Intellectual Property

  • January 20, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Revives Inventor's Spinal Patent Case Against DePuy

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday revived an inventor's patent infringement suit against DePuy Synthes Cos., ruling that the persuasiveness of expert testimony that was excluded by a lower court is best left for the jury.

  • January 20, 2026

    Sandisk Inks Deal To License Memory Patents

    Computer technology company Sandisk has been granted a license to a portfolio of patents owned by a flash memory technology company, a move that came just after the parties agreed to end a patent dispute in California federal court.

  • January 20, 2026

    Applied Materials Settles Patent Fight On Eve Of Calif. Trial

    Chipmaking equipment company Applied Materials has settled its lawsuit in California federal court that sought a finding that it didn't infringe a pair of technology patents that had also been at issue in a $4 billion patent case where a jury cleared Samsung of infringement.

  • January 20, 2026

    McCarter & English Knocks Down Biotech Malpractice Appeal

    A New Jersey appellate court on Tuesday upheld the dismissal of a biotech company's malpractice and related claims against McCarter & English LLP, finding the biotech company was required to bring those allegations during the firm's earlier suit to recover more than $837,000 in unpaid legal fees.

  • January 20, 2026

    Copyright Office Tells Colo. Court Artist Can't Register AI Work

    The U.S. Copyright Office has asked a Colorado federal court to uphold its refusal to register an award-winning artwork because it was made on an artificial intelligence platform, arguing the artist is trying to claim authorship over creative expression that Midjourney created.

  • January 20, 2026

    3rd Circ. Sides With Doctor In Exam Question Copyright Suit

    The Third Circuit has affirmed a win for a doctor who was sued for copyright infringement by the American Board of Internal Medicine after emailing test materials to a test preparation company, saying there was not sufficient evidence that improper copying had occurred.

  • January 20, 2026

    AI Firm Countersues Legal Publisher For Breach Of Contract

    Artificial intelligence startup Alexi Technologies has accused Fastcase Inc. and its owner of weaponizing the legal system after the legal research firm filed a lawsuit in November claiming the AI company breached a former business relationship.

  • January 20, 2026

    Supreme Court Turns Away Jewish Texts Expropriation Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Tuesday to take up a petition challenging a D.C. Circuit ruling concluding that federal courts do not have jurisdiction over a Jewish group's decades-old allegations that Russia is illegally holding on to its long-lost sacred texts.

  • January 16, 2026

    Law360 Names Practice Groups Of The Year

    Law360 would like to congratulate the winners of its Practice Groups of the Year awards for 2025, which honor the attorney teams behind litigation wins and significant transaction work that resonated throughout the legal industry this past year.

  • January 16, 2026

    1st Circ. Revives Some Of Baseball Legend's Sons' TM Claims

    The First Circuit on Friday largely affirmed the dismissal of a trademark infringement lawsuit that sons of late MLB Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente lodged against the Puerto Rican government, but said a lower court was "off base" when dismissing a few claims against Commonwealth officials in their personal capacities.

  • January 16, 2026

    'Egregious' Judge Shopping Sanctioned In Ill. TM Case

    An Illinois federal judge has permanently thrown out a "Schedule A" trademark case, chastising the plaintiff for once again trying to lump together defendants that multiple judges have already held cannot be lumped together in one suit, calling it "an egregious form of forum shopping."

  • January 16, 2026

    USAA Warns Alice Became 'Sinkhole' For Tech In $223M Case

    The United Services Automobile Association has become the latest patent owner to urge the U.S. Supreme Court to review what constitutes an abstract idea not eligible for patenting after the Federal Circuit invalidated mobile check deposit patents juries had determined PNC Bank owed $223 million for infringing.

  • January 16, 2026

    What To Expect From USPTO's Essential Patent Group

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's new working group aimed at promoting "robust and predictable" standard-essential patent remedies will face challenges in its goal of clarifying patent valuations, but could encourage more lawsuits and participation in standards, attorneys say.

  • January 16, 2026

    Stolen Google AI Info Valuable To Rivals And China, Jury Told

    Federal prosecutors questioned a foreign policy expert and an MIT computer science professor Friday in the trial of an ex-Google engineer accused of stealing AI trade secrets to help China, seeking to show that artificial intelligence is a major priority for the Chinese government and that Google's technology was nonpublic and extremely valuable.

  • January 16, 2026

    7th Circ. Scraps 'Pizza Puff' TM Block Against Little Caesars

    The Seventh Circuit reversed a ruling Friday that blocked Little Caesars from using the term "pizza puff" to describe its "Crazy Puffs" muffin-pizza products, finding that a Chicago food-maker failed to show "Pizza Puff" is not generic term, or that it could beat Little Caesars fair use defense.

  • January 16, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Pauses BMW's Injunction Ending German IP Cases

    The Federal Circuit on Friday temporarily stayed U.S. District Judge Alan Albright's injunction barring Onesta IP LLC from suing BMW in German court, shooting down BMW's attempts earlier Friday to block a stay and hold Onesta in contempt.

  • January 16, 2026

    Calif. AG Orders xAI To Stop Enabling Sexualized Deepfakes

    California's attorney general on Friday sent xAI a cease and desist letter demanding the artificial intelligence company immediately stop the creation and distribution of nonconsensual, sexualized deepfakes, days after U.S. senators announced they had demanded that leading tech companies disclose how they are preventing such images on their platforms.

  • January 16, 2026

    Rapper Xzibit's Ex-Wife Sues Over Cannabis TM Transfers

    The ex-wife of rapper Xzibit filed a trademark infringement suit in California federal court Thursday alleging he assigned the marks of the couple's cannabis brand to his associate without her consent, in violation of an automatic temporary restraining order in their divorce proceedings.

  • January 16, 2026

    Litter Box Maker Starts False Ads Catfight With TikTokers

    The maker of the Meowant brand self-cleaning litter box says a rival litter box maker pays TikTok accounts to post fake "review" videos spreading false and disparaging comments about the Meowant products and steer cat owners to the rival company, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in Texas federal court.

  • January 16, 2026

    Squires Ends Chinese Chip Co. IPRs In Informative Order

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has stopped Yangtze Memory Technologies Co.'s challenges to two Micron Technology Inc.-owned patents, saying the Chinese chipmaker did not address concerns over its precise identity.

  • January 16, 2026

    Judge Won't Toss Google Patent Suit After Hearing No-Show

    A Manhattan federal judge has said he wasn't going to take a magistrate judge's recommendation to toss a patent infringement suit against Google due to the plaintiff defying court orders and skipping a bench trial, saying missing the trial did not amount to "failing to prosecute" the case in a manner that would warrant dismissal.

  • January 16, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Says Part Of Sunoco Butane Blending Patent Invalid

    The Federal Circuit on Friday ruled that claims in one of Sunoco's gasoline blending patents that Magellan Midstream was found to have infringed were not eligible for patent protection in the first place, but found the rest of the claims at issue passed muster.

  • January 16, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Patent Suit Against Nintendo Switch

    The Federal Circuit on Friday affirmed a California federal judge's conclusion that Nintendo's popular Nintendo Switch system did not infringe Gamevice Inc. patents, although it remanded an invalidity ruling that one judge feared could result in "really wacky case law."

  • January 16, 2026

    Comedians Say Sam Adams Used Ads Past Rights Expiration

    A trio of comedians has sued the company behind Sam Adams beer for continuing to use videos they recorded for a 2019 ad campaign after the company's right to their likenesses had expired, seeking compensation for the unauthorized use in Massachusetts state court.

  • January 16, 2026

    11th Circ. Won't Revive Fla. Remote School TM Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit has rejected an appeal from Florida Virtual School to revive its trademark infringement claims against a competitor, saying it had not shown evidence that it suffered actual damages as the result of any consumer confusion.

Expert Analysis

  • Using Reissue Applications To Strategically Improve Patents

    Author Photo

    Though reissue applications are an often-overlooked consideration in today's patent environment, they can offer powerful tools for correcting errors, strengthening patent protection, or adapting to evolving business and legal landscapes, says Curtis Powell at Wolf Greenfield.

  • Series

    Being A Professional Wrestler Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Pursuing my childhood dream of being a professional wrestler has taught me important legal career lessons about communication, adaptability, oral advocacy and professionalism, says Christopher Freiberg at Midwest Disability.

  • Patent Claim Lessons From Fed. Circ.'s Teva Decision

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Janssen v. Teva is an important precedent for parties drafting patent claims or litigating obviousness where the prior art has potentially overlapping ranges for a claimed element, and may be particularly instructive to patent applicants in the pharmaceutical field, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Adapting To The Age Of AI

    Author Photo

    Though law school may not have specifically taught us how to use generative artificial intelligence to help with our daily legal tasks, it did provide us the mental building blocks necessary for adapting to this new technology — and the judgment to discern what shouldn’t be automated, says Pamela Dorian at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Ch. 11 Ruling Voiding $2M Litigation Funding Sends A Warning

    Author Photo

    A recent Texas bankruptcy court decision that a postconfirmation litigation trust has no obligations to repay a completely drawn down $2 million litigation funding agreement serves as a warning for estate administrators and funders to properly disclose the intended financing, say attorneys at Kleinberg Kaplan.

  • Future-Proof Patent Law By Starting Talent Pipelines Early

    Author Photo

    Law firms struggling with a narrow talent pipeline in the intellectual property space should consider beginning their recruitment strategies for potential candidates as early as high school, and raise awareness for career opportunities that do not require a law degree, says Christine Hollis at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Demystifying The Civil Procedure Rules Amendment Process

    Author Photo

    Every year, an advisory committee receives dozens of proposals to amend the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, most of which are never adopted — but a few pointers can help maximize the likelihood that an amendment will be adopted, says Josh Gardner at DLA Piper.

  • How USPTO Examiner Memo Informs Software Patent Drafting

    Author Photo

    A memorandum recently released by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office provides useful clues as to how the USPTO and examining corps will evaluate claims in software-implemented inventions for subject matter eligibility going forward, says Michael Lew at Squire Patton.

  • FTC, CoStar Cases Against Zillow May Have Broad Impact

    Author Photo

    Zillow's partnerships with Redfin and Realtor.com have recently triggered dual fronts of legal scrutiny — an antitrust inquiry from the Federal Trade Commission and a mass copyright infringement suit from CoStar — raising complex questions that reach beyond real estate, says Shubha Ghosh at Syracuse University College of Law.

  • Parenting Skills That Can Help Lawyers Thrive Professionally

    Author Photo

    As kids head back to school, the time is ripe for lawyers who are parents to consider how they can incorporate their parenting skills to build a deep, meaningful and sustainable legal practice, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Enablement Standard Insights From Fed. Circ. Agilent Ruling

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit's recent enablement standard decision in Agilent v. Synthego underscores three critical takeaways for patent practitioners, including reaffirmation that the enablement inquiry under Section 102 of the Patent Act is distinct from the inquiry under Section 112, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • How WTO's Anti-Suit Injunction Ruling Affects IP Stakeholders

    Author Photo

    The World Trade Organization's recent ruling in favor of the European Union's challenge to Chinese courts' anti-suit injunction practices should hearten holders of standard-essential patents, while implementers can take solace that they retain mechanisms to distinguish the WTO decision when seeking anti-suit injunctions in U.S. courts, says Michael Franzinger at Dentons.

  • Series

    Teaching Trial Advocacy Makes Us Better Lawyers

    Author Photo

    Teaching trial advocacy skills to other lawyers makes us better litigators because it makes us question our default methods, connect to young attorneys with new perspectives and focus on the needs of the real people at the heart of every trial, say Reuben Guttman, Veronica Finkelstein and Joleen Youngers.

  • Why Civil RICO Claims Are Gaining Traction With Plaintiffs

    Author Photo

    A Texas federal court's recent $71 million verdict in Point Bridge Capital v. Johnson demonstrates that, when used properly, civil lawsuits under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act can be a devastating weapon — and increasingly favorable for plaintiffs, says Akiva Shapiro at Gibson Dunn.

  • You're Out?: Rooftop Views Of Sports Games Raise IP Issues

    Author Photo

    A high-profile dispute between the Chicago Cubs and a rooftop business adjacent to Wrigley Field strikes at the intersection of sports, intellectual property and Chicago neighborhood tradition, highlighting novel questions that could significantly affect IP rights in the context of live events generally, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Intellectual Property archive.