LLP has hit a Washington state cannabis company with a complaint in Arizona federal court that alleges it is infringing the "Juicy" trademark BBK uses for a variety of smoking and smoking-related products.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Blue Bottle Won't Be Sanctioned Or Pay Atty Fees In TM Row

By Gina Kim

Blue Bottle won't be sanctioned nor ordered to pay $1.15 million in fees for losing its trademark suit against a company selling "Blue Brew" brand accessories, with a California federal judge ruling Wednesday that its infringement claims weren't frivolous and that its likelihood of confusion argument was "rooted in good faith."

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

USPTO No Longer Wants To Change TM Response Deadlines

By Ivan Moreno

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said Thursday it has decided to keep current post-registration response deadlines after the agency concluded that many trademark owners would not be subject to the proposed shorter response period.

Notice attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Fed. Circ. Axes 'Trump Too Small' Holding After Justices' Rule

By Ivan Moreno

The Federal Circuit on Thursday vacated its 2022 ruling that California attorney Steve Elster should be allowed to register "Trump Too Small" as a trademark after the U.S. Supreme Court concluded he could not because the "names clause" of the Lanham Act prohibits registering a name as a mark without that person's permission.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Copyright Office OKs Group Registration For News Websites

By Ivan Moreno

The U.S. Copyright Office has created a new group registration option for news websites that are updated frequently, allowing publications to register a group of updates as a collective work with portions of the work rather than all the website's content, according to the federal register.

Final Rule attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Questions Linger About DTSA's Scope After Motorola Ruling

The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Motorola v. Hytera, which held that the Defend Trade Secrets Act applies extraterritorially, does not address whether an act that furthers misappropriation must be committed by the defendant in order to satisfy the law's extraterritoriality requirement, say Ilissa Samplin and Grace Hart at Gibson Dunn.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

How Being A Female Litigator May Aid Harris' Presidential Bid

By Aebra Coe

Female litigators regularly confront implicit biases and double standards when it comes to "their appearance, voice, attire, demeanor and their advocacy," according to the author of an American Bar Foundation research report on first chair trial lawyers.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

'Terrible Decisions': Ex-McElroy Deutsch CFO Gets 5 Years

By Carla Baranauckas

McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP's former chief financial officer was sentenced Friday in a New Jersey state court to five years in prison and ordered to pay restitution for embezzling more than $1.5 million from the firm and failing to pay income tax.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

How Barrett Became The High Court's Justice To Watch

By Katie Buehler

Justice Amy Coney Barrett has revealed a unique trifecta of caution toward overly broad opinions, devotion to the factual record and concern for the practical effects of court rulings that separates her from the other right-leaning justices and contains the potential to broker more moderate rulings in future terms.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Cadwalader Suing Lloyd's Over Cyberattack Coverage Denial

By Lynn LaRowe

Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP has filed suit against insurer Lloyd's of London in North Carolina state court, alleging the company has failed to reimburse the law firm for expenses related to a November 2022 data breach.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Attys Face Sanctions For Fake Citations In Whistleblower Suit

By Rachel Rippetoe

A Virginia federal judge has asked lawyers representing a plaintiff in a whistleblower case to defend why they should not be sanctioned for including seemingly fabricated case sources in a brief objecting to a protective order, questioning whether it was a case of "ChatGPT run amok."

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Thompson Hine Atty Says Firm Can't Oppose NY Jurisdiction

By Xiumei Dong

Former Thompson Hine LLP income partner Rebecca Brazzano fired back at efforts by two firm partners to dismiss her lawsuit alleging sexual harassment, contending among other arguments that they waived their right to contest personal jurisdiction by filing another motion that attempts to force arbitration that didn't raise the jurisdiction issue.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Cuomo Harassment Document Fight Heads To NY Appeals Court

By Rachel Scharf

A Manhattan judge on Friday allowed both the New York attorney general and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to appeal parts of a decision requiring the state to produce unredacted transcripts of some witness interviews in the sexual harassment investigation that led to Cuomo's resignation.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Rutgers Fights Contempt Bid By Student Who Filed Bias Suit

By Rose Krebs

Rutgers University wants a New Jersey state court to reject a bid by a law school student who filed a discrimination suit against it to hold the school in contempt for moving ahead with disciplinary measures against him, arguing there is "no basis" to grant the request.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Boyden Gray PLLC leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the full Fifth Circuit struck down as unconstitutional the Federal Communications Commission's system for subsidizing telecommunications service for rural and low-income users.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

What a news week! President Joe Biden started it off by announcing he would not seek re-election, but then said he would push for reform of the U.S. Supreme Court in his remaining time. And the Boeing Co. confirmed it has finalized its agreement with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to one count of criminal conspiracy to defraud, related to safety issues and two fatal plane crashes.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Max Austin

This past week in London has seen U.K. band The 1975 face action by Future Sound Asia after its performance in Malaysia resulted in a festival's cancelation, Spectrum Insurance hit by The Motoring Organization following their dispute over information misuse, and a former police constable pursue defamation against a colleague for allegedly instigating a campaign of harassment against her. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Assa Abloy Resolves DOJ Merger Monitor Dispute

By Bryan Koenig

Assa Abloy told a D.C. federal judge that it's agreed "in principle" on how a monitoring trustee will review its compliance with a U.S. Department of Justice merger lawsuit settlement, resolving a simmering dispute over its complaints of an open-ended multimillion-dollar investigation.

Report attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Georgia Judge Won't Block Prosecutor Oversight Commission

By Kelcey Caulder

A Georgia judge has rejected an attempt to temporarily block a new state commission created to investigate and discipline state prosecutors, finding it doesn't violate Georgia's constitution.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

SEC Sues Banker And Ex-Prosecutor Alleging $1.6M Fraud

By Rae Ann Varona

A Georgia banker fraudulently bilked approximately $1.6 million from unsuspecting investors for "furs and furniture" and other expenses while a former Florida prosecutor ignored several red flags when holding on to the investments, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told a Georgia federal court.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Colorado's New Chief Justice Sworn In

By Daniel Ducassi

Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez started her three-year term leading the Colorado Supreme Court on Friday after being sworn in during a closed-door ceremony.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Girardi Can't Show Ex-CFO's Spending Habits In Fraud Trial

By Gina Kim

Jurors in Tom Girardi's upcoming fraud trial won't hear details about the spending habits of Girardi Keese's former CFO, who's accused of a "side fraud" that bilked millions without Girardi's knowledge, after a California federal judge agreed with prosecutors Friday that the evidence appears more prejudicial than probative.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Hunter Biden's Attys Made 'False Statements,' Judge Says

By Bonnie Eslinger

The California federal judge overseeing Hunter Biden's criminal tax trial threatened to sanction the presidential son's lawyers Wednesday, saying they made "false statements" in a motion to dismiss that cited a Florida federal judge's order disqualifying the special prosecutor in Donald Trump's classified documents case.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »