Intellectual Property

  • April 08, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Backs PTAB Decision Axing VLSI Patent Claims

    The Federal Circuit on Monday upheld a decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that found claims of a VLSI computer memory patent invalid in a challenge by Intel.

  • April 08, 2024

    New Balance, Golden Goose Agree To End 'Dad Shoe' IP Row

    New Balance and rival shoe brand Golden Goose have settled a trademark infringement dispute over a style of chunky "Dad" sneakers sold by the two companies, according to a court filing.

  • April 05, 2024

    Apple Asks Fed. Circ. To Upend ITC Watch Feature Ban

    The U.S. International Trade Commission overstepped its authority in banning the import of the Apple Watch after finding it infringes Masimo Corp. patents on technology measuring oxygen in blood, Apple told the Federal Circuit on Friday, saying Masimo rushed its claims before the commission without having a product practicing the asserted patents.

  • April 05, 2024

    Intel Takes VLSI License Defense To Texas After Dismissal

    Intel brought its effort to secure a ruling that it has a license to VLSI chip patents in a multibillion-dollar dispute to a Texas court Friday, after a California judge unsealed a dismissal order holding that contract language barred her from deciding the issue.

  • April 05, 2024

    SITO Mobile Can't Get Fed. Circ. To Revive Patents

    The Federal Circuit decided on Friday to leave unchanged a handful of patent board rulings lost by a bankrupt mobile tech company that has since launched suits against streamers such as Hulu and the fuboTV brand.

  • April 07, 2024

    7th Circ. Won't Save Hytera From 'Self-Inflicted' Wounds

    A Seventh Circuit panel this weekend said Hytera Communications could not be trusted after it filed a Chinese lawsuit behind an Illinois court's back and brought a $1 million daily fine upon itself, as a federal judge said she needed written proof that a Chinese court had really dismissed the suit.

  • April 05, 2024

    Abbott Settles TM Suit Over Gray Market Diabetes Test Strips

    Abbott Laboratories told a New York federal judge Friday that the company has settled what remains of its trademark litigation campaign against makers of gray market diabetes test strips that has been going on since 2015.

  • April 05, 2024

    Judge Lourie's Dissent Revives Debate Over FDA Safe Harbor

    U.S. Circuit Judge Alan Lourie has urged the Federal Circuit to reconsider its precedent over a safe harbor that allows infringement when companies are developing products regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and many attorneys agreed with him that the appeals court has been improperly expanding the safe harbor for decades.

  • April 05, 2024

    Rapper French Montana Seeks Atty Fees For 'Frivolous' IP Row

    French Montana has told an Illinois federal judge that a young musician who alleged that the rapper sampled his song to make his hit single "Ain't Worried About Nothin'" should cover the attorney fees and litigation costs he spent defending the "frivolous" copyright lawsuit, suggesting that he only filed it to gain publicity.

  • April 05, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Says Sumitomo's Expired Drug Patent Moots Appeal

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office received a win on Friday when the Federal Circuit found that since Sumitomo Pharma's patent on a dosage regimen for a schizophrenia drug expired just before the appeals court heard oral arguments, the company's appeal of a decision invalidating all the claims is moot.

  • April 05, 2024

    Judge Newman Pushes To Keep Suit Over Suspension Intact

    U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman urged a D.C. federal judge Friday to let her pursue a constitutional challenge to the law under which she has been suspended, and to reject her colleagues' contention that her case does not pass legal muster.

  • April 05, 2024

    New Partner Joins Nixon Peabody's IP Team In Chicago

    Nixon Peabody LLP has brought on a pair of patent attorneys to its Chicago office, including a partner who worked at Fitch Even Tabin & Flannery LLP for more than 30 years.

  • April 05, 2024

    Texas Appeals Court Reverses IT Consulting Worker Spat

    A Texas appeals court revived a suit brought by an information technology consulting company against its former worker, ruling that the company had shown enough evidence to go forward with the case and the trial court abused its discretion in granting a no-evidence summary judgment motion.

  • April 05, 2024

    Coachella Nabs TM Injunction Against DC 'Moechella' Backers

    California's Coachella music festival secured a preliminary injunction in D.C. federal court barring the organizers of music and cultural events in Washington, D.C., from using the "Moechella" mark.

  • April 05, 2024

    Carl Sagan Co. Says It Owns Astronomer's Rights In TM Fight

    A company managing the works of famed astronomer Carl Sagan said it has the rights to the scientist's name and likeness, telling a Michigan federal judge that it has the standing to sue a software company for allegedly using Sagan's name without permission.

  • April 05, 2024

    Virgin Galactic Sues Boeing Over 'Shoddy' $45M Aircraft Work

    Virgin Galactic has hit Boeing with a breach-of-contract suit in California federal court, alleging the aerospace giant failed to deliver a new $45 million "mothership" carrier aircraft due to its alleged "shoddy and incomplete" work and that Boeing has since wrongfully sued in Virginia seeking to claw back intellectual property licenses. 

  • April 05, 2024

    Walmart's Self-Checkout Patents Survive BJ's PTAB Attacks

    Retail chain BJ's Wholesale Club was unable to persuade judges on an administrative patent board to knock out any claims from a pair of patents covering a self-checkout app that Walmart's Sam's Club brand is suing the rival over in Florida federal court.

  • April 05, 2024

    Sprint's $4.5M Nextel Trademark Win Upheld At 11th Circ.

    Sprint Communications Inc. maintained a trademark on its line of walkie-talkie devices and deserved a $4.5 million jury award against an imitator for its unlawful use of the device name and distinctive "chirp" noise, according to an Eleventh Circuit panel ruling.

  • April 05, 2024

    Off The Bench: ACC Drama, Football Firing Suits Intensify

    In this week's Off The Bench, Florida State University cannot escape an ACC lawsuit that may enforce a nine-figure penalty against the school if it should leave the conference, while both Northwestern University and the Arizona Cardinals face more legal headaches over their decisions to fire key personnel.

  • April 05, 2024

    IP Firm Sues Florida Attorney For Using Soundalike Name

    Georgia-based intellectual property firm Bekiares Eliezer LLP has sued an attorney in Florida federal court, alleging he marketed his services with a name similar to its "Founders Legal" brand.

  • April 05, 2024

    Chinese Insurer Awarded Nearly $15M Over Hotel Theft Suit

    A California federal judge awarded a Chinese insurer nearly $15 million in damages after a man accused of conspiring to fraudulently claim ownership of New York City's JW Marriott Essex House Hotel and other luxury properties failed to appear in the action.

  • April 05, 2024

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

    This past week in London has seen the BBC sued by former Georgian defense minister David Kezerashvili, Russian businessman Ildar Sharipov file a defamation claim against the publisher of the Liverpool Echo newspaper, MEX Group Worldwide sue Barclays and NatWest, and a climbing gear company hit retailer Next with a claim of copyright infringement. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • April 04, 2024

    Charter Says Nonprofit's Fight Over Sealed Docs Is Too Late

    Charter Communications Inc. is disputing the Electronic Frontier Foundation's attempt to persuade a Texas federal court to unseal filings in a patent suit against the cable company over data transmission that settled late last year.

  • April 04, 2024

    Coach Accuses Gap Of IP Theft Over Old Navy 'Coach' Tees

    Luxury fashion company Coach Inc. sued The Gap Inc. for alleged trademark infringement in California federal court Tuesday, accusing the global apparel giant of illegally advertising and hawking a line of Old Navy T-shirts that display the word "Coach" in an effort to free ride off Coach's brand and reputation.

  • April 04, 2024

    'Halfhearted' Hytera Filings Not Enough To Lift Hefty Sanctions

    Hytera Communications' daily $1 million fine and other sanctions for violating an Illinois federal judge's anti-suit injunction stayed in place Thursday as she ordered the company to submit a fourth, more "meaningful" request in China to halt a lawsuit it lodged against Motorola Solutions.

Expert Analysis

  • 7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves

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    As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.

  • What's At Stake In Pending Fed. Circ. Design Patent Test Case

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    The full Federal Circuit recently heard argument in LKQ v. GM Global, a case concerning patent obviousness in the aftermarket for auto parts; the court's decision will likely influence how design patents are obtained, enforced and challenged, and affect the broader innovation ecosystem, says Larry DeMeo at Hunton.

  • No AI FRAUD Act Is A Significant Step For Right Of Publicity

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    The No Artificial Intelligence Fake Replicas and Unauthorized Duplications Act's proposed federal right of publicity protection, including post-mortem rights, represents a significant step toward harmonizing the landscape of right of publicity law, Rachel Hofstatter and Aaron Rosenthal at Honigman.

  • Series

    Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Averting Patent And Other IP Risks In Generative AI Use

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    While leveraging generative AI presents potential problems such as loss of ownership of patents and other intellectual properties, a series of practice tips, including ensuring that the technology is used as a supplementary tool and is not contributing to invention conception, can help mitigate those concerns, say Mackenzie Martin and Bryce Bailey at Baker McKenzie.

  • After TikTok, Tiptoeing Toward Patent Transfer Alignment

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    Following the Fifth Circuit's TikTok decision, which aimed to standardize transfer analysis in patent cases, the Federal Circuit and Texas federal courts facing transfer requests have taken small steps to consider the practical realities of patent litigation, reinforcing the intensely factual focus of the analysis, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.

  • New Hydrogen Regulations Show The Need For IP Protections

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    The introduction of hydrogen regulations, such as the IRS' proposed tax credit for clean hydrogen under the Inflation Reduction Act, are reshaping the competitive landscape, with intellectual property rights an area of increased emphasis, say Evan Glass and James De Vellis at Foley & Lardner.

  • Inside The PTAB's Seagen Cancer Drug Patent Decision

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    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board's recent finding that Seagen's claims for antibody-drug conjugate technology were unpatentable — for lack of enablement, lack of written description and anticipation — mark the latest chapter in the complex patent dispute as the case heads for director review, says Ryan Hagglund at Loeb & Loeb.

  • 6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media

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    In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.

  • Opinion

    Biden Admin's March-In Plan Would Hurt Medical Innovation

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    The Biden administration's proposal to reinterpret the Bayh-Dole Act and allow the government to claw back patents when it determines that a commercialized product's price is too high would discourage private investment in important research and development, says Ken Thorpe at the Rollins School of Public Health.

  • Google Patent Case Is A Claim Construction Litigation Lesson

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    The Federal Circuit's recent precedential decision in Google v. EcoFactor, which held that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board erred in the claim construction it had unknowingly adopted, shows that litigators should be alert to claim construction issues that masquerade as something else, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

  • A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise

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    After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.

  • Reassessing Trade Secrets Amid Proposed Noncompete Ban

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    The Federal Trade Commission's proposed ban on noncompete agreements as well as state bans make it prudent for businesses to reevaluate and reinvigorate approaches to trade secret protection, including knowing what information employees are providing to vendors, and making sure confidentiality agreements are put in place before information is shared, says Rob Jensen at Wolf Greenfield.

  • Considering The Logical Extremes Of Your Legal Argument

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    Recent oral arguments in the federal election interference case against former President Donald Trump highlighted the age-old technique of extending an argument to its logical limit — a principle that is still important for attorneys to consider in preparing their cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • How High Court SEC Case Could Affect The ITC

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy will likely spare the U.S. International Trade Commission from major operative changes, the ITC’s ability to issue penalties for violations of its orders may change, say Gwendolyn Tawresey and Ryan Deck at Troutman Pepper.

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