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Intellectual Property
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Featured
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.
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August 06, 2025
Ye Fights Sanctions Bid In IP Suit Involving DJ Khalil Music
The artist once known as Kanye West, Ye, and his associated companies have asked a California federal court to reject a request for case-terminating sanctions in a lawsuit accusing him of ripping off copyrighted music for his 2021 "Donda" album, saying the defendants are trying to comply with discovery obligations.
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August 06, 2025
USPTO To Require Advanced Multifactor Authentication
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said Wednesday that, beginning in November, it will no longer accept email as an account verification method and will require other, more advanced authentication processes.
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August 06, 2025
WilmerHale Beats Fired Associate's Racial Bias Claims
A Manhattan judge Wednesday threw out a former WilmerHale senior associate's lawsuit alleging he was unfairly evaluated and eventually fired because he is Black, finding that the complaint doesn't plausibly allege discriminatory comments were made about his race or that employees of other races were treated better.
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August 06, 2025
Texas Judge Axes Wellhead Patent Allegations Over Alice
A Texas federal judge threw out allegations that fracking equipment maker Downing Wellhead Equipment infringed a pair of wellhead control mechanism patents, finding the patents do not pass muster under the U.S. Supreme Court's Alice test.
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August 06, 2025
Groupe Dynamite Sued Over 'Members Only' Hoodie
The owner of the Members Only clothing brand, which skyrocketed to popularity in the 1980s, sued Canadian apparel company Groupe Dynamite Inc., claiming it was making a hoodie that used the mark.
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August 06, 2025
Paramount Wants Docs In 'Top Gun: Maverick' Copyright Case
A "Top Gun: Maverick" screenwriter's cousin who is pursuing copyright infringement claims against Paramount should have to turn over communications he and his lawyer exchanged with the Writers Guild of America, the studio told a New York federal judge on Tuesday, arguing the documents are relevant and aren't shielded by privilege.
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August 06, 2025
'Bigger Than Life' Patent Atty Hal Wegner Dies At 82
Harold C. Wegner, a retired Foley & Lardner LLP partner and educator described by peers as a patent law icon with a larger-than-life personality, has died. He was 82.
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August 06, 2025
Vivint Asks 4th Circ. To Rethink Affirming $190M TM Verdict
Vivint Smart Home Inc. is looking for a do-over after the Fourth Circuit affirmed a nearly $190 million verdict in a suit accusing it of deceiving customers of a rival security company, saying the ruling flouts North Carolina's cap on punitive damages and ignores state appellate precedence.
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August 06, 2025
Feuding Flag Football Organizations Settle TM Dispute
USA Football and USA Flag have agreed to settle a pair of cases they brought against each other alleging trademark infringement, unfair competition and false representations stemming from who should govern flag football in the U.S.
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August 06, 2025
10th Circ. Partly Revives Ex-Sales Head's Client List Case
A split panel of the Tenth Circuit partially revived a case from a sales executive against his former employer who claims the company took a customer list, saying the executive had improperly been barred from offering expert testimony on his lost wages.
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August 06, 2025
Juniper, Correct Transmission Reach Deal To End Patent Suit
Internet router maker Juniper Networks has agreed to settle a lawsuit in California federal court that had accused it of infringing various data communication network patents.
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August 05, 2025
Epic Games Defeats Bid To Upend Jury Patent Verdict
A Seattle federal judge Tuesday denied Utherverse Gaming LLC's bid to undo a jury finding from a verdict favoring Epic Games, rejecting Utherverse's contention that a jury leaned on insufficient evidence when rebuffing a claim in its patent for playing back recorded experiences in a virtual world.
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August 05, 2025
Novo Nordisk Lodges Suits Over 'Knockoff' Semaglutide Meds
Novo Nordisk said Tuesday it has recently filed more than a dozen lawsuits accusing weight loss companies, med spas and pharmacies of tricking patients into purchasing and using unapproved drugs containing semaglutide, which the Danish pharmaceutical company uses in its blockbuster medicines Wegovy and Ozempic.
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August 05, 2025
USPTO Urges Fed. Circ. To End Motorola's Fintiv Appeal
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office stood by its acting leader's decision to shut down Motorola's challenge to various Stellar patents at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, saying all of Motorola's appellate arguments at the Federal Circuit should be rejected.
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August 05, 2025
Fed. Circ. Presses Brita On Bid To Revive Water Filter Patent
A Federal Circuit panel Tuesday questioned Brita LP's effort to reverse a U.S. International Trade Commission decision that a water filter patent is invalid, suggesting the patent describes little more than an unpredictable scientific formula.
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August 05, 2025
Ex-USPTO Heads, Judges Oppose Anti-Patent Thicket Bill
A pro-innovation group composed of former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officials and former Federal Circuit judges on Tuesday asked Congress to oppose a bill introduced last month that would limit so-called patent thickets used by pharmaceutical companies to restrict the production of generic counterparts to their drugs.
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August 05, 2025
Fed. Circ. Panel Feeling Deja Vu In Hoverboard IP Case
A Federal Circuit panel had little support for the owner of hoverboard design patents Tuesday, as the judges said much of its noninfringement appeal relies on concerns addressed in a prior appellate decision.
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August 05, 2025
Fed. Circ. Partly Revives Solar Panel Safety Patent Challenge
The Federal Circuit on Tuesday said the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has to take another look at one of renewable energy industry trade group SunSpec Alliance's arguments in its challenge to claims of a patent on safeguards for solar panels.
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August 05, 2025
Stewart Won't Reconsider Her 1st Settled Expectations Denial
The acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director on Tuesday stood by her first-ever decision that an older patent shouldn't have to face Patent Trial and Appeal Board scrutiny.
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August 05, 2025
Microsoft Reaches Injunction Deal With Canadian Firm
Microsoft Corp. and Canadian business The Search People Enterprises Ltd. have agreed to end a dispute after reaching a deal in which the latter company is barred from infringing intellectual property related to Microsoft's software.
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August 05, 2025
Ex-Patent Examiner Fights USPTO Exclusion At High Court
A former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office examiner wants the U.S. Supreme Court to review his exclusion from practicing before the agency, saying the justices should look at issues relating to a suspension he received and also federal civil rights protections.
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August 05, 2025
Zazzle Nabs Win After Judge Cuts Font Copyright Claim
A California federal judge has tossed a copyright infringement claim against online retailer Zazzle over a set of fonts used on its site after previously allowing the claim to stand, finding her earlier order misstated Zazzle's argument.
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August 05, 2025
Drone Cos. Sue Former Exec For Alleged Trade Secret Theft
Red Cat Holdings Inc. and its Teal Drones Inc. unit accused a former executive of sabotaging a major product development deal and using their trade secrets to launch a rival drone company to compete for government sales.
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August 05, 2025
Teva Settles Claims Over Delayed Generic Asthma Inhalers
Teva Pharmaceuticals has settled a 2023 lawsuit by a coalition of union healthcare funds accusing the company of thwarting the introduction of a generic version of its QVAR inhalers to the market, according to a filing in Massachusetts federal court.
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August 05, 2025
Pharma Startup Claims Lupin Stole Inhaler Trade Secrets
Pharmaceutical startup Transpire Bio has accused Lupin Pharmaceuticals and its affiliates of stealing trade secrets related to the development of generic inhalers, alleging in a Florida federal complaint that a Lupin scientist briefly took a job with Transpire and returned to Lupin with confidential information.
Editor's Picks
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2024 Patent Litigation: A Year In Review
The Eastern District of Texas held onto its newly regained title as the busiest patent venue in the U.S., with nearly three times as many cases in 2024 as the once-dominant Western District of Texas. In addition, Patent Trial and Appeal Board filings bounced back after falling to a record low in 2023.
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My So-Called Retirement: Some IP Lawyers Just Can't Quit
When patent partner Terry Rea set out to retire, the onetime acting director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had her eyes on the independence that retirement promises — flexible hours, fewer deadlines and less stress over having lots of people counting on you.
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Trade Secrets Emerge As Path For Cos. To Protect AI Works
Classifying creations of artificial intelligence tools as trade secrets has become a viable alternative to copyrights and patents — a shift that is presenting businesses using AI with a range of strategies and risks they must consider to protect their innovations.
Expert Analysis
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Reddit v. Anthropic Is A Defining Moment In The AI Data Race
The recent lawsuit filed by Reddit against Anthropic in California state court marks a pivotal moment in the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence by sidestepping a typical copyright dispute, focusing instead on the enforceability of online terms of service and ownership of the digital commons, says William Galkin at Galkin Law.
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Opinion
The Legal Education Status Quo Is No Longer Tenable
As underscored by the fallout from California’s February bar exam, legal education and licensure are tethered to outdated systems, and the industry must implement several key reforms to remain relevant and responsive to 21st century legal needs, says Matthew Nehmer at The Colleges of Law.
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Opinion
Calif. Must Amend Trade Secret Civil Procedure
A California procedural law that effectively shields trade secret defendants from having to return company materials until the plaintiff can craft detailed requests must be amended to recognize that property recovery and trade secret analysis are distinct issues, says Matthew Miller at Hanson Bridgett.
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2nd Circ. Reinforces Consensus On Vacating Foreign Awards
In Molecular Dynamics v. Spectrum Dynamics Medical, the Second Circuit recently affirmed that federal district courts do not possess subject matter jurisdiction to vacate foreign arbitral awards, strengthening this consensus across the circuits most active in recognition and enforcement actions, says Ed Mullins at Reed Smith.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Relevance Redactions
In recent cases addressing redactions that parties sought to apply based on the relevance of information — as opposed to considerations of privilege — courts have generally limited a party’s ability to withhold nonresponsive or irrelevant material, providing a few lessons for discovery strategy, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Opinion
Section 1983 Has Promise After End Of Nationwide Injunctions
After the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down the practice of nationwide injunctions in Trump v. Casa, Section 1983 civil rights suits can provide a better pathway to hold the government accountable — but this will require reforms to qualified immunity, says Marc Levin at the Council on Criminal Justice.
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Patent Ambiguity Persists After Justices Nix Eligibility Appeal
The Supreme Court recently declined to revisit the contentious framework governing patent eligibility by denying certiorari in Audio Evolution Diagnostics v. U.S., suggesting a necessary recalibration of both patent application and litigation strategies, say attorneys at Skadden.
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What To Know About NCAA Deal's Arbitration Provisions
Kathryn Hester at Jones Walker discusses the key dispute resolution provisions of the NCAA's recently approved class action settlement that allows for complex revenue sharing with college athletes, breaking down the arbitration stipulations and explaining how the Northern District of California will handle certain enforcement, administration, implementation and interpretation disputes.
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Fed. Circ. In June: Transitional Phrases In Patent Claims
The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Eye Therapies v. Slayback Pharma takes on the rarely addressed topic of transitional phrases in patent claims, providing some useful lessons regarding restating claim language and broadly distinguishing prior art, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.
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Series
Playing Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Soccer has become a key contributor to how I approach my work, and the lessons I’ve learned on the pitch about leadership, adaptability, resilience and communication make me better at what I do every day in my legal career, says Whitney O’Byrne at MoFo.
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Expect Unprecedented Delays In USPTO Patent Examination
With data from the first half of this year indicating that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is on pace to have a record backlog of unexamined patent applications at the end of the fiscal year, applicants and patent prosecutors should consider strategies to mitigate delays, say Matt Kamps and Emily Miller at Husch Blackwell.
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And Now A Word From The Panel: Back In Action
A lack of new petitions at the May hearing session of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation caught many observers' attention — but a rapid uptick in petitions scheduled to be heard at this week's session illustrates how panel activity always ebbs and flows, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Learning From Failure
While law school often focuses on the importance of precision, correctness and perfection, mistakes are inevitable in real-world practice — but failure is not the opposite of progress, and real talent comes from the ability to recover, rethink and reshape, says Brooke Pauley at Tucker Ellis.
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Eye Drop Ruling Clarifies Importance Of Patent Phrasing
The Federal Circuit's recent ruling in Eye Therapies v. Slayback, rejecting the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's interpretation of "consisting essentially of," highlights the importance of using clear and consistent terms throughout a patent's filing history to shield it against future challenges, says Liliana Di Nola-Baron at Panitch Schwarze.
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How Courts Are Addressing The Use Of AI In Discovery
In recent months, several courts have issued opinions on handling discovery issues involving artificial intelligence, which collectively offer useful insights on integrating AI into discovery and protecting work product in connection with AI prompts and outputs, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.