Intellectual Property

  • December 20, 2024

    Little Caesars Can Sell 'Crazy Puffs' During Pizza TM Suit

    Little Caesars can continue selling its "Crazy Puffs" muffin pizza appetizers while it fights a trademark suit over their name, but the chain must immediately stop describing them as "pizza puffs" in its marketing materials, an Illinois federal judge has ruled.

  • December 20, 2024

    Nike, Converse Blast Co.'s Trade Secret Case Ahead Of Trial

    Ahead of a trial in February in Oregon federal court, Nike Inc. and Converse Inc. on Thursday blasted trade secret theft allegations involving an anti-counterfeiting system from Valmarc Corp., saying that Valmarc failed to protect its claimed secrets, that the technology at issue has been around for years and that the company's complaint is time-barred.

  • December 20, 2024

    Startup Defends AI Antitrust Suit Against Nvidia, Microsoft

    Tech startup Xockets defended its monopoly and patent infringement suit against Nvidia and Microsoft Thursday, telling a Texas federal judge that the tech behemoths' motion to dismiss is part of the "standard game plan" when a smaller patent holder alleges infringement by the industry's top players.

  • December 20, 2024

    Asus Can't Overturn $660K Patent Verdict At Fed. Circ.

    Federal Circuit judges were unpersuaded Friday to do anything about an almost $660,000 jury verdict against laptop maker Asus, deciding that the Taiwanese electronics business was largely too late to ask questions about the ownership of a patent developed by a defunct chipmaker over two decades ago.

  • December 20, 2024

    Nippon Owes $115M In Muscular Dystrophy IP Fight, Jury Says

    Nippon Shinyaku Co. Ltd. owes more than $115 million for infringing a patent owned by Massachusetts-based Sarepta Therapeutics, a federal jury in Delaware said Friday after finding that the Japanese company failed to prove the patent was invalid.

  • December 20, 2024

    Holland & Knight Adds Litigator From Quarles & Brady

    Holland & Knight LLP has hired a partner from Quarles & Brady LLP who has experience handling patent litigation and cross-border deals as well as navigating China's legal system. 

  • December 20, 2024

    The Most Significant Trade Secrets Cases Of 2024

    Insulet Corp. became the latest company to notch a colossal trade secrets award, and a new presidential administration has attorneys wondering what will become of the Federal Trade Commission's pending proposal to ban employee noncompete agreements. Here's a look at trade secrets cases that defined 2024 and what to expect from the FTC in the coming year.

  • December 20, 2024

    DC Circ. Says Toxic Subtances Rule Threatens Trade Secrets

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Friday threw out a facet of new Toxic Substances Control Act regulations that the judges said could lead to the unwanted disclosure of chemical manufacturers' trade secrets.

  • December 20, 2024

    Womble Bond Atty Held In Contempt For Unfixed Falsities

    A North Carolina federal judge on Friday temporarily suspended the admission of a Womble Bond Dickinson partner to practice in his district after finding the attorney failed to correct misrepresentations to a Dutch tribunal in parallel litigation involving a software developer and its former Dutch partner.

  • December 20, 2024

    Sports Merch Cos. Fight Penn State TM Ban And Fee Bids

    Two sports merchandise companies found to have infringed The Pennsylvania State University's trademarks slammed the school's motions for attorney fees and a ban on selling the infringing products, saying the former is based on "half-truths and misstatements" and the latter is "breathtakingly broad."

  • December 20, 2024

    Off The Bench: Jordan's NASCAR Dunk, NIL Attys' Payday

    In this week's Off The Bench, Michael Jordan's racing team scores an early-stage win in its antitrust battle with NASCAR, attorneys engineering a historic settlement with the NCAA seek more than half a billion dollars in fees, and the fracas over college sports realignment makes headaches for the Mountain West Conference.

  • December 20, 2024

    Split Del. Jury Clears Qualcomm In Arm Ltd. Chip Fight

    A federal jury in Delaware on Friday rejected semiconductor design and licensing giant Arm Ltd. Inc.'s claims that Qualcomm Inc. breached Arm's chip architecture licensing and trademark rights, but was declared hung on matching claims against Nuvia Inc., acquired by Qualcomm in 2021

  • December 20, 2024

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen the University of Southampton sue a drone-maker over the rights to an uncrewed aircraft patent, Importers Service Corp. and its subsidiary ISC Europe take action against a former director who allegedly owes the company over £1.1 million ($1.4 million), and DAC Beachcroft face a fraud claim by a "prolific litigant." 

  • December 20, 2024

    7th Circ. Upholds $900K Punitive Damages Award In TM Case

    The Seventh Circuit has affirmed $900,000 in punitive damages against a nutritional company and its owners for infringing the "Diesel Test" trademark of a testosterone-boosting product from a former competitive body builder, saying the defendant's conduct merited the award.

  • December 20, 2024

    MoFo, Irell Latest Firms To Unveil Competitive Bonuses

    Morrison Foerster LLP and litigation boutique Irell & Manella LLP have joined a chorus of firms announcing associate bonuses that meet or exceed the BigLaw standard for associate bonuses this year, with MoFo offering up to $218,200 and Irell handing its lawyers as much as $175,000.

  • December 20, 2024

    Top North Carolina Cases Of 2024: Bias, Fraud And False Ads

    North Carolina saw a host of heavy-hitting civil trials in 2024, from back-to-back multimillion-dollar jury verdicts in suits over false advertising and employment discrimination, to a substantial bench ruling in a much-watched bias suit against the federal judiciary.

  • December 20, 2024

    Skyscanner Blasts French Rival Over 'Flyscanner' TM

    Scottish company Skyscanner has accused a French rival of using similar trademarks in a move to mislead internet users and draw traffic to its own, less reputable, search engine for cheap flights.

  • December 20, 2024

    Watershed NCAA, UFC Settlements Highlight 2024's 2nd Half

    The second half of 2024 saw the sunset of several yearslong lawsuits that will significantly impact the world of sports, including the settlement of the NCAA's name, image and likeness antitrust litigation and the closing of the UFC's legal battle with current and former fighters. Here, Law360 explores the top sports and betting moments from the second half of 2024.

  • December 19, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Seeks Denial Of Newman Bid To Unseal Documents

    The Federal Circuit judges asked the D.C. Circuit on Thursday to reject U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's request to unseal documents about her suspension for refusing to participate in an investigation into her fitness, saying they are of "questionable relevance" and will be released soon anyway.

  • December 19, 2024

    Music Publishers Will Likely See AI Copyright Case Cut Back

    A California federal judge said Thursday she was inclined to toss a portion of a copyright suit from music publishers claiming their song lyrics were ripped off to train artificial intelligence company Anthropic's chatbot, saying some allegations were "so general" while adding that she'd give leave to amend.

  • December 19, 2024

    Foley Adds Tech, Life Sciences Partner From IP Boutique

    Foley & Lardner LLP has hired a longtime partner from intellectual property boutique Lerner David LLP to strengthen both the transactional and litigation arms of its technology and life science practices in New York.

  • December 19, 2024

    Judge Wrongly Axed $107M IP Verdict, Pfizer Tells Fed. Circ.

    A Pfizer unit has told the Federal Circuit that a federal judge got it wrong when he overturned a Delaware jury verdict that AstraZeneca owes $107.5 million for infringing two cancer drug patents.

  • December 19, 2024

    Teradata Antitrust, IP Suit Revived Against German Co.

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday revived data analytics company Teradata Corp.'s antitrust and trade secret suit against German software company SAP, saying a lower court rejected the case despite there being factual disputes over key issues concerning market effects and confidential information. 

  • December 19, 2024

    VLSI Says PQA's Disclosure Fears Are Its Own Fault

    VLSI Technology LLC urged a Virginia federal judge Thursday to make Patent Quality Assurance LLC's ownership disclosure public, saying the company actively chose to remove the litigation to a forum where it knew those disclosures were required.

  • December 19, 2024

    Fed. Circ. OKs $95M Altria Vape Patent Win Against Reynolds

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday upheld a $95.2 million jury verdict against R.J. Reynolds for infringing Altria vape patents, rejecting Reynolds' arguments that the finding was not supported by the evidence and was based on expert damages testimony that was unreliable.

Expert Analysis

  • 2nd Circ. Provides NY Pathway For Fighting Foreign Infringers

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    A recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit provides a road map for expeditiously obtaining personal jurisdiction in New York against foreign trademark infringers based on a single purchase of counterfeit goods, meaning the Second Circuit could now be the preferred venue for combating foreign infringement, says Jeffrey Ratinoff at Spencer Fane.

  • Opinion

    This Election, We Need To Talk About Court Process

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    In recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has markedly transformed judicial processes — from summary judgment standards to notice pleadings — which has, in turn, affected individuals’ substantive rights, and we need to consider how the upcoming presidential election may continue this pattern, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Consider Best Legal Practices For Commissioning Public Art

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    Commissioning public art for real estate projects can provide many benefits to real estate developers and the public, but it's important to understand the unique legal and contracting aspects of the process to ensure that projects are completed on time and on budget, says Sarah Conley Odenkirk at ArtConverge.

  • A Look At The PTAB's Assessment Of Prior Art Exceptions

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    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board's approach over the last 10 years to assessing Section 102(b) prior art exceptions reveals a few trends, including that evidence of common ownership may have a higher likelihood of successfully disqualifying prior art under Section 102(b)(2)(C) at the institution stage, say Louis Panzica and David Holman at Sterne Kessler.

  • Series

    Playing Diplomacy Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    Similar to the practice of law, the rules of Diplomacy — a strategic board game set in pre-World War I Europe — are neither concise nor without ambiguity, and weekly gameplay with our colleagues has revealed the game's practical applications to our work as attorneys, say Jason Osborn and Ben Bevilacqua at Winston & Strawn.

  • How Patent Litigation Is Changing Amid Decline In Filings

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    Marked by a notable decline in case filings and preferred venue shifts, patent litigation has undergone significant changes over the last decade and litigation hot spots have shifted, encouraging a more strategic approach to patent disputes, says Saishruti Mutneja at Winston & Strawn.

  • Primer On Chinese Trade Secret Disputes For US Practitioners

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    Increasing cross-border disputes over trade secret misappropriation between U.S. and Chinese entities emphasize the need for U.S. practitioners to navigate China's legal landscape following recent reforms that enhance the viability of litigation in Chinese courts, say attorneys at Jones Day.

  • Mental Health First Aid: A Brief Primer For Attorneys

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    Amid a growing body of research finding that attorneys face higher rates of mental illness than the general population, firms should consider setting up mental health first aid training programs to help lawyers assess mental health challenges in their colleagues and intervene with compassion, say psychologists Shawn Healy and Tracey Meyers.

  • Licensing And Protections For Voice Actors In The Age Of AI

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    While two recently enacted California laws and other recent state and federal legislation largely focus on protecting actors and musicians from the unauthorized use of their digital likenesses by generative artificial intelligence systems, the lesser-known community of professional voice actors also stands to benefit, says attorney Scott Mortman.

  • Opinion

    Failure To Use Apportionment Has Distorted Patent Damages

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    Apportionment is the solution to the problem of inflated patent infringement damages, and courts should return to focusing on the smallest saleable unit as the starting point for apportionment analysis, say William Lee at WilmerHale and Mark Lemley at Stanford Law School.

  • Series

    Collecting Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The therapeutic aspects of appreciating and collecting art improve my legal practice by enhancing my observation skills, empathy, creativity and cultural awareness, says attorney Michael McCready.

  • Takeaways From Novo Nordisk's Fight For Market Exclusivity

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    Generic competitors’ challenge to Novo Nordisk’s patents in hopes of capturing a portion of the rapidly expanding Type 2 diabetes and obesity treatment market highlights the role of abbreviated new drug application litigation, inter partes review and multidistrict litigation in patent defense, says Pedram Sameni at Patexia.

  • Using Primacy And Recency Effects In Opening Statements

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    By understanding and strategically employing the primacy and recency effects in opening statements, attorneys can significantly enhance their persuasive impact, ensuring that their narrative is both compelling and memorable from the outset, says Bill Kanasky at Courtroom Sciences.

  • Opinion

    Bill Is Key To Protecting US Economy From Patent Piracy

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    It is critical that Congress pass a recently introduced bill that would protect U.S. investors from intellectual property theft by restoring court-ordered injunctions as the default remedy in patent infringement cases to ensure inventors get the justice they deserve, says Andrei Iancu at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • Defending AI, Machine Learning Patents In Life Sciences

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    Ten years after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Alice v. CLS Bank, artificial intelligence and machine learning technology remain at risk for Alice challenges, but reviewing recent cases can help life sciences companies avoid common pitfalls and successfully defend their patents, say attorneys at Mintz.

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