Intellectual Property

  • October 02, 2024

    Sports Field Sweeper Inventor Says Sons Infringed Patent

    An Australian company that invented a mechanical sweeper system to clean sports fields alleges in a Colorado federal lawsuit that the sons of the technology's inventor are selling infringing sweepers in the United States.

  • October 02, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Orders Damages Redo In $11M Meat Sorter IP Fight

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday called for a new damages trial in Provisur Technologies Inc.'s $10.5 million patent infringement win over Weber Inc., taking issue with how a Missouri federal court looked at willfulness and apportionment.

  • October 02, 2024

    NC Judge Ends NIL Ban For State's Public School Athletes

    North Carolina public school athletes can now be compensated for their name, image and likeness, thanks to a preliminary injunction granted by a state judge that overturned a ban by the state board of education.

  • October 02, 2024

    State Farm's Sanctions Bid Nixed In Driver Tech Patent Tangle

    Noting that both parties had unclean hands, a Texas federal judge denied State Farm's request for sanctions in consolidated patent infringement cases brought by an inventor who patented driver monitoring technology that he claims the insurer and automakers Mercedes-Benz and Honda used without permission.

  • October 02, 2024

    Meta Facing Another Author Class Action Over LLM Training

    Another author has launched a proposed class action against Meta Platforms Inc. in California federal court alleging the social media giant swiped material from hundreds of thousands of copyrighted books to train its series of large language models named Llama.

  • October 02, 2024

    FisherBroyles Hit With Malpractice Suit Over Stem Cell Case

    A Southern California stem cell treatment center hit FisherBroyles LLP with a $10 million malpractice suit in state court over the law firm's work defending it in a patent infringement case that settled, claiming the defense was so incompetently handled that it had to hire WilmerHale as the case approached trial.

  • October 02, 2024

    Fleetwood Mac Producer Says 'Stereophonic' Rips Off His Book

    One of the producers of Fleetwood Mac's classic 1977 record album "Rumours," Kenneth Caillat, has accused the author of the play "Stereophonic" of swiping copyrighted material from his memoir "Making Rumours" to make the hit Broadway show.

  • October 02, 2024

    GM Must Face Auto Part Co.'s Raid Conspiracy Counterclaim

    General Motors can't slip an aftermarket car parts company's accusation that the auto giant was behind a government raid of its warehouses, a Michigan federal judge ruled Tuesday, allowing two of Quality Collision's counterclaims in a GM-filed patent infringement suit to stand.

  • October 02, 2024

    Supplement Co. Hits Back At TM Suit, Alleges Fake Reviews

    Supplement-maker Nutranext Business LLC failed to disclose that a doctor promoting its products is a paid influence, artificially inflated its positive reviews on Amazon and misrepresented a study that purports to show the benefits of using its products, according to new counterclaims filed by a competitor it sued for trademark infringement.

  • October 02, 2024

    Fla. Atty Disbarred For Abandoning Pharma Biz Before USPTO

    The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday disbarred an attorney for taking on intellectual property work for a pharmaceutical company only to later cease communications and keep the business in the dark about maintenance fees, causing its patents to expire.

  • October 01, 2024

    IBM Targets Take-Two In IP Suit After $45M Win Against Zynga

    Less than a month after obtaining a $45 million verdict against San Francisco game company Zynga over patents related to online advertisements, IBM launched a new lawsuit in Delaware federal court against the developer's parent company over different video games. 

  • October 01, 2024

    Nonprofit Finds Bad Patent 'Epidemic' Is Just A Myth

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is more likely to reject patent applications with valid claims than approve applications with invalid claims, according to a new report commissioned by former USPTO directors and Federal Circuit judges who were concerned about an alleged "epidemic" of bad patents. 

  • October 01, 2024

    Fla. Judge Sends 2 Live Crew Rights Dispute To Jury

    A Florida federal judge has trimmed trademark and copyright infringement claims from a suit by music label Lil' Joe Records against members of the hip-hop group 2 Live Crew but said he would send the issue of whether the termination of the label's rights to the songs was effective to a jury next week.

  • October 01, 2024

    Amazon Gets $47M Voice Patent Verdict Slashed By $7M

    Amazon was able to shave off about $7 million from a nearly $47 million verdict against it in a voice software technology patent case by a defunct startup after convincing a Delaware federal court that there was a hole in expert testimony over the online retail giant's Alexa software.

  • October 01, 2024

    Buchalter Grows In Atlanta With Taylor English IP Litigators

    Buchalter PC has continued its expansion in Georgia with the addition of two intellectual property litigators from Taylor English Duma LLP.

  • October 01, 2024

    Febreze Jingle IP Claim Doesn't Pass 2nd Circ. Smell Test

    The Second Circuit on Tuesday rejected an appeal from a New York composer who claims Procter & Gamble's advertisement jingle for Febreze ripped off five notes from a song he wrote in the 1980s, saying those notes by themselves are not protectable under copyright law.

  • October 01, 2024

    After 72 Years, Browdy & Neimark Moves To FisherBroyles

    The Washington, D.C., intellectual property boutique Browdy & Neimark PLLC is closing its doors after 72 years in business, as the firm's four attorneys move their practices to FisherBroyles LLP.

  • October 01, 2024

    Foley Adds 2 DLA Piper Business Litigators In San Francisco

    Foley & Lardner LLP is expanding its business litigation team in Northern California, announcing Monday it has brought in two DLA Piper trade secrets experts as partners in its San Francisco office.

  • October 01, 2024

    Crypto Developers Take Aim At 'Patent Trolls' In New Deal

    A cryptocurrency collective said Tuesday it has inked a deal with Unified Patents to help stop "patent trolls" from registering intellectual property that risks hampering blockchain innovation.

  • September 30, 2024

    Verizon Gets $847M Patent Verdict Set Aside, Wins New Trial

    Verizon Wireless and Ericsson will get another shot at convincing a Texas federal jury that they did not infringe intellectual property owned by a Dallas patent business, U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap ruled Monday, setting aside a previous jury's $847 million verdict against the telecom giants.

  • September 30, 2024

    USPTO Hears Praise, Worry About Experimental Use Defense

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's request for comment on whether legal precedent that experimental uses of patented inventions do not constitute infringement should be enshrined in a statute has drawn a variety of reactions, with both proponents and critics weighing in.

  • September 30, 2024

    Siemens Will Pay $104M For Stealing GE, Mitsubishi Secrets

    Siemens Energy on Monday pled guilty to wire fraud and agreed to pay $104 million to put to rest federal prosecutors' case accusing the company of misappropriating the confidential information of General Electric and Mitsubishi, a plea deal that comes after multiple former Siemens executives pled guilty in related cases.

  • September 30, 2024

    Takeda End Payors, Direct Buyers Win Antitrust Class Cert.

    A New York federal judge Monday adopted a magistrate judge's recommendation to certify two classes of direct purchasers and end payors in consolidated antitrust actions accusing Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. of unlawfully inflating the price of its diabetes treatment Actos by delaying entry of generic alternatives.

  • September 30, 2024

    Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

    The year's spookiest month is looking scary-good for appellate aficionados, as famed oral advocates joust in October over net neutrality and Uber's extraordinary bid to unravel multidistrict litigation — just two of the high-profile arguments previewed in this edition of Wheeling & Appealing. October also begins with former President Jimmy Carter turning 100, and we'll test your knowledge of his profound impact on the judiciary.

  • September 30, 2024

    Calif. Court Finds Snapchat Can Seek 'Spectacles' TM

    Following a three-day bench trial earlier this year, a California federal judge has told the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to reverse its refusal to grant Snapchat parent company Snap Inc. trademark protection covering its "Spectacles" brand of digital glasses.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • When Patents As Loan Collateral Can Cost You Standing

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Intellectual Tech v. Zebra Technologies shines a light on loan default provisions' implications for patent infringement litigation, as a default may inadvertently strip a patent owner of constitutional standing to sue over a patent pledged as collateral, say Joseph Marinelli and Suet L. Lee at Irwin IP.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 36 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • How Life Science Companies Are Approaching UPC Opt-Outs

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    A look at recent data shows that one year after its launch, the European Union's Unified Patent Court is still seeing a high rate of opt-outs, including from large U.S.-based life science companies wary of this unpredictable court — and there are reasons this strategy should largely remain the same, say Sanjay Murthy and Christopher Tuinenga at McAndrews Held.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • 6 PTAB Events To Know From The Last 6 Months

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    The first half of 2024 brought a flurry of Patent Trial and Appeal Board developments that should be considered in post-grant strategies, including proposed rules on discretionary denial and director review, and the first decisions of the Delegated Rehearing Panel, say attorneys at Fish & Richardson.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • FTC Focus: Competition And The Right To Repair

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    If the Federal Trade Commission includes commercial and industrial products as part of copyright exemptions that allow consumers to modify or repair products, then businesses and affected rights holders will need to consider copyrights' impact on infringement issues, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • The Fed. Circ. In May: A Major Shift In Design Patent Law

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    The Federal Circuit's recent en banc decision in LKQ v. GM overruled three decades of precedent and adopted a new standard for assessing the obviousness of design patents, leaving many questions unanswered, say Sean Murray and Jeremiah Helm at Knobbe Martens.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

  • Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule

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    Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.

  • 4 Steps To Repair Defense Credibility In Opening Statements

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    Given the continued rise of record-breaking verdicts, defense counsel need to consider fresh approaches to counteract the factors coloring juror attitudes — starting with a formula for rebuilding credibility at the very beginning of opening statements, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

  • Fair Use Doctrine Faces Challenges In The Generative AI Era

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    As courts struggle to apply existing copyright principles to new, digital contexts, the evolving capabilities of AI technologies are testing the limits of traditional frameworks, with the fair use doctrine being met with significant challenges, says John Poulos at Norton Rose.

  • Prejudicial Evidence Takeaways From Trump Hush Money Trial

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    The Manhattan District Attorney's Office's prosecution and conviction of former President Donald Trump on 34 felony counts provides a lesson on whether evidence may cause substantial unfair prejudice, or if its prejudicial potential is perfectly fair within the bounds of the law, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

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