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Intellectual Property
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April 16, 2024
Caitlin Clark's WNBA Leap Set To Pay Off, Lift Women's Sports
Although the first-year WNBA salary of Caitlin Clark will be relatively meager, she is in no financial straits because of dramatic changes to the laws and rules governing college athletes' ability to earn money in recent years, and experts say Clark's ascension is lifting up all of women's sports.
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April 16, 2024
Fed. Circ. Is Told To Undo Transfer Of Apple Patent Case
A Texas federal judge has shipped to California a suit accusing Apple of patent infringement, prompting patent-owning technology company Haptic Inc. to appeal the decision to the Federal Circuit.
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April 16, 2024
Tai Sidesteps As GOP Reps Try To Pin Down Trade Timeline
Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee castigated U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Tuesday for the administration's vague agenda regarding future trade deals and a long-awaited tariff review that she described as "optimistic" and "coming soon."
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April 16, 2024
Cooler Co. Says License Revelation Guts Rival's Patent Claim
A Canadian cooler maker has urged a Colorado federal judge to toss a rival's patent infringement claims in a dispute over soft-sided coolers, arguing that the rival failed to disclose a licensing agreement that shows it never had the right to claim infringement in the first place.
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April 16, 2024
Winston & Strawn Settles Brief-Plagiarizing Allegations
A Tuesday filing indicated that Winston & Strawn LLP has managed to settle copyright infringement allegations coming from a boutique intellectual property firm that went to a federal court in Manhattan to accuse the BigLaw firm of copying a motion-to-dismiss filing "nearly verbatim."
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April 16, 2024
US Tequila Startup Defeats Older Mexican Rival's TM Case
A Texas federal judge has decided that the tequila marketplace is big enough for both a U.S. startup called "Casa Azul" and an older Mexican brand called "Clase Azul," whose lawyers unsuccessfully tried to persuade the judge of its fame by playing a music video by reggaeton rapper Ozuna.
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April 16, 2024
2nd Circ. Frees FDNY From TM Limits In Nonprofit's Suit
The Second Circuit on Tuesday threw out an injunction barring New York City and its fire department from using the allegedly infringing term "medical special operations," reasoning in the trademark suit that it's too general to be considered an infringement of a nonprofit's name for meetings.
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April 16, 2024
IBM Gained Most AI Patents By Far In 2023
IBM obtained more U.S. artificial intelligence patents in 2023 than any other company, with its closest competitors falling behind by more than 300 patents, according to a Harrity Patent Analytics report announced Tuesday.
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April 16, 2024
DraftKings Workers Say Ex-Boss Tried To Lure Them To Rival
Two DraftKings higher-ups testified Tuesday that their former boss had tried to lure them to join rival sportsbook Fanatics with multimillion-dollar compensation offers, contradicting their former supervisor's claim that he never attempted to get his top lieutenants to help him set up a new office for Fanatics in Los Angeles.
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April 16, 2024
Impossible Foods Slams 'Radical' TM Fight At High Court
Impossible Foods has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a request by a marketing firm owned by a self-described "digital nomad" to review a split Ninth Circuit decision reviving the veggie burger-maker's trademark lawsuit against it, arguing the petition mischaracterizes personal jurisdiction legal precedent and makes "radical" constitutional arguments.
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April 16, 2024
Microsoft, OpenAI Say Intercept's IP Suit Should Be Axed
Microsoft and OpenAI have asked a Manhattan federal judge to dismiss a complaint by The Intercept accusing the companies of removing author and copyright information from material allegedly used to train ChatGPT, saying the publication lacks standing to sue because it has provided no evidence to support its claims.
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April 16, 2024
Justices Say Army Vet Owed More Education Benefits
An Army veteran who sought additional education benefits to attend Yale Divinity School is owed more federal assistance, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, upending an en banc Federal Circuit ruling that took a narrower view of what he is entitled to based on his multiple tours of duty.
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April 15, 2024
Resistance To Patent Licenses Drives More Suits, Execs Say
Companies that generate revenue from patents are seeing less willingness to negotiate in recent years among businesses they approach about potential licenses, requiring more litigation in order to reach agreements, executives from IBM, InterDigital and others said Monday.
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April 15, 2024
Expert's Disney Trip Is No Reason To Delay Trial, Court Told
A technical expert's $14,000 vacation to Disney World isn't the kind of circumstance that ought to delay a patent trial in which he's due to appear in on behalf of a Taiwanese monitor maker, a federal court in Waco, Texas, has been told.
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April 15, 2024
Judge Tosses 'Boilerplate' Infringement Suit Against OnStar
OnStar LLC has escaped an infringement suit alleging it infringed a wireless company's patent for tracking vehicles after a Michigan federal judge said the wireless company did not properly describe its patent or allege how OnStar was misusing the technology.
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April 15, 2024
Dueling Bills Highlight Partisan Divide Over 'Judge Shopping'
Dueling proposals to limit so-called judge shopping were unveiled by Senate party leaders last week, sparking optimism that Congress will rein in plaintiffs' ability to bring cases before judges they think will be friendly to their views, while others raised questions about the proposals' feasibility.
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April 15, 2024
Hytera Still Not Doing All It Can To Stop Fine, Motorola Says
Hytera Communications has continued to drag its feet as it tries to lift the sanctions against it for participating in Chinese litigation against a court order, Motorola Solutions told the Seventh Circuit, arguing that a district court judge's daily status hearings ensure Hytera is being compelled to comply without being punished.
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April 15, 2024
Vidal Wants To Make Her Director Review Rules Official
After almost a year of running U.S. Supreme Court-mandated director reviews of patent board decisions through an interim process, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said Monday that it has landed on some proposed rules for how it wants to officially run those.
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April 15, 2024
Model Bella Hadid Settles Photog's IP Suit Over Instagram Pic
A New York federal judge Monday dismissed a photographer's suit accusing Bella Hadid of copyright infringement over an image the supermodel republished onto her Instagram account four years ago after the photographer advised the court they've reached a settlement in principle with Hadid.
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April 15, 2024
Boeing Says Virgin Can't Use Another Court To Avoid IP Suit
Boeing has urged the Virginia federal judge overseeing its breach of contract and trade secrets dispute with Virgin Galactic to block Virgin from moving forward with a "copycat" lawsuit in California, saying Virgin is wrongly trying to avoid the original lawsuit.
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April 15, 2024
TTAB Sides With Pharma Co.'s Opposition To 'SageForth' TM
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has ruled in favor of biopharmaceutical company Sage Therapeutics Inc.' opposition to a psychological service provider's attempt to register "SageForth" as a trademark, saying the name is likely to cause confusion with Sage Therapeutics' treatments for postpartum depression.
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April 15, 2024
Hold This COVID Vax Patent Case, Judge Recommends
One of the suits over Pfizer's blockbuster COVID-19 vaccine hit a snag in Virginia federal court Friday when a judge recommended pausing the case to wait for a ruling in a related dispute over patent ownership involving one of BioNTech's other partners.
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April 15, 2024
Photog Beefs Up Copyright Suit Over Barry Sanders Statue
A photographer has added several new claims, including breach of contract, to his copyright lawsuit that accuses the Detroit Lions, the NFL and a host of other defendants of unlawfully using his photo to create a statue of legendary running back Barry Sanders.
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April 15, 2024
4th Circ. Affirms Timberland Boots' Trade Dress Bid Denial
The Fourth Circuit decided Monday that a Virginia federal judge correctly denied trade dress registration for Timberland's Icon Boot, saying in a published opinion the lower court did not err in concluding the design elements the company wanted to register were ineligible because they had not acquired distinctive meaning in consumers' minds.
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April 15, 2024
Ohio IP Firm Beats Appeal In $42K Billing Fight
An Ohio state appeals court has left intact a nearly $42,000 judgment Amin Turocy & Watson LLP won in a billing dispute with a client, reasoning that the materials Just Funky provided to fight the firm's summary judgment bid lacked the necessary detail.
Expert Analysis
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Considering A Practical FRAND Rate Assessment Procedure
As the debate over a fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory rate continues inside and outside courtrooms, a practical method may assess whether the proposed FRAND rate deviates significantly from what is reasonable, and ensure an optimal mix of assets for managers of standard-essential patent portfolios, says consultant Gordon Huang.
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How AI Inventorship Is Evolving In The UK, EU And US
While the U.K. Supreme Court's recent decision in Thaler v. Comptroller-General is the latest in a series of decisions by U.K., U.S. and EU authorities that artificial intelligence systems cannot be named as inventors in patents, the guidance from these jurisdictions suggests that patents may be granted to human inventors that use AI as a sophisticated tool, say lawyers at Mayer Brown.
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How Biotech Cos. Can Utilize Synthetic Royalty Financing
Synthetic royalty transactions have been on the rise as a funding structure for biotechnology companies, but questions have arisen surrounding how such transactions work, and structuring them correctly requires a nuanced understanding, say Todd Trattner and Ryan Murr at Gibson Dunn.
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Copyright Lessons Following Ruling In Artist AI Suit
The recent California district court ruling in Andersen v. Stability AI — that artists needed to specify how the training of artificial intelligence tools violated their copyrights — shows that lawyers on either side of generative AI matters must carefully navigate copyright issues including temporary copying and data sourcing, says Carlos Araya at Magnolia Abogados.
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The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift
As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.
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Fed. Circ. In Jan.: One Word Can Affect Claim Construction
The Federal Circuit's recent Pacific Biosciences v. Personal Genomics decision highlights how even construction of a simple term can be dispositive, and thus disputed, in view of the specific context provided by the surrounding claim language, say Jeremiah Helm and Sean Murray at Knobbe.
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The State Of Play In NIL, Compensation For Student-Athletes
Recent NCAA developments — including name, image, and likeness legislation and a governance and compensation proposal — reflect a shift from the initial hands-off approach to student-athletes' NIL deals and an effort to allow colleges to directly compensate student-athletes without categorizing them as employees, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
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5 Reasons Associates Shouldn't Take A Job Just For Money
As a number of BigLaw firms increase salary scales for early-career attorneys, law students and lateral associates considering new job offers should weigh several key factors that may matter more than financial compensation, say Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub and Ruvin Levavi at Power Forward.
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UK Ruling Revitalizes Discussions On Harmonizing AI And IP
The U.K. Supreme Court's decision in Thaler v. Comptroller-General last month has reinvigorated ongoing discussions about how the developments in artificial intelligence fit within the existing intellectual property legislative landscape, illustrating that effective regulation will be critical as the value and influence of this sector grows, say Nick White and Olivia Gray at Charles Russell.
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Expediting Psychedelics Approvals In The US And Canada
Accelerated regulatory pathways for psychedelics in the U.S. and Canada play a pivotal role in the progression of drugs, devices and novel therapies toward commercialization, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell, and Ana Dukic and Sabrina Ramkellawan at AxialBridge.
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Series
Playing Competitive Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My experience playing competitive tennis has highlighted why prioritizing exercise and stress relief, maintaining perspective under pressure, and supporting colleagues in pursuit of a common goal are all key aspects of championing a successful legal career, says Madhumita Datta at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Djerassi On Super Bowl 52
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Ramy Djerassi discusses how Super Bowl 52, in which the Philadelphia Eagles prevailed over the New England Patriots, provides an apt metaphor for alternative dispute resolution processes in commercial business cases.
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AI Takes Transformers Beyond Robots In Disguise
At the intersection of artificial intelligence and copyright law, the shape-shifting models known as transformers raise the question of whether using copyrighted materials to train such models constitutes a transformative use, says Sean Li at Benesch.
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AI Inventorship Patent Options After UK Supreme Court Ruling
The U.K. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Thaler v. Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks that an AI system cannot be an inventor raises questions about alternative approaches to patent protection for AI-generated inventions and how the decision might affect infringement and validity disputes around such patents, says David Knight at Brown Rudnick.
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Considerations For Lawyer Witnesses After FTX Trial
Sam Bankman-Fried's recent trial testimony about his lawyers' involvement in FTX's business highlights the need for attorney-witnesses to understand privilege issues in order to avoid costly discovery disputes and, potentially, uncover critical evidence an adversary might seek to conceal, says Lawrence Bluestone at Genova Burns.