Intellectual Property

  • April 17, 2025

    Patent Office Plans Rulemaking For New PTAB Denial Process

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office intends to go through the notice-and-comment rulemaking process for its new procedures allowing its director to decide whether petitions challenging patents at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board should be denied for discretionary reasons, a panel of judges and agency personnel said at a webinar on Thursday.

  • April 17, 2025

    ITC Blocks Chinese Co.'s Plastics Tech Over Patent Dispute

    The U.S. International Trade Commission issued a limited order barring a Chinese company from importing parts used in molding machines that make plastic bottles, following an infringement case from a Canadian rival — though the trade agency split in its decision not to issue a cease-and-desist order targeting imported parts that already made it into the U.S. 

  • April 17, 2025

    Music Rights Orgs. Trade Barbs In Copyright Office Inquiry

    The organizations responsible for getting musical artists their royalty payments sparred with each other in comments to the U.S. Copyright Office, with one legacy organization accusing newer entrants of insufficient transparency, and one of those competitors in turn alleging "anticompetitive practices" by the established players.

  • April 17, 2025

    Program To Speed Up Climate Change Patent Exams Axed

    Federal patent officials have officially pulled the plug on a program that sped up examination of patent applications for inventions that are intended to mitigate climate change, after suspending it earlier this year.

  • April 17, 2025

    Copyright Office Opines On Harper Lee 7th Circ. Appeal

    The U.S. Copyright Office is lending its opinion in a dispute over who has the rights to authorize stage adaptions of Harper Lee's iconic book "To Kill A Mockingbird," saying in an amicus brief to the Seventh Circuit that the company that once had the rights for the play cannot prevent others from creating new adaptions after the late author terminated those rights.

  • April 17, 2025

    Hyundai Can Seek Atty Fees On Withdrawn Ad Patents

    A California federal judge on Thursday declared Hyundai the prevailing party in litigation brought against it by StratosAudio Inc. after the Federal Circuit declared StratosAudio's advertising patents invalid, and said the automaker could file a motion seeking attorney fees on two other patents voluntarily withdrawn from the case.

  • April 17, 2025

    AstraZeneca Unit Hit With Antitrust Suit Over Soliris

    Not-for-profit insurance company EmblemHealth Inc. has hit an AstraZeneca unit with a proposed class action claiming the subsidiary defrauded the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to delay generic competition of its blood disorder product Soliris.

  • April 17, 2025

    Stites & Harbison Adds 4th Cantor Colburn IP Atty In Conn.

    A little over six months after Stites & Harbison PLLC launched its new outpost in Connecticut with a three-attorney team from Cantor Colburn LLP, a fourth lawyer has made the jump to join Stites & Harbison's intellectual property and technology service group in Hartford, the firm has said.

  • April 17, 2025

    'Moonshine' Fudge Maker Must Pay Fees For Failed IP Claims

    The maker of "Chocolate Moonshine" fudge may have won a trade secrets case against his ex-wife and her new chocolate company, but he must pay the defendants more than $174,000 in attorney fees and costs for his unsuccessful trademark and copyright infringement claims.

  • April 17, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Network Tech Patent Suit

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday upheld a lower court's finding that Seattle-based technology company F5 did not infringe a patent owned by WSOU Investments LLC covering a network traffic distribution technology.

  • April 17, 2025

    Music Royalties Co. Hipgnosis Revives UK Fight With Manilow

    British music royalties firm Hipgnosis can forge ahead with its unpaid royalties case against singer Barry Manilow in the U.K., after an appellate panel on Thursday overturned a pause imposed because of parallel proceedings in Los Angeles.

  • April 17, 2025

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

    The past week in London has seen the producers of West End show "Elf the Musical" face a contract dispute, Korean biotech company ToolGen Inc. bring a fresh patents claim against pharma giant Vertex, and ousted car tycoon Peter Waddell bring a claim against the private equity firm that backed his business. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • April 16, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Won't Touch Meta's PTAB Win Against Xerox

    A Federal Circuit panel on Wednesday quickly and without comment rejected a bid from Xerox Corp. to overturn a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision in favor of Meta Platforms Inc. that found claims in a message distribution patent are invalid.

  • April 16, 2025

    Pa. Poultry Farm's Slaughter Methods Deemed Trade Secrets

    The Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled that an animal rights group cannot force a Lebanon County poultry farm to disclose its chicken slaughtering practices, with the court ruling that the materials sought were confidential trade secrets.

  • April 16, 2025

    Ye Says DJ Khalil Is Fishing For Profits In 'Donda' IP Lawsuit

    The artist formerly known as Kanye West denied derailing discovery in a lawsuit alleging he stole music from DJ Khalil and three other artists for two tracks on his blockbuster "Donda" album, telling a California federal judge Tuesday that the $50,000 sanctions bid is just a "profit-driven fishing expedition."

  • April 16, 2025

    Texas Ranch Neighbor Agrees Not To Use 'Mesa Vista' Name

    The owner of a property neighboring the late T. Boone Pickens' luxurious Mesa Vista Ranch hunting estate in the Texas Panhandle has agreed to stop using the name after being sued by the ranch's new owner.

  • April 16, 2025

    AlmondNet Sues Amazon Again After $136M Ad IP Victory

    AlmondNet Inc. is aiming to expand on the $136 million it already won against Amazon for patent infringement with a new suit in Texas federal court accusing the technology giant of infringing another patent tied to directing television advertisements.

  • April 16, 2025

    AT&T Gets $450M 'Twinning' Patent Suit Tossed Again

    A New York federal judge has held that it is only fitting that she rule twice on a motion to dismiss a $450 million patent lawsuit against AT&T over so-called twinning phone technology, deciding yet again that the patent is not inventive enough to be worth anything.

  • April 16, 2025

    New USPTO Group To Target Fraud In Patent Applications

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced new efforts Wednesday to combat fraudulent patent application activity, such as false signatures on filings and attempts to claim undeserved fee discounts, saying the moves will protect the integrity of the patent system.

  • April 16, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revive MIT Patent In Electric Vehicle Fight

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday refused to revive a technology company's patent covering a wireless charging system created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, backing a Patent Trial and Appeal Board finding that the challenged claims were too obvious to warrant patent protection.

  • April 16, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Ex-Beach Boy Guitarist's Royalty Fight

    The Ninth Circuit refused to reinstate a former Beach Boys guitarist's suit that sought to revoke his royalty agreements with Universal Music Group since they were based on physical record sales and didn't contemplate the evolution of digital streaming, ruling Wednesday the contracts only paid for physical record sale royalties.

  • April 16, 2025

    Greek IT Co.'s Suit Over Leaked Patent Info Gets Tossed

    A New York federal judge has tossed a Greece-based technology company's suit alleging Ladas & Parry LLP sent proprietary information to a third party while the company had an attorney-client agreement with the firm.

  • April 16, 2025

    Bradley Arant Lands 12-Member Morris Manning IP Team

    Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has hired a 12-person intellectual property team from Morris Manning & Martin LLP for its Atlanta office.

  • April 16, 2025

    Sterlington Adds Ex-Loeb & Loeb PTAB Trials Head In Calif.

    International law firm Sterlington PLLC has added a partner who has guided clients in more than 140 proceedings before the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board, strengthening its intellectual property practice with the former chair of Loeb & Loeb's PTAB trials practice, the firm announced Wednesday.

  • April 16, 2025

    Texas Law Firm Hits Rival With Web Search Keywords Suit

    Texas personal injury firm Thomas J. Henry Law has claimed in a lawsuit filed in Texas federal court that a Lone Star State competitor is unlawfully capitalizing on his reputation by misdirecting web searches through the purchase of certain search keywords.

Expert Analysis

  • Top 10 Legal Issues This Year For Transportation Industry GCs

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    General counsel must carefully consider numerous legal and policy challenges facing the automotive and transportation industry in the year to come, especially while navigating new technologies, regulations and global markets, says Francesco Liberatore at Squire Patton.

  • Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation

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    Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.

  • How The UPC, ITC Complement Each Other In Patent Law

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    Attorneys at Ropes & Gray discuss the similarities and differences between the Unified Patent Court and the International Trade Commission, as well as recent matters litigated in both venues and why parties choose to file at these forums.

  • Series

    Playing Esports Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Competing in a global esports tournament at Wimbledon last year not only fulfilled my childhood dream, but also sharpened skills that are essential to my day job, including strategic thinking, confidence and networking, says AJ Schuyler at Jackson Lewis.

  • Identifying Deepfakes During Evidence Collection, Discovery

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Attorneys must familiarize themselves with the tools used to create and detect deepfakes — media manipulated by artificial intelligence to convincingly mimic real people and events — as well as best practices for keeping this fabricated evidence out of court, says Bijan Ghom at Saxton & Stump.

  • Fed. Circ. In December: A Patent Prosecution History Lesson

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    Despite relying on two rock-solid principles of patent law, DDR lost its Federal Circuit case against Priceline.com, highlighting how a change in the scope of the invention from the provisional to the nonprovisional application can affect the court's analysis of how a skilled artisan would understand claim terms after reading the prosecution history, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • An Associate's Guide To Career Development In 2025

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    As the new year begins, associates at all levels should consider establishing career metrics, fostering key relationships and employing other specific strategies to help move through the complexities of the legal profession with confidence and emerge as trailblazers, say EJ Stern and Amanda George at Fractional Law Firm.

  • 2025 Patent And TM Policy At USPTO: What We Know So Far

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    This upcoming year at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office promises a continued focus on artificial intelligence-related policies, as well as initiatives to drive efficiency and modernize standard processes, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • Reviewing 2024's Crucial Patent Law Developments

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    As 2024 draws to a close, significant rulings and policies aimed at modernizing long-standing legal practices or addressing emerging challenges have reached patent law, says Michael Ellenberger at Rothwell Figg.

  • How White Collar Enforcement May Shift In Trump's 2nd Term

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    After President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House next month, the administration’s emphasis on immigration laws, drug offenses and violent crime will likely reduce the focus on white collar crime overall, but certain areas within the white collar world may see increased activity, say attorneys at Keker Van Nest.

  • Series

    Fixing Up Cars Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    From problem-solving to patience and adaptability to organization, the skills developed working under the hood of a car directly translate to being a more effective lawyer, says Christopher Mdeway at Kaufman Dolowich.

  • 2024's Most Notable FTC Actions Against Dark Patterns And AI

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    In 2024 the Federal Trade Commission ramped up enforcement actions related to dark patterns, loudly signaling its concern that advertisers will use AI to manipulate consumer habits and its intention to curb businesses' use and marketing of AI to prevent alleged consumer deception, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Making The Pitch To Grow Your Company's Legal Team

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    In a compressed economy, convincing the C-suite to invest in additional legal talent can be a herculean task, but a convincing pitch — supported by metrics and cost analyses — may help in-house counsel justify the growth of their team, say Elizabeth Smith and Roger Garceau at Major Lindsey.

  • 4 Trade Secret Pointers From 2024's Key IP Law Developments

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    Four significant 2024 developments in trade secret law yield practical tips about defending trade secrets overseas, proving unjust enrichment claims, forcing compliance with posttrial orders and using restrictive covenants to prevent employee leaks of confidential intellectual property, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • Trends In Section 101 Motions 6 Years After Berkheimer

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    A half-dozen years after the Federal Circuit's landmark patent eligibility ruling in Berkheimer, empirical data offers practitioners some noteworthy insights on Section 101 motions, both nationally and across four exemplary jurisdictions, says Alexa Reed at Fisch Sigler.

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