Intellectual Property

  • January 16, 2026

    What To Expect From USPTO's Essential Patent Group

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's new working group aimed at promoting "robust and predictable" standard-essential patent remedies will face challenges in its goal of clarifying patent valuations, but could encourage more lawsuits and participation in standards, attorneys say.

  • January 16, 2026

    Stolen Google AI Info Valuable To Rivals And China, Jury Told

    Federal prosecutors questioned a foreign policy expert and an MIT computer science professor Friday in the trial of an ex-Google engineer accused of stealing AI trade secrets to help China, seeking to show that artificial intelligence is a major priority for the Chinese government and that Google's technology was nonpublic and extremely valuable.

  • January 16, 2026

    7th Circ. Scraps 'Pizza Puff' TM Block Against Little Caesars

    The Seventh Circuit reversed a ruling Friday that blocked Little Caesars from using the term "pizza puff" to describe its "Crazy Puffs" muffin-pizza products, finding that a Chicago food-maker failed to show "Pizza Puff" is not generic term, or that it could beat Little Caesars fair use defense.

  • January 16, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Pauses BMW's Injunction Ending German IP Cases

    The Federal Circuit on Friday temporarily stayed U.S. District Judge Alan Albright's injunction barring Onesta IP LLC from suing BMW in German court, shooting down BMW's attempts earlier Friday to block a stay and hold Onesta in contempt.

  • January 16, 2026

    Calif. AG Orders xAI To Stop Enabling Sexualized Deepfakes

    California's attorney general on Friday sent xAI a cease and desist letter demanding the artificial intelligence company immediately stop the creation and distribution of nonconsensual, sexualized deepfakes, days after U.S. senators announced they had demanded that leading tech companies disclose how they are preventing such images on their platforms.

  • January 16, 2026

    Rapper Xzibit's Ex-Wife Sues Over Cannabis TM Transfers

    The ex-wife of rapper Xzibit filed a trademark infringement suit in California federal court Thursday alleging he assigned the marks of the couple's cannabis brand to his associate without her consent, in violation of an automatic temporary restraining order in their divorce proceedings.

  • January 16, 2026

    Litter Box Maker Starts False Ads Catfight With TikTokers

    The maker of the Meowant brand self-cleaning litter box says a rival litter box maker pays TikTok accounts to post fake "review" videos spreading false and disparaging comments about the Meowant products and steer cat owners to the rival company, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in Texas federal court.

  • January 16, 2026

    Squires Ends Chinese Chip Co. IPRs In Informative Order

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has stopped Yangtze Memory Technologies Co.'s challenges to two Micron Technology Inc.-owned patents, saying the Chinese chipmaker did not address concerns over its precise identity.

  • January 16, 2026

    Judge Won't Toss Google Patent Suit After Hearing No-Show

    A Manhattan federal judge has said he wasn't going to take a magistrate judge's recommendation to toss a patent infringement suit against Google due to the plaintiff defying court orders and skipping a bench trial, saying missing the trial did not amount to "failing to prosecute" the case in a manner that would warrant dismissal.

  • January 16, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Says Part Of Sunoco Butane Blending Patent Invalid

    The Federal Circuit on Friday ruled that claims in one of Sunoco's gasoline blending patents that Magellan Midstream was found to have infringed were not eligible for patent protection in the first place, but found the rest of the claims at issue passed muster.

  • January 16, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Patent Suit Against Nintendo Switch

    The Federal Circuit on Friday affirmed a California federal judge's conclusion that Nintendo's popular Nintendo Switch system did not infringe Gamevice Inc. patents, although it remanded an invalidity ruling that one judge feared could result in "really wacky case law."

  • January 16, 2026

    Comedians Say Sam Adams Used Ads Past Rights Expiration

    A trio of comedians has sued the company behind Sam Adams beer for continuing to use videos they recorded for a 2019 ad campaign after the company's right to their likenesses had expired, seeking compensation for the unauthorized use in Massachusetts state court.

  • January 16, 2026

    11th Circ. Won't Revive Fla. Remote School TM Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit has rejected an appeal from Florida Virtual School to revive its trademark infringement claims against a competitor, saying it had not shown evidence that it suffered actual damages as the result of any consumer confusion.

  • January 16, 2026

    Longtime Sterne Kessler Head Reflects On Leadership

    After nearly two decades leading intellectual property boutique Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox PLLC, the firm's outgoing managing director reflects on succession planning, returning to his practice and navigating challenges from Y2K to COVID-19 during his time in leadership.

  • January 16, 2026

    Supreme Court Takes On Hikma's 'Skinny Label' Patent Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to hear Hikma Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s appeal of a decision reviving a patent case over its "skinny label" on a generic heart drug, after the Trump administration urged the court to take the case.

  • January 16, 2026

    TaylorMade Claims Golf Rival's UV 'Test' Misleads Consumers

    TaylorMade Golf Co. Inc. in a California federal lawsuit accused its rival Topgolf Callaway Brands of running a disparaging smear campaign meant to convince consumers it has inferior, poor-performing products, in violation of the Lanham Act.

  • January 16, 2026

    Warren Kash Rebrands After Partner Departure

    Technology litigation firm Warren Kash Warren LLP announced Thursday that it is changing its name to Warren LLP following the departure of Jen Kash, who has joined California-based Bunsow De Mory LLP.

  • January 16, 2026

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

    This past week in London saw the David Lloyd gym chain file an intellectual property claim against its founder, security company Primekings reignite a long-running dispute with the former owners of an acquired business, and a pair of Belizean developers sue a finance executive they say shut them out of a cruise port project.

  • January 15, 2026

    Google Worker In IP Theft Trial Impersonated Exec, Jury Hears

    An ex-Google engineer accused of stealing artificial intelligence trade secrets to help China used a fake email account to impersonate a Google vice president that he'd listed as a business reference, and also had voice modification software on his computer, an FBI agent told jurors Thursday.

  • January 15, 2026

    Xreal Accuses Smart Glasses Rival Of Patent Infringement

    Chinese-owned smart glasses maker Xreal on Thursday filed a lawsuit in Texas federal court against rival Viture Inc., accusing it of being a latecomer to the market and choosing a "shortcut" of patent infringement with its competing products. 

  • January 15, 2026

    Ga. Chemical Co. Wants Early Win In Infringement Suit

    Georgia-based chemical company StarChem LLC called on a federal judge to hand it an early win in a trademark suit against a similarly named competitor, arguing that neither its rival nor a Chinese sister firm could show they ever used a mark they claimed to have acquired.

  • January 15, 2026

    Trial 'No Longer Warranted' After Judge's Stelara Reversal

    The fate of insurer CareFirst's suit accusing Johnson & Johnson of using a merger and patent fraud to anticompetitively protect immunosuppressive drug Stelara from competition is in doubt after a Virginia federal judge reversed course and nixed key claims he had previously teed up for trial.

  • January 15, 2026

    Judge Sinks Claims Against Samsung In Converter IP Case

    A Texas federal judge has agreed to throw out CogniPower LLC's accusations that certain Samsung products infringed power converter patents, accepting a magistrate judge's finding that a key infringement question has already been answered in another case.

  • January 15, 2026

    PTAB Denials, Reexams & New Patent Suits Rose In 2025

    The volume of Patent Trial and Appeal Board petitions dropped last year, while requests for ex parte reexaminations surged with a 66% increase from those in 2024, according to a new report from Unified Patents.

  • January 15, 2026

    BOE Owes $66.9M In Display Patent Case, Jury Says

    A jury in the Eastern District of Texas on Thursday found that Chinese display maker BOE Technology Group Co. owes nearly $67 million for infringing a trio of LCD patents owned by an Irish company.

Expert Analysis

  • 6 Tips On Drafting Machine Learning Patents Post-Recentive

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    While the Federal Circuit's decision in Recentive v. Fox narrows the scope of patent-eligible machine learning applications, there are several drafting and prosecution strategies that may help practitioners navigate Section 101 challenges, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • What US-India Trade Deal Will Mean For Indian Pharma

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    Complicated by newly imposed tariffs from the U.S., the outcome of the U.S.-India trade talks is poised to reshape not just trade policy, but also the strategic alignment of the two countries' pharmaceutical ecosystems, says Jashaswi Ghosh at Holon Law Partners.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Negotiation Skills

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    I took one negotiation course in law school, but most of the techniques I rely on today I learned in practice, where I've discovered that the process is less about tricks or tactics, and more about clarity, preparation and communication, says Grant Schrantz at Haug Barron.

  • Opinion

    Bar Exam Reform Must Expand Beyond A Single Updated Test

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    Recently released information about the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ new NextGen Uniform Bar Exam highlights why a single test is not ideal for measuring newly licensed lawyers’ competency, demonstrating the need for collaborative development, implementation and reform processes, says Gregory Bordelon at Suffolk University.

  • The Patent Eligibility Eras Tour: 11 Years Of Post-Alice Tumult

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    A survey of recent twists and turns in patent eligibility law highlights the confusion created by the U.S. Supreme Court's 2014 Alice decision and reveals that the continually shifting standards have begun to diverge in fundamental ways between the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, says Michael Shepherd at Fish & Richardson.

  • Export Misconduct Resolutions Emphasize BIS, DOJ Priorities

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's and Bureau of Industry and Security's recently resolved parallel enforcement actions against semiconductor technology company Cadence Design demonstrate the agencies' prioritization of penalties for export control violations involving China, as well as the importance of voluntary self-disclosure, say attorneys at Fenwick.

  • Disney Art Suit Will Test Recent AI Fair Use Boundaries

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    While the first U.S. rulings to address the issue recently held that it's fair use for generative artificial intelligence models to train on certain copyrighted books without permission, Disney v. Midjourney, filed in June, will test the limits of the fair use framework in a visual art context, says Rob Rosenberg at Moses & Singer.

  • A Simple Way Courts Can Help Attys Avoid AI Hallucinations

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    As attorneys increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence for legal research, courts should consider expanding online quality control programs to flag potential hallucinations — permitting counsel to correct mistakes and sparing judges the burden of imposing sanctions, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl and Connors.

  • Tracking The Evolving Legal Landscape Of Music Festivals

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    The legal infrastructure behind music festivals is anything but simple, so attorneys advising clients in this space should be prepared for a wide range of legal challenges, including the unexpected risks that come with live events, says Meesha Moulton at Meesha Moulton Law.

  • USPTO Ex Parte Reexamination Could Become More Popular

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    As inter partes review becomes less effective for challenging patent validity due to recent changes at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, ex parte reexamination may provide a viable alternative, with significant cost savings, anonymity and procedural advantages, says Stephen Ball at Husch Blackwell.

  • Series

    Creating Botanical Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Pressing and framing plants that I grow has shown me that pursuing an endeavor that brings you joy can lead to surprising benefits for a legal career, including mental clarity, perspective and even a bit of humility, says Douglas Selph at Morris Manning.

  • Reddit v. Anthropic Is A Defining Moment In The AI Data Race

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    The recent lawsuit filed by Reddit against Anthropic in California state court marks a pivotal moment in the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence by sidestepping a typical copyright dispute, focusing instead on the enforceability of online terms of service and ownership of the digital commons, says William Galkin at Galkin Law.

  • Opinion

    The Legal Education Status Quo Is No Longer Tenable

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    As underscored by the fallout from California’s February bar exam, legal education and licensure are tethered to outdated systems, and the industry must implement several key reforms to remain relevant and responsive to 21st century legal needs, says Matthew Nehmer at The Colleges of Law.

  • Opinion

    Calif. Must Amend Trade Secret Civil Procedure

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    A California procedural law that effectively shields trade secret defendants from having to return company materials until the plaintiff can craft detailed requests must be amended to recognize that property recovery and trade secret analysis are distinct issues, says Matthew Miller at Hanson Bridgett.

  • 2nd Circ. Reinforces Consensus On Vacating Foreign Awards

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    In Molecular Dynamics v. Spectrum Dynamics Medical, the Second Circuit recently affirmed that federal district courts do not possess subject matter jurisdiction to vacate foreign arbitral awards, strengthening this consensus across the circuits most active in recognition and enforcement actions, says Ed Mullins at Reed Smith.

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