Expert Analysis

• How Large Patent Damages Awards Actually Play Out

  

  Most large verdicts in patent infringement cases are often overturned or reduced on appeal, implying that the Federal Circuit is serving its intended purpose of correcting outlier outcomes, and that the figures that catch headlines and dominate policy debates may misrepresent economic realities, says Bowman Heiden at Berkeley School of Law.

• How Unchecked AI Exposes Expert Opinions To Exclusion

  

  A growing number of cases illustrate the potential for misuse of artificial intelligence tools by experts in litigation, resulting in reports with hallucinated information or unexplainable analysis, so to embrace the efficiencies AI tools introduce without falling victim to the risks, attorneys and experts should implement a few best practices, say attorneys at Willkie Farr.

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  Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Client-Led Litigation

  

  New litigators can better help their corporate clients achieve their overall objectives when they move beyond simply fighting for legal victory to a client-led approach that resolves the legal dispute while balancing the company's competing out-of-court priorities, says Chelsea Ireland at Cohen Ziffer.

• Navigating 2025's Post-Grant Proceeding Shakeups

  

  Extensive changes to the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board's post-grant proceedings this year, including the new settled expectations factor and revitalization of Fintiv factors, require petitioners and patent owners alike to be mindful when selecting patents to assert and challenge, say attorneys at Quinn Emanuel.

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  The Law Firm Merger Diaries: How To Build On Cultural Fit

  

  Law firm mergers should start with people, then move to strategy: A two-level screening that puts finding a cultural fit at the pinnacle of the process can unearth shared values that are instrumental to deciding to move forward with a combination, says Matthew Madsen at Harrison.

• Latisse Ruling's Lessons On Avoiding Chemical Patent Pitfalls

  

  The Federal Circuit's decision in Duke v. Sandoz, reversing a $39 million infringement claim for selling a generic Latisse product, reinforces a fundamental truth in chemical patent strategy: Broad genus claims rarely survive without clear evidence of possession of specific embodiments, says Kimberly Vines at Stites & Harbison.

• A Redirection For AIA Proceedings Under New USPTO Director

  

  A recent U.S. Patent and Trademark Office memorandum implementing a bifurcated process for determining whether to institute an inter partes review or post-grant review, and the new director's subsequent notice of proposed rulemaking with additional limitations on the use of IPRs, may significantly affect patent litigation strategies, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

• Considerations When Invoking The Common-Interest Privilege

  

  To successfully leverage the common-interest doctrine in a multiparty transaction or complex litigation, practitioners should be able to demonstrate that the parties intended for it to apply, that an underlying privilege like attorney-client has attached, and guard against disclosures that could waive privilege and defeat its purpose, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

• Motorola Ruling Solidifies Discretionary Authority Of USPTO

  

  The Federal Circuit's latest ruling in In re: Motorola Solutions Inc. underscores the finality and discretionary nature of the finality of Patent Trial and Appeal Board institution decisions, and clarifies that neither interim guidance nor shifting administrative policy creates substantive rights for petitioners, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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  The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Making The Case To Combine

  

  When making the decision to merge, law firm leaders must factor in strategic alignment, cultural compatibility and leadership commitment in order to build a compelling case for combining firms to achieve shared goals and long-term success, says Kevin McLaughlin at UB Greensfelder.

• How Brand-Entertainment Collabs Are Reshaping IP Strategy

  

  As storytelling and commerce become increasingly intertwined, brand and entertainment collaborations demand equal parts creativity and legal precision, and rightsholders that proactively align their IP, clearance and ownership strategies will be best positioned to capture opportunity while mitigating risk, says Bess Morgan at Loeb & Loeb.

• Opinion

  Despite Deputy AG Remarks, DOJ Can't Sideline DC Bar

  

  Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s recent suggestion that the D.C. Bar would be prevented from reviewing misconduct complaints about U.S. Department of Justice attorneys runs contrary to federal statutes, local rules and decades of case law, and sends the troubling message that federal prosecutors are subject to different rules, say attorneys at HWG.

• How AI Tech Suppliers Can Address IP Lawyers' Concerns

  

  While artificial intelligence tools can help intellectual property lawyers be more productive and effective, AI tech providers must address issues of privilege, data privacy and confidentiality to make their technology viable and useful for IP law, say Tom Colson at Colson Law and Kevin Bronson at Simpson & Simpson.

• How Trial Attys Can Sidestep Opponents' Negative Frames

  

  In litigation, attorneys often must deny whatever language or association the other side levies against them, but doing so can make the associations more salient in the minds of fact-finders, so it’s essential to reframe messages in a few practical ways at trial, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

• How Store Brand Evolution May Influence IP Cases

  

  A consumer shift toward private-label grocery products has spurred a recent crop of lawsuits, like Smuckers v. Trader Joe's, and parties must be prepared to carefully analyze consumer confusion in the grocery retailing context, as well as expectations and behavior, say Justin LaTorraca, Elizabeth Milsark and Laura O’Laughlin at Analysis Group.