Intellectual Property

  • March 25, 2026

    Ex-Pharma GC Freed From Trade Secrets Suit Amid Ch. 7 Stay

    A Texas federal judge agreed to dismiss claims against the ex-general counsel of a Houston-based pharmaceutical services company, who was accused of helping build a competing venture using confidential information and of destroying a hard drive containing evidence he had a duty to preserve during litigation.

  • March 25, 2026

    Volvo Accused Of Infringing LED Headlight, GPS System Tech

    Volvo, Mack Trucks and other subsidiaries were sued in Texas federal court Monday by Longhorn Automotive Group, alleging they ripped off multiple patents covering connectivity systems, LED headlights, mobile apps and data storage in GPS and infotainment systems found in the defendants' products, including Volvo's flagship long-hauler sleeper truck.

  • March 25, 2026

    USPTO To Launch AI Image Search, Description Tools For TMs

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is launching artificial intelligence tools to help trademark attorneys look up images and write descriptions for their registrations, officials said at a webinar Wednesday, where they also discussed efforts to tackle certain pendency issues.

  • March 25, 2026

    Atty Loses Coverage For Wife's Employer Trade Secret Suit

    A professional liability insurer for a law firm owes no coverage for a suit against the firm's named partner alleging he coordinated with his wife to steal trade secrets from a corporate client where his wife served as an executive, a Georgia federal judge ruled Wednesday.

  • March 25, 2026

    Nut Co. Can Argue Pistachio Trade Dress Is Generic

    A New York federal judge has allowed the majority of Nut Cravings Inc.'s counterclaims in a trademark infringement suit involving pistachios to survive, letting the company continue arguing that The Wonderful Co.'s trade dress is generic and unprotectable.

  • March 25, 2026

    Fake Urine Co. Says Smoke Shop Infringed Brand

    The maker of Quick Fix, a synthetic urine product, is suing an Alabama smoke shop and its owner, accusing them of selling a knockoff version of its product and damaging the company's brand.

  • March 25, 2026

    Lawmakers Aim To Advance Bills Bolstering Patent Rights

    A bipartisan pair of lawmakers said at a conference Wednesday that they plan to make a push to pass legislation aimed at establishing stronger patent rights in the coming year, including bills limiting patent challenges and setting rules on which inventions are eligible for patents.

  • March 25, 2026

    Judge Backs USPTO's Ax Of Art Project Patent App

    A Virginia federal judge has tossed a challenge to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's decision to terminate a patent application from an art kit company after the agency found its filings had been signed by an attorney without her authorization or permission.

  • March 25, 2026

    McKesson Accuses Former Exec Of Leaking Trade Secrets

    Healthcare services company McKesson Corp. alleged in Colorado federal court that its former senior executive disclosed the company's confidential information and trade secrets to a direct competitor in breach of contract when she left the company to work for the competitor.

  • March 25, 2026

    Caterpillar Hits Back At Bobcat With Patent Claims

    Caterpillar Inc. has responded to Doosan Bobcat's patent infringement suit in the Eastern District of Texas by accusing Bobcat itself of infringing a series of Caterpillar patents, the latest development in a larger intellectual property fight between the companies.

  • March 25, 2026

    Fecal Treatment Co. Says Ch. 11 Is Best Option To Sell Assets

    Microbiome treatment developer Finch Therapeutics told a Delaware bankruptcy judge Wednesday that its lack of income or ability to collect on a patent judgment justified its Chapter 11 filing despite a lack of secured debts.

  • March 25, 2026

    Impossible Foods Owes Marketer $3.25M In TM Suit, Jury Says

    A California federal jury on Tuesday awarded a marketing firm owned by a self-described "digital nomad" damages totaling $3.25 million, including $1.75 million in punitive damages, after finding Monday that plant-based burger maker Impossible Foods Inc. willfully infringed its "Impossible" marks, according to counsel.

  • March 25, 2026

    Turf Company Executive Can't Escape Trade Secrets Suit

    An executive must face a turf manufacturer's suit claiming he took confidential information with him when he jumped ship for a rival company, a Georgia federal judge ruled, but said a lack of plausible misconduct allegations meant that rival should be dismissed from the case. 

  • March 25, 2026

    Lighting Co. Kenall Gets 5% Royalty, No Lost Profits In IP Row

    A Chicago federal judge has said a lighting manufacturing company was owed royalties for patent infringement by a rival after a bench trial, telling the parties to meet and calculate how much should be owed in enhanced damages.

  • March 25, 2026

    Ramey, EscapeX Ask Justices To Review Sanctions Challenge

    EscapeX IP and its attorney William Ramey III want the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Federal Circuit's decision backing $255,000 in fees and sanctions for what a California federal judge found to be a frivolous patent suit against Google.

  • March 25, 2026

    Dechert Adds Paul Weiss Patent Partners In DC, NY

    Dechert LLP has hired two Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP lawyers who have backgrounds in life sciences and electrical engineering, the firm announced Tuesday.

  • March 25, 2026

    High Court Reverses Music Piracy Liability Ruling Against Cox

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday said the Fourth Circuit incorrectly affirmed a jury verdict that found Cox Communications liable for its customers' music piracy, concluding there is a legal distinction between mere knowledge of infringement and intent to promote it.

  • March 24, 2026

    FKA Twigs Sues 'The Twigs' Indie Duo Over TM Suit Threats

    The Grammy Award-winning U.K. electronic artist known as FKA Twigs has sued the indie-rock duo Linda and Laura Good in New York federal court, seeking a declaration that her stage name doesn't rip off the pair's decades-old '90s band "The Twigs" after the sisters recently renewed their trademark infringement litigation threats.

  • March 24, 2026

    Baltimore Takes XAI To Court Over Grok's Sexual Deepfakes

    Baltimore on Tuesday became one of the first municipalities to sue Elon Musk's xAI over the Grok artificial intelligence platform's ability to transform ordinary photographs into nonconsensual sexualized deepfake images, including creating child sexual abuse material, saying it's exposing city residents to degrading content, harassment and psychological harm.

  • March 24, 2026

    Squires Institutes 6 Patent Reviews, Denies 15 Others

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has granted six petitions seeking America Invents Act reviews of patents and rejected 15 others, according to his latest summary order listing his most recent decisions.

  • March 24, 2026

    Sarepta Urges Full Fed. Circ. To Wipe Out Gene Therapy IP

    Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. wants the full Federal Circuit to rethink a decision reviving a University of Pennsylvania gene therapy patent, saying a panel got its analysis of patent eligibility wrong.

  • March 24, 2026

    ITC Says Hydrafacial Patent Infringed, But Won't Ban Imports

    The U.S. International Trade Commission has found that an aesthetics medical device company infringed a Hydrafacial LLC skin treatment patent, but stopped short of enforcing a ban on imports.

  • March 24, 2026

    CBP Frees Redesigned Smart Rings From Import Ban

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection has lifted an import ban issued by the U.S. International Trade Commission on smart rings made by Ultrahuman, finding that a redesign cleared the product of infringing a patent held by Ouraring.

  • March 24, 2026

    SiriusXM Beats Research Institute's Patent Case Due To Delay

    A Delaware federal judge on Tuesday said German research institute Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's delay in bringing a patent suit against SiriusXM was fatal to its claims, after the Federal Circuit previously said the judge must look closer at whether that delay was relied upon by Sirius.

  • March 24, 2026

    Publishers Say Anthropic's Use Of Lyrics Violates Copyrights

    Music publishers have asked a California federal judge to rule that Anthropic infringed their copyrighted song lyrics through its Claude large language model, arguing in a motion for partial summary judgment that fair use does not excuse the AI developer's conduct because it used those lyrics to build a competing commercial product.

Expert Analysis

  • Weighing Risks Of Ambush Marketing Around Sports Events

    Author Photo

    American brands tempted to insert themselves into conversations around the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympic Games, but without the coveted sponsorship, should consider the legal hazards and minimize the risks by avoiding elements that imply an unauthorized commercial association with FIFA or the International Olympic Committee, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Why Appellees Should Write Their Answering Brief First

    Author Photo

    Though counterintuitive, appellees should consider writing their answering briefs before they’ve ever seen their opponent’s opening brief, as this practice confers numerous benefits related to argument structure, time pressures and workflow, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • Series

    Mindfulness Meditation Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Mindful meditation enables me to drop the ego, and in helping me to keep sight of what’s important, permits me to learn from the other side and become a reliable counselor, says Roy Wyman at Bass Berry.

  • Growth, Harmonization In Focus As Hague System Turns 100

    Author Photo

    One hundred years after its establishment, the Hague System has grown into an important pillar of international design protection, offering a promising path toward even greater harmonization in design law as its geographic reach continues to expand, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

  • AI Litigation Tools Can Enhance Case Assessment, Strategy

    Author Photo

    Civil litigators can use artificial intelligence tools to strengthen case assessment and aid in early strategy development, as long as they address the risks and ethical considerations that accompany these uses, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • New IPR Rules Will Require A Patent Litigation Strategy Shift

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently transformed the way it considers petitions for inter partes review, in a move that swings the pendulum in favor of patent owners, making it important for litigants to reassess the role of IPRs in their litigation strategy, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Attys Beware: Generative AI Can Also Hallucinate Metadata

    Author Photo

    In addition to the well-known problem of AI-generated hallucinations in legal documents, AI tools can also hallucinate metadata — threatening the integrity of discovery, the reliability of evidence and the ability to definitively identify the provenance of electronic documents, say attorneys at Law & Forensics.

  • Lessons From Fed. Circ. On Expert Testimony In Patent Cases

    Author Photo

    Several recent decisions from the Federal Circuit are notable for their treatment of expert testimony, with relevance to the three pillars of every patent case — infringement, invalidity and damages — and offer lessons on ensuring that expert testimony is both admissible and sufficient to support the jury's verdict, say attorneys at Honigman.

  • When Atty Ethics Violations Give Rise To Causes Of Action

    Author Photo

    Though the Model Rules of Professional Conduct make clear that a violation of the rules does not automatically create a cause of action, attorneys should beware of a few scenarios in which they could face lawsuits for ethical lapses, says Brian Faughnan at Faughnan Law.

  • TikTok Divestiture Deal Revolves Around IP Considerations

    Author Photo

    The divestiture deal between the U.S. and China to resolve a security dispute over TikTok's U.S. operations is seen as a diplomatic breakthrough, but its success hinges on the treatment of intellectual property and may set a precedent in the global contest over digital sovereignty and IP control, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • Trending At The PTAB: A Potential Barrier To Serial Challenges

    Author Photo

    New rules proposed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office may appear similar to previous rules at first glance, but are actually much broader in how they would limit petitioners' ability to challenge a patent more than once, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Fed. Circ. In September: The Printed Matter Doctrine Expands

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Bayer v. Mylan represents an extension of the doctrine that adding new words to an existing product or method will not support patentability unless there is a functional relationship, bringing new considerations for both patent holders and challengers, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • 10 Quick Tips To Elevate Your Evidence Presentation At Trial

    Author Photo

    A strong piece of evidence, whether in the form of testimony or exhibit, is wasted if not presented effectively, so attorneys must prepare with precision to help fact-finders both retain the information and internalize its significance, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.

  • Series

    Practicing Stoicism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Practicing Stoicism, by applying reason to ignore my emotions and govern my decisions, has enabled me to approach challenging situations in a structured way, ultimately providing advice singularly devoted to a client's interest, says John Baranello at Moses & Singer.

  • Broader Eligibility For AI-Related Patents May Be Coming

    Author Photo

    A series of recent developments from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office appears to signal that claims involving improvement in the operation of a machine learning model are now more likely to be considered patent-eligible, and that patent examiners may focus on questions of novelty and nonobviousness and less so on subject matter eligibility, say attorneys at Kilpatrick.

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.