Intellectual Property

  • July 31, 2025

    PTAB Takes Down Automotive USB Patent

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has found that the single claim of an automotive technology supplier's patent on USBs for automobiles was invalid, agreeing with Microchip Technologies that it was obvious.

  • July 31, 2025

    ITC Judge Recommends General Import Ban In Shoe IP Case

    A U.S. International Trade Commission judge recommended a complete block on imports of women's ballet flats that the maker of Tieks shoes proved infringed its design patents on its signature blue-soled footwear.

  • July 31, 2025

    Paramount Gets Partial Dismissal Of 'Top Gun' Credit Suit

    A Manhattan federal judge on Thursday dismissed part of a suit brought by the cousin of a "Top Gun: Maverick" screenwriter, tossing his claims to joint ownership and authorship of the film, but allowing his copyright infringement claim to survive.

  • July 31, 2025

    American Airlines Can't Stay Claims In Wi-Fi Patent Suit

    A Texas federal judge shot down American Airlines' bid to stay two claims in a suit accusing the airline of infringement for its use of hardware that allows for internet connection on flights, saying the airline failed to show it was merely a passive user of the technology.

  • July 31, 2025

    3 Federal Circuit Clashes To Watch In August

    The Federal Circuit's argument calendar for August includes Brita's effort to revive a patent suit against water filter rivals that fell short at the U.S. International Trade Commission, and a prolific inventor's bid to undo a decision clearing Coca-Cola of infringing a beverage dispenser patent.

  • July 31, 2025

    Microsoft Fights Demand For AI Deal Data In Databricks Suit

    Third-party Microsoft Corp. urged a California magistrate judge Thursday to block a subpoena by a group of writers accusing San Francisco-based Databricks of using their copyrighted works to train its artificial intelligence tool MosaicML, arguing that Microsoft has already exceeded third-party obligations by providing certain data agreements and that the request is overbroad.

  • July 31, 2025

    18 GOP Sens. Urge Trump To Fill IP Negotiator Post

    Eighteen Republican U.S. senators urged President Donald Trump to appoint someone to the vacant role of chief innovation and intellectual property negotiator of the U.S. Trade Representative in order to work to remove what they called "market-distorting price controls" in the pharmaceutical industry.

  • July 31, 2025

    Rising Star: WilmerHale's Steven Horn

    WilmerHale's Steven Horn has been a strategic leader on the firm's work defending Intel Corp. from the sprawling, big-dollar patent infringement litigation brought by VLSI Technology LLC, earning him a spot among the intellectual property attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 31, 2025

    NC Judge Questions Barings' Bid For Ex-Employees' Emails

    A North Carolina business court judge seemed leery Thursday of forcing former Barings' employees to fork over their personal emails and text messages as part of a deposition notice, suggesting Barings was trying to bypass U.K. law to get information from a foreign witness in its suit alleging former executives conducted a "corporate raid" to start a competing credit platform.

  • July 31, 2025

    ITC Ends Dermatology Needle Import Ban After Settlement

    The International Trade Commission has lifted a ban on certain imports of skin treatment devices that infringed patents owned by a South Korean dermatologist's needle business after it settled with a rival.

  • July 31, 2025

    Weil Lands Latham IP Litigation Trio In California, Texas

    Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP announced Thursday that it has welcomed three intellectual property lawyers from Latham & Watkins LLP, two of whom began their legal careers at Weil and will now co-head its IP, technology and science litigation practice.

  • July 31, 2025

    Fla. Judge Finds Car Photo Patents Unenforceable

    A Florida federal judge said the owner of patents on taking photos of cars at dealerships can't assert three of the patents against an automotive photo booth maker, trimming them from an infringement suit because of deceptive statements made to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

  • July 31, 2025

    Metal Singer Misused Band's Money, Fired Co-Founder Says

    The founding bassist for iconic metal band Hatebreed was abruptly fired over false accusations that he harassed a Connecticut venue worker, according to a lawsuit that also accuses the singer of mismanaging the group's money for his own gain.

  • July 31, 2025

    ITC Wants Feedback Before Reconsidering Lashify Claims

    The International Trade Commission asked for further briefing from eyelash extension company Lashify Inc., a group of artificial eyelash makers, Walmart and CVS to address the requirements for showing the existence of a domestic industry.

  • July 31, 2025

    Sens. Draft Bill To Combat Foreign Online Piracy

    A bipartisan group of senators introduced a discussion bill for a law that would allow American copyright holders to petition federal courts for orders against foreign-hosted websites that host pirated content.

  • July 30, 2025

    Crocs, Rival Agree To Narrow Claims In Shoewear IP Dispute

    Crocs told a Colorado federal judge Wednesday it agreed to drop trademark dilution claims against Joybees stemming from a dispute where the defendant's CEO, who was a former midlevel Crocs manager, allegedly absconded with documents to copy the design and manufacturing process for its foam clog to start a competing business.

  • July 30, 2025

    Hytera Ordered To Immediately Escrow Subsidiary Sale Funds

    Hytera Communications Corp. Ltd. must immediately place $69 million of proceeds of a subsidiary sale in escrow in light of the Chinese company's outstanding judgment and asset citation obligations in Motorola Solutions Inc.'s mobile radio trade theft case, an Illinois federal judge said Wednesday.

  • July 30, 2025

    Singer Percy Bady Sues Label Over 'I'm Free' Song Use

    Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Percy Bady has sued TRIBL Records, performing artists Todd Galberth and Brandon John Peavy, as well as two music publishers and a music producer, for allegedly infringing his song "I'm Free" with recordings and performances of the song "Fill the Room."

  • July 30, 2025

    NFT Trademark Ruling Highlights Free Speech Limits In Art

    In ruling that nonfungible tokens qualify as trademarks, the Ninth Circuit last week followed guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court that the First Amendment cannot always protect expressive marks from infringement.

  • July 30, 2025

    Rhodium Says Cooling System Infringement Claims Barred

    Bankrupt cryptocurrency miner Rhodium told a Texas federal bankruptcy judge that a company that creates large scale cooling systems cannot bring patent infringement claims, saying Wednesday the company's claims already failed in a federal district court.

  • July 30, 2025

    Court Urged To Free Micron From Netlist's Infringement Threat

    Micron has asked a Delaware federal court to conclude that it's not infringing a Netlist patent covering a computer memory technology, alleging in a complaint that Netlist keeps going after Micron with "non-credible infringement allegations of facially invalid patents."

  • July 30, 2025

    Samsung Gets Patent License At $1.05B After Arbitration

    Samsung will fork over $1.05 billion to license patents owned by a technology research firm covering wireless and video technology through 2030 after a group of arbitrators set the rate, according to federal securities filings.

  • July 30, 2025

    Judge Denies Fired Copyright Chief's Reinstatement Bid

    A D.C. federal judge ruled Wednesday that the fired leader of the U.S. Copyright Office cannot immediately be reinstated while she challenges her termination by the Trump administration, saying she has not shown irreparable harm to herself or that the agency "will grind to a halt without her."

  • July 30, 2025

    Basketball Artist Hits NBA Pelicans With Copyright Suit

    A visual artist specializing in arrangements of deflated basketballs sued the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans in Michigan federal court Wednesday, alleging that the team copied his distinctive style for a series of social media posts without permission.

  • July 30, 2025

    Truist Triggered Employee Exodus, Not Ex-Execs, Court Told

    Three former executives who helmed the real estate finance arm of Truist Financial Corp. and their new employer are seeking a pretrial win in the bank's poaching case, telling a North Carolina state court judge they aren't to blame for Truist's alleged bad business decisions.

Expert Analysis

  • Crisis Management Lessons From The Parenting Playbook

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    The parenting skills we use to help our kids through challenges — like rehearsing for stressful situations, modeling confidence and taking time to reset our emotions — can also teach us the fundamentals of leading clients through a corporate crisis, say Deborah Solmor at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and Cara Peterman at Alston & Bird.

  • 4 Ways To Leverage A Jury's Underdog Perceptions

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    Counsel should consider how common factors that speak to their client's size, power, past challenges and alignment with jurors can be presented to try and paint their client as a sympathetic underdog, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

  • 4 Legislative Proposals Reflect Growing Scrutiny Of Pharma IP

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    Bipartisan legislative momentum in Congress, including a recent package of bills targeting exclusivity strategies that delay generic and biosimilar competition, signals growing scrutiny of life sciences intellectual property strategies, so biologics companies and investors must pay attention to new strategic, compliance and litigation risks, says Olga Berson at Thompson Coburn.

  • Why Hiring Former Jurors As Consultants Can Be Risky

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    The defense team's decision to hire former juror Victoria George in the high-profile retrial of Karen Read shines a spotlight on this controversial strategy, which raises important legal, ethical and tactical questions despite not being explicitly prohibited, says Nikoleta Despodova at ND Litigation.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From NY Fed To BigLaw

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    While the move to private practice brings a learning curve, it also brings chances to learn new skills and grow your network, requiring a clear understanding of how your skills can complement and contribute to a firm's existing practice, and where you can add new value, says Meghann Donahue at Covington.

  • What Businesses Need To Know About EU Design Law Reform

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    Recent reforms to European Union design protection law will broaden the scope of what constitutes protected designs and products, likely creating new opportunities and considerations for businesses operating within the EU or those engaging with its markets, say lawyers at Foley & Lardner.

  • Berry Ruling Shows Why Plant IP Suits Can Be Thorny

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    A California federal court's recent decision in Driscoll's v. California Berry Cultivars illustrates that while a path exists for asserting U.S. plant patent rights against extraterritorial breeders, it can be difficult to prove infringement based on importation of plant parts, say Travis Bliss and Stephany Small at Panitch Schwarze.

  • 7 Considerations For Conducting Drug Clinical Trials Abroad

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    With continuing cuts to U.S. Food and Drug Administration staffing motivating some pharmaceutical companies to consider developing drugs abroad, it's important to understand the additional risks and compliance requirements associated with conducting clinical studies in other countries, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Top 3 Litigation Finance Deal-Killers, And How To Avoid Them

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    Like all transactions, litigation finance deals can sometimes collapse, but understanding the most common reasons for failure, including a lack of trust or a misunderstanding of deal terms, can help both parties avoid problems, say Rebecca Berrebi at Avenue 33 and Boris Ziser at Schulte Roth.

  • Best Practices For Companies Integrating Existing IP With AI

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    Some copyright owners are exploring how they can make new content by combining their existing intellectual property assets with generative artificial intelligence, and although these initiatives can serve multiple business goals, those considering such practices should be aware they are entering largely uncharted waters, says Josh Weigensberg at Pryor Cashman.

  • How Attys Can Use A Therapy Model To Help Triggered Clients

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    Attorneys can lean on key principles from a psychotherapeutic paradigm known as the "Internal Family Systems" model to help manage triggered clients and get settlement negotiations back on track, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.

  • How Athletes Can Protect Their Signature Celebrations As IP

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    As copyright and trademark law adapts to short-form choreography and dynamic media, athletes and their business partners have new tools to protect the intellectual property embedded in their unique dances, poses and celebrations, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Opinion

    Third-Party Funding Transparency Is Key In Patent Suits

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    Third-party litigation funding is a growing industry that could benefit from enhanced disclosure standards to ensure transparency, as challenges in obtaining discovery of such funding can complicate patent litigation against nonpracticing entities, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • How Attorneys Can Make The Most Of A Deposition Transcript

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    With recent amendments to federal evidence rules now in effect, it’s more important than ever to make sure that deposition transcripts are clear and precise, and a few key strategies can help attorneys get the most out of a transcript before, during and after a deposition, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.

  • 3 Steps For In-House Counsel To Assess Litigation Claims

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    Before a potential economic downturn, in-house attorneys should investigate whether their company is sitting on hidden litigation claims that could unlock large recoveries to help the business withstand tough times, says Will Burgess at Hilgers Graben.

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