Intellectual Property

  • October 20, 2025

    Proposed PTAB Rules Bolster SAP's Fight, Fed. Circ. Told

    SAP America Inc. told the Federal Circuit on Friday that its challenge to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's stance on Fintiv-based discretionary denials is bolstered by newly proposed USPTO rules, which the company says prove that "mandamus relief is urgently needed to protect important public interests."

  • October 20, 2025

    Judge Ends Songwriters' 'Funk Rave' Suit Against Pop Star

    A Florida federal judge on Monday permanently dismissed a suit from two songwriters who claimed that Brazilian pop star Anitta had copied their work in her song "Funk Rave," saying the songwriters had three chances to state their claims but had failed to adequately do so.

  • October 20, 2025

    Reggaeton Copyright Clash Sparks Dueling Sanctions Bids

    Attorneys in a copyright lawsuit about the origins of Reggaeton are embroiled in competing motions for sanctions, with lawyers representing Jamaican musicians — who accuse the genre's leading stars of infringement — arguing that the court's ire should be directed at opposing counsel's recent sanctions request over allegedly fabricated quotes.

  • October 20, 2025

    Squires Gives Entropic Chance To Save Patent Claims

    The head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office says that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has to take another look at certain claims the board found invalid in an Entropic Communications local area network patent challenged by Dish Network.

  • October 20, 2025

    Ford Says Solar Battery Co. Shared Trade Secrets

    Ford Motor Co. has sued a battery maker with which it once had a business partnership, claiming the company filed multiple patent applications disclosing Ford's confidential technology.

  • October 20, 2025

    No Review For Battery Patent After USPTO Head Steps In

    A lithium-ion battery maker won't have its challenge to a rival's patent heard at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board after the director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said it wasn't a good use of time to review the fight.

  • October 20, 2025

    Bank Seeks Atty Fees For 'Vexatious' Patent Suit

    CIBC Bank has asked a Texas federal court to impose sanctions on a rival litigant, its principal and one of its attorneys, saying the patent claims they brought were "vexatious and substantively unsuccessful in every single aspect."

  • October 20, 2025

    AI-Driven Marketing Biz Says Ex-Workers Lifted Trade Secrets

    Artificial intelligence-integrated marketing and advertising venture AIquire Inc. sued a newer, climate-focused marketing business in Delaware federal court on Friday, accusing former employees and affiliated companies of misappropriating trade secrets to build the new business, Climaty.

  • October 20, 2025

    Justices Deny EcoFactor Appeal Over Google Patent Damages

    The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal by EcoFactor Inc. on Monday that argued the en banc Federal Circuit usurped the role of the jury when it found the company's damages expert unreliable and vacated a $20 million patent verdict it won against Google.

  • October 20, 2025

    UK Steps Up Antitrust Probe Into Getty-Shutterstock Merger

    The U.K. antitrust regulator escalated its investigation into Getty's proposed acquisition of Shutterstock, citing on Monday "realistic" risks that a combined $3.7 billion entity could harm competition.

  • October 20, 2025

    Supreme Court Declines Appeal Over Copyrighted Floor Plans

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a petition that sought review of an Eighth Circuit ruling that found it was fair use for real estate agents to list the copyrighted floor plans of a home designer and his company.

  • October 17, 2025

    Mixed Discretionary Denial Batch Caps Off Big Week For PTAB

    Deputy U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart allowed 19 Patent Trial and Appeal Board petitions to go forward while denying 21 others on Friday, concluding a week that saw major reforms at the PTAB.

  • October 17, 2025

    PTAB Axes Patent And Finds Chip Co. Has No Ties To Intel

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board found that a Greenthread semiconductor patent was invalid after finding one of the challengers didn't have ties to Intel in a way that could have doomed the case.

  • October 17, 2025

    Slipknot Sues Anonymous Slipknot.com Domain Squatter

    Metal band Slipknot has sued the owners of the domain slipknot.com, claiming they are seeking to capitalize on the fame associated with the Slipknot mark.

  • October 17, 2025

    Federal Courts To Scale Back Operations Amid Shutdown

    The federal court system has run out of money and will scale back operations beginning Monday as a result of the ongoing government shutdown, possibly leading to case delays.

  • October 17, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Backs Noninfringement Ruling In Fence Patent Case

    The Federal Circuit on Friday wouldn't revive an Ohio-based outdoor product company's lawsuit accusing a Texas rival of infringing various fencing patents, finding nothing was wrong with the way the lower court interpreted key terminology in the patent.

  • October 17, 2025

    USPTO Head To Take Over Patent Review Institution Decisions

    John Squires, director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, said Friday that he will now make all decisions on whether to institute America Invents Act reviews of patents, including on the merits of the challenge and discretionary issues, in a major overhaul of the review system.

  • October 17, 2025

    Artists Ask To Certify Classes In Google AI Copyright Suit

    A group of artists and writers who claim their copyrights were infringed when Google used their works to train its artificial intelligence model asked a California federal judge to grant them class certification.

  • October 17, 2025

    Songwriters Extend Copyright Fight To Suno AI

    A group of independent songwriters has filed suit in Illinois federal court against music generator Suno AI, claiming the songwriters' copyrighted works were used to train its models after filing similar claims against AI music company Udio a day earlier.

  • October 17, 2025

    MGA Fights New Trial On Damages In Doll TM Case

    Toy maker MGA Entertainment wants to appeal a California federal judge's decision calling for a new jury trial to consider whether to award punitive damages to hip-hop moguls Clifford "T.I." Harris and Tameka "Tiny" Harris over a line of dolls called L.O.L. Surprise O.M.G.

  • October 17, 2025

    Mintz Says Ex-Client Owes $2M 'Success Fee' For Patent Work

    Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC says a former client is refusing to pay a nearly $2.2 million "success fee" for the firm's work on multiple patent infringement matters that generated millions of dollars in recoveries, according to a complaint filed on Friday in Massachusetts federal court.

  • October 17, 2025

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

    This past week in London has seen Johnson & Johnson hit with a £1 billion ($1.34 billion) claim for allegedly selling contaminated baby powder, Carter-Ruck bring a claim against the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and Hewlett Packard file a probate claim against the estate of Mike Lynch.

  • October 16, 2025

    Proposed New Rules Would Cut Off Many PTAB Challenges

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office proposed rules Thursday that would prevent inter partes reviews challenging patents from being instituted in many scenarios, and attorneys said implementing the plan would significantly reduce challenges and make them far less appealing to accused infringers.

  • October 16, 2025

    Jack Nicklaus Tells Jury He Wanted 'Freedom' Back After Pact

    Golf legend Jack Nicklaus told a Florida jury on Thursday that he filed for an arbitration in Miami to reclaim his intellectual property after parting ways with the company named after him, but added the chairman "did not want to give me my freedom." 

  • October 16, 2025

    7th Circ. Affirms French Montana's Win In Copyright Case

    The Seventh Circuit on Thursday backed French Montana's win in a copyright case brought by a musician who alleged the rapper sampled his instrumental song to make the hit single "Ain't Worried About Nothin'," saying there wasn't evidence to show Montana duplicated the work "as opposed to merely imitating it."

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Patent Claim Lessons From Fed. Circ.'s Teva Decision

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Janssen v. Teva is an important precedent for parties drafting patent claims or litigating obviousness where the prior art has potentially overlapping ranges for a claimed element, and may be particularly instructive to patent applicants in the pharmaceutical field, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Adapting To The Age Of AI

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    Though law school may not have specifically taught us how to use generative artificial intelligence to help with our daily legal tasks, it did provide us the mental building blocks necessary for adapting to this new technology — and the judgment to discern what shouldn’t be automated, says Pamela Dorian at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Ch. 11 Ruling Voiding $2M Litigation Funding Sends A Warning

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    A recent Texas bankruptcy court decision that a postconfirmation litigation trust has no obligations to repay a completely drawn down $2 million litigation funding agreement serves as a warning for estate administrators and funders to properly disclose the intended financing, say attorneys at Kleinberg Kaplan.

  • Future-Proof Patent Law By Starting Talent Pipelines Early

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    Law firms struggling with a narrow talent pipeline in the intellectual property space should consider beginning their recruitment strategies for potential candidates as early as high school, and raise awareness for career opportunities that do not require a law degree, says Christine Hollis at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Demystifying The Civil Procedure Rules Amendment Process

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    Every year, an advisory committee receives dozens of proposals to amend the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, most of which are never adopted — but a few pointers can help maximize the likelihood that an amendment will be adopted, says Josh Gardner at DLA Piper.

  • How USPTO Examiner Memo Informs Software Patent Drafting

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    A memorandum recently released by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office provides useful clues as to how the USPTO and examining corps will evaluate claims in software-implemented inventions for subject matter eligibility going forward, says Michael Lew at Squire Patton.

  • FTC, CoStar Cases Against Zillow May Have Broad Impact

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    Zillow's partnerships with Redfin and Realtor.com have recently triggered dual fronts of legal scrutiny — an antitrust inquiry from the Federal Trade Commission and a mass copyright infringement suit from CoStar — raising complex questions that reach beyond real estate, says Shubha Ghosh at Syracuse University College of Law.

  • Parenting Skills That Can Help Lawyers Thrive Professionally

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    As kids head back to school, the time is ripe for lawyers who are parents to consider how they can incorporate their parenting skills to build a deep, meaningful and sustainable legal practice, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Enablement Standard Insights From Fed. Circ. Agilent Ruling

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    The Federal Circuit's recent enablement standard decision in Agilent v. Synthego underscores three critical takeaways for patent practitioners, including reaffirmation that the enablement inquiry under Section 102 of the Patent Act is distinct from the inquiry under Section 112, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • How WTO's Anti-Suit Injunction Ruling Affects IP Stakeholders

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    The World Trade Organization's recent ruling in favor of the European Union's challenge to Chinese courts' anti-suit injunction practices should hearten holders of standard-essential patents, while implementers can take solace that they retain mechanisms to distinguish the WTO decision when seeking anti-suit injunctions in U.S. courts, says Michael Franzinger at Dentons.

  • Series

    Teaching Trial Advocacy Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    Teaching trial advocacy skills to other lawyers makes us better litigators because it makes us question our default methods, connect to young attorneys with new perspectives and focus on the needs of the real people at the heart of every trial, say Reuben Guttman, Veronica Finkelstein and Joleen Youngers.

  • Why Civil RICO Claims Are Gaining Traction With Plaintiffs

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    A Texas federal court's recent $71 million verdict in Point Bridge Capital v. Johnson demonstrates that, when used properly, civil lawsuits under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act can be a devastating weapon — and increasingly favorable for plaintiffs, says Akiva Shapiro at Gibson Dunn.

  • You're Out?: Rooftop Views Of Sports Games Raise IP Issues

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    A high-profile dispute between the Chicago Cubs and a rooftop business adjacent to Wrigley Field strikes at the intersection of sports, intellectual property and Chicago neighborhood tradition, highlighting novel questions that could significantly affect IP rights in the context of live events generally, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

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