Intellectual Property

  • April 09, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Says 'Highly Descriptive' Voter TMs Not Protectable

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday concluded that the Heritage Alliance's trademarks for "iVoterGuide" and "iVoterGuide.com" are highly descriptive and not protectable, rejecting a challenge to the American Policy Roundtable's use of "iVoters" and "iVoters.com" despite a likelihood of confusion between the organizations' marks.

  • April 09, 2025

    Senior PTAB Judge Joins Sterne Kessler's Electronics Team

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board's vice chief administrative patent judge has left her role after more than a decade to join Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox PLLC's electronics practice, the firm has announced.

  • April 09, 2025

    Ex-Qualcomm Executive Convicted Of $180M Fraud

    A federal jury in San Diego has found a former executive at Qualcomm guilty of defrauding the chipmaker by creating a fake company, concealing his connection to it and selling it to Qualcomm for $180 million.

  • April 08, 2025

    Jazz Agrees To Pay $145M To Settle Xyrem Antitrust Fight

    Jazz Pharmaceuticals has agreed to pay $145 million to resolve antitrust litigation accusing it of working with its rival Hikma Pharmaceuticals to stave off generic competitors to Jazz's narcolepsy drug Xyrem, the Ireland-based pharmaceutical company revealed Tuesday.

  • April 08, 2025

    MrBeast Accuses Ex-Employee Of Stealing Confidential Docs

    YouTuber Mr. Beast's media company has hauled a former IT contractor into North Carolina federal court, accusing him of downloading thousands of confidential company documents ahead of his termination — documents the company said have yet to be returned — and leaving behind hidden cameras throughout the company's offices.

  • April 08, 2025

    Charles Schwab, Comerica & More Hit With EDTX Patent Suits

    At least eight banks and financial institutions were caught up in a wave of patent lawsuits filed Tuesday in the Eastern District of Texas over technology covering a way of securing payment systems from data breaches.

  • April 08, 2025

    Ex-Google Engineer Unlikely To Beat AI Trade Secrets Charges

    A California federal judge indicated Tuesday that he's unlikely to toss economic espionage charges against an ex-Google engineer accused of stealing artificial intelligence trade secrets to benefit startups in China, but said he "can't shake the feeling" that prosecutors wouldn't have brought the case if it involved a different country.

  • April 08, 2025

    Patent Challenges By Dell, SAP Sunk By Upcoming Trials

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has refused to review several patents challenged in inter partes review petitions filed by Dell, SAP America and others, citing upcoming infringement trials in Texas.

  • April 08, 2025

    ITC Won't Rethink NJOY Loss In Vape Patent Case

    The U.S. International Trade Commission on Tuesday refused to undo part of a finding that Altria's NJOY brand vaping products infringed a patent owned by rival Juul, leaving fully in place a ban on imports of infringing products.

  • April 08, 2025

    Patent Attys Challenge Sanctions In Renesas Litigation

    Texas intellectual property lawyer William Ramey III and two other attorneys have pushed back against a California magistrate judge's sanctions against them in patent litigation, saying that the parties never gave the judge the ability to issue sanctions and that a written rebuke would be better.

  • April 08, 2025

    ArentFox Schiff Loses Rolling Stones IP Atty To Barton

    Music rights heavyweight Ross Charap is moving from his longtime perch at ArentFox Schiff LLP to Barton LLP, bringing with him clients like The Rolling Stones and the estate of international opera star Jessye Norman.

  • April 08, 2025

    Houston Atty Asks Court To Back $6.3M Verdict Against Rival

    A Houston attorney urged a Texas appellate court Monday to back a $6 million verdict against a rival lawyer he accused of stealing his files in an attempt to recruit clients to file malpractice suits.

  • April 08, 2025

    Nokia Says Hisense TVs Rip Off Its Video Tech

    Chinese consumer technology firm Hisense was slapped with a patent infringement lawsuit from Nokia Technologies, alleging it sold millions of products that infringe Nokia's video processing innovations while refusing to negotiate a standard licensing agreement.

  • April 08, 2025

    Small But Sharp Hurdles Remain To NCAA's NIL Settlement

    Nearly a year after the NCAA and hundreds of thousands of athletes agreed on a settlement that would finally give athletes a share of billions of dollars in revenue, enough flaws remain in the agreement — related to roster limits and the rights of future athletes entering the new system — to indefinitely hold off on its final approval.

  • April 08, 2025

    Warner Bros. Wants Rights Protected In Film Co. Ch. 11 Sale

    Warner Bros. has objected to the proposed Chapter 11 bidding procedures and debtor-in-possession financing of bankrupt Village Roadshow, asking the court to protect its rights to more than 90 films the parties co-produced and keep its cut of the proceeds ahead of other creditors.

  • April 08, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Considers Sandoz's Bid To Undo $39M Patent Loss

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday grappled with Sandoz's challenge to a $39 million verdict against it in Allergan's eyelash growth drug patent infringement case, with one judge questioning the generic-drug maker's argument that a decade-old decision involving a similar patent forestalls the current case.

  • April 08, 2025

    Pacira Reaches IP Deal Allowing Generic Painkiller In 2030

    Pacira BioSciences has agreed to settle a series of patent infringement lawsuits against Fresenius Kabi and other pharmaceutical companies over Pacira's drug Exparel, a long-acting injectable for managing postsurgical pain.

  • April 08, 2025

    Judge Preserves Psilocybin Trade Secrets Theft Suit

    A Maryland federal judge has denied a British healthcare company's bid to dismiss a lawsuit alleging it stole trade secrets relating to a novel method of treating depression with psilocybin, the active ingredient in psychoactive mushrooms.

  • April 08, 2025

    Birkenstock IP Foe Eyes Settlement As Shoemaker Balks

    A Massachusetts-based shoemaker locked in an intellectual property battle with Birkenstock asked a federal judge on Tuesday to deny the sandal-making giant's request to push back a scheduled mediation, saying the case is ripe for settlement talks.

  • April 08, 2025

    Photographer Tells 9th Circ. Kat Von D Tattoo Is Not Fair Use

    A photographer has urged the Ninth Circuit to reverse a jury verdict that found celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D did not infringe a Miles Davis picture that was the basis for a tattoo she drew, saying her company admitted that it was "100%" the same as the photograph.

  • April 08, 2025

    Alston & Bird Adds Littler IP Litigator In San Francisco

    Alston & Bird LLP is growing its intellectual property team, announcing Tuesday it is bringing in a Littler Mendelson PC litigator as a partner in its San Francisco office.

  • April 08, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Affirms Alkem's Generic Antibiotic Not Barred By IP

    A Delaware federal court rightly found that Alkem Laboratories' generic version of Azurity Pharmaceuticals' antibiotic Firvanq doesn't infringe the latter's patent, the Federal Circuit said Tuesday.

  • April 08, 2025

    Freight Co. XPO Sues Ex-Executive Who Left For Nearby Rival

    Less-than-truckload transportation company XPO Inc. has accused a former local account executive of breaking a noncompete agreement after he left his job at its Cincinnati service center to work at a competitor only a six-minute drive away.

  • April 07, 2025

    NCAA's $2.8B NIL Deal Sent Back For 'Fixes' Amid Objections

    A California federal judge declined Monday to immediately approve the National Collegiate Athletic Association's $2.78 billion name, image and likeness deal, giving counsel a week to propose "fixes" that address objections raised by some athletes, including ex-Seattle Seahawks linebacker Benjamin Burr-Kirven and gymnast and social media influencer Olivia Dunne.

  • April 07, 2025

    Ruling Adds To Risk Of Patent Format Tied To Improvements

    A Federal Circuit decision from last month has created pitfalls for entities using a type of patent claim that describes an improvement on previous technology, making the so-called Jepson format, which is already uncommon, even less appealing for applicants, attorneys said.

Expert Analysis

  • So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?

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    Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • When Arbitration Is Effective For Employment And IP Cases

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    Widespread adoption of arbitration has revolutionized conflict resolution in employment law, and the benefits of speed, expertise and confidentiality make it an increasingly attractive alternative for resolving patent conflicts — but arbitration is not a silver bullet, say Brandon Miller at Fisher Phillips and Camilla Bykhovsky at Turner Boyd.

  • US Intellectual Property-Based Sanctions Could Be Imminent

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    A recent presidential delegation suggests that regulators may be ready to wield the sanctions authority found in the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act, which has been unutilized for the first 22 months of its life, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Key Territory-Split Licensing Lessons For Life Sciences Cos.

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    Territory-split deals can allow life sciences companies to maximize products' potential across a range of geographic areas, but these deals also present unique challenges requiring highly bespoke structures that can make or break the value of an asset, say attorneys at Covington.

  • A Look At 2024 NIL Rights And Economies In College Sports

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    Permutations in the arena of name, image and likeness affecting collegiate athletics have continued unabated this year, and practitioners and industry representatives should anticipate significant activity at schools and continuing legal changes at the state level, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Legislation Most Likely To Pass In Lame Duck Session

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    As Congress begins its five-week post-election lame duck session, attorneys at Greenberg Traurig break down the legislative priorities and which proposals can be expected to pass.

  • Copyright Questions Surround AI Music Platform Suits

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    If recent lawsuits filed by the Recording Industry Association of America against two artificial intelligence music platform developers — who maintain that use of copyrighted works to train AI models constitutes fair use — go to trial, this novel issue will make for potentially precedent-setting decisions, says intellectual property lawyer Eric Lane.

  • Patent Marking Steps After Fed. Circ. Opens Lanham Act Door

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    Following the Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Crocs v. Effervescent, which seemingly revives private actors’ ability to bring false patent marking claims under the Lanham Act, marketing and legal teams should be careful to avoid advertisement language that implies nonexistent patent rights, says Jeffrey Ratinoff at Spencer Fane.

  • Litigation Strategies In View Of New Double Patenting Rulings

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    Recent Federal Circuit decisions, including in Allergan v. MSN, raise several issues that patent owners should understand and consider addressing proactively regarding obviousness-type double patenting, at least in their prosecution strategies, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron. 

  • Tracking The Slow Movement Of AI Copyright Cases

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    The tech community may be expecting a prompt resolution on whether products generated by artificial intelligence are a fair use of copyrighted works, but legal history shows that a response to this question — at the heart of over 30 pending cases — will take years, say attorneys at White & Case.

  • The EU Design System Changes US Cos. Need To Know About

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    With a number of major reforms to the European Union's design protection system set to take effect in the first half of 2025, U.S. companies need to stay informed about specific details to maintain effective intellectual property management in the EU market, say lawyers at Finnegan.

  • Curious Case Of FTC's Amicus Brief In Teva Fed. Circ. Appeal

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    Attorneys at BCLP explore the Federal Trade Commission's backing of Amneal's Orange Book-delisting efforts on Teva ahead of a key Federal Circuit hearing in a case between the two pharmaceutical companies, and wonder if the FTC amicus brief indicates a future trend, especially in the next administration.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Metadata

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    Several recent rulings reflect the competing considerations that arise when parties dispute the form of production for electronically stored information, underscoring that counsel must carefully consider how to produce and request reasonably usable data, say attorneys at Sidley.

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