Intellectual Property

  • April 15, 2024

    Vidal Wants To Make Her Director Review Rules Official

    After almost a year of running U.S. Supreme Court-mandated director reviews of patent board decisions through an interim process, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said Monday that it has landed on some proposed rules for how it wants to officially run those.

  • April 15, 2024

    Model Bella Hadid Settles Photog's IP Suit Over Instagram Pic

    A New York federal judge Monday dismissed a photographer's suit accusing Bella Hadid of copyright infringement over an image the supermodel republished onto her Instagram account four years ago after the photographer advised the court they've reached a settlement in principle with Hadid.

  • April 15, 2024

    Boeing Says Virgin Can't Use Another Court To Avoid IP Suit

    Boeing has urged the Virginia federal judge overseeing its breach of contract and trade secrets dispute with Virgin Galactic to block Virgin from moving forward with a "copycat" lawsuit in California, saying Virgin is wrongly trying to avoid the original lawsuit.

  • April 15, 2024

    TTAB Sides With Pharma Co.'s Opposition To 'SageForth' TM

    The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has ruled in favor of biopharmaceutical company Sage Therapeutics Inc.' opposition to a psychological service provider's attempt to register "SageForth" as a trademark, saying the name is likely to cause confusion with Sage Therapeutics' treatments for postpartum depression.

  • April 15, 2024

    Hold This COVID Vax Patent Case, Judge Recommends

    One of the suits over Pfizer's blockbuster COVID-19 vaccine hit a snag in Virginia federal court Friday when a judge recommended pausing the case to wait for a ruling in a related dispute over patent ownership involving one of BioNTech's other partners.

  • April 15, 2024

    Photog Beefs Up Copyright Suit Over Barry Sanders Statue

    A photographer has added several new claims, including breach of contract, to his copyright lawsuit that accuses the Detroit Lions, the NFL and a host of other defendants of unlawfully using his photo to create a statue of legendary running back Barry Sanders.

  • April 15, 2024

    4th Circ. Affirms Timberland Boots' Trade Dress Bid Denial

    The Fourth Circuit decided Monday that a Virginia federal judge correctly denied trade dress registration for Timberland's Icon Boot, saying in a published opinion the lower court did not err in concluding the design elements the company wanted to register were ineligible because they had not acquired distinctive meaning in consumers' minds.

  • April 15, 2024

    Ohio IP Firm Beats Appeal In $42K Billing Fight

    An Ohio state appeals court has left intact a nearly $42,000 judgment Amin Turocy & Watson LLP won in a billing dispute with a client, reasoning that the materials Just Funky provided to fight the firm's summary judgment bid lacked the necessary detail.

  • April 15, 2024

    Orrick Adds Kramer Levin Life Sciences Head In NY

    The former head of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP's life sciences practice has jumped to the intellectual property litigation team at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in New York, Orrick said Monday. 

  • April 15, 2024

    Justices Skip Appeal Over $36M Sanction In TM Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court will not consider the appeal of a man who argued the Ninth Circuit was wrong to impose $36 million in sanctions against him and several companies in a trademark dispute, the justices said Monday.

  • April 12, 2024

    Jane Street Says Millennium, Ex-Workers Stole Trade Secrets

    Trading firm Jane Street Group LLC sued rival Millennium Management LLC and two former employees in New York federal court Friday, alleging they stole a confidential trading strategy and have reaped "massive profits from this theft."

  • April 12, 2024

    Gilstrap Rejects Jury Instruction Tweaks In Samsung Retrial

    U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap on Friday largely denied jury instruction requests made by both Samsung and G+ Communications ahead of a damages retrial in Texas federal court in litigation over wireless network patents, rejecting each company's ideas for limiting what's presented to jurors.

  • April 12, 2024

    Moderna, Pfizer COVID Vax IP Suit Paused Amid PTAB Review

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Friday agreed to pause Moderna Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine patent infringement suit against Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech until the Patent Trial and Appeal Board weighs in on a pair of patents, issuing a stay despite objections from Moderna.

  • April 12, 2024

    Split PTAB Panel Upholds QinetiQ Fracking Patent

    A British defense contractor successfully fought off a legal challenge surrounding its patent covering a fracking device, in a ruling from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that was split three ways over the matter.

  • April 12, 2024

    'American-Made' May Include Foreign Parts, 10th Circ. Says

    A panel of the Tenth Circuit unanimously ruled Friday there's nothing legally problematic with foreign-made components being used in products advertised as "American-made," upholding a construction equipment maker's summary judgment win over its competitors' claims of false advertising, false designation of origin and copyright infringement.

  • April 12, 2024

    'Much More Is Coming': Experts See Wave Of AI-Related Suits

    Legal experts speaking Friday at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law's symposium on artificial intelligence and evidence in civil litigation warned that broadening usage and increased regulation will lead to a wave of litigation over the technology, leaving courts to analyze the "black box" of corporate AI algorithms to determine liability.

  • April 12, 2024

    Fed. Circ.'s Fight With Newman: A Year In Review

    One year has passed since it came to light that the Federal Circuit's judges were investigating whether their colleague, U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman, was mentally competent to remain on the court. In that time, Judge Newman has garnered support from many in the patent community, but has faced a series of setbacks in her legal challenges.

  • April 12, 2024

    Fed. Circ.'s Competency Feud With Newman Turned Personal

    A year after the Federal Circuit publicly acknowledged its investigation into U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's mental and physical competency, the nonagenarian still refuses to follow the court's medical testing orders and remains determined to reclaim her seat on the bench.

  • April 12, 2024

    Misconduct Doomed Dining Mat Patent Case, Fed. Circ. Rules

    The Federal Circuit on Friday upheld a decision that a maker of toddler dining mats torpedoed its patent case against a rival with "unconscionable" misconduct, and ordered a lower court to reconsider findings that the patent is invalid but not unenforceable.

  • April 12, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Broadcom Unit's IP In Netflix Fight

    The Federal Circuit on Friday backed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's holding that the vast majority of Broadcom unit Avago Technologies' patent directed to providing digital media services to users is invalid as obvious, based on a challenge from Netflix.

  • April 12, 2024

    Software Co. Hit With Patent Suit Over Data Tracker

    A software developer has accused a rival of infringing patents that allow businesses to track a website user's browsing data without using third-party cookies, costing the developer profits.

  • April 12, 2024

    ITC To Look Into Motorola's 5G IP Claims Against Ericsson

    Motorola is taking its 5G intellectual property battle with Ericsson to the U.S. International Trade Commission, with the agency agreeing to launch an investigation into Motorola's accusations of patent infringement against the Swedish company.

  • April 12, 2024

    Hytera Says It'll Be A 'Shell' If 7th Circ. Doesn't End Sanctions

    China-based Hytera Communications has again asked the Seventh Circuit to pause a daily $1 million fine, worldwide product sales ban and other "crushing" sanctions an Illinois federal judge imposed for continuing a Chinese intellectual property suit against her orders, saying it will otherwise become "an empty corporate shell."

  • April 12, 2024

    Bridal Designer Seeks Conversion Of JLM Couture To Ch. 7

    A bridal dress designer engaged in litigation with bankrupt dressmaker JLM Couture asked a Delaware court Friday to convert the company's insolvency case to a Chapter 7 liquidation, saying the costs of that ongoing litigation will drain estate resources to the point it won't be able to pay for the bankruptcy case.

  • April 12, 2024

    HP Accused Of Infringing 'Wex' TM In Software-As-Service Biz

    HP was hit with a trademark infringement action in Maine federal court by global mobility solutions platform Wex Inc., which alleges that HP is launching a new software-as-a-service solutions platform under the infringing name, "Wex," causing confusion in the public. 

Expert Analysis

  • No AI FRAUD Act Is A Significant Step For Right Of Publicity

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    The No Artificial Intelligence Fake Replicas and Unauthorized Duplications Act's proposed federal right of publicity protection, including post-mortem rights, represents a significant step toward harmonizing the landscape of right of publicity law, Rachel Hofstatter and Aaron Rosenthal at Honigman.

  • Series

    Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Averting Patent And Other IP Risks In Generative AI Use

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    While leveraging generative AI presents potential problems such as loss of ownership of patents and other intellectual properties, a series of practice tips, including ensuring that the technology is used as a supplementary tool and is not contributing to invention conception, can help mitigate those concerns, say Mackenzie Martin and Bryce Bailey at Baker McKenzie.

  • After TikTok, Tiptoeing Toward Patent Transfer Alignment

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    Following the Fifth Circuit's TikTok decision, which aimed to standardize transfer analysis in patent cases, the Federal Circuit and Texas federal courts facing transfer requests have taken small steps to consider the practical realities of patent litigation, reinforcing the intensely factual focus of the analysis, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.

  • New Hydrogen Regulations Show The Need For IP Protections

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    The introduction of hydrogen regulations, such as the IRS' proposed tax credit for clean hydrogen under the Inflation Reduction Act, are reshaping the competitive landscape, with intellectual property rights an area of increased emphasis, say Evan Glass and James De Vellis at Foley & Lardner.

  • Inside The PTAB's Seagen Cancer Drug Patent Decision

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    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board's recent finding that Seagen's claims for antibody-drug conjugate technology were unpatentable — for lack of enablement, lack of written description and anticipation — mark the latest chapter in the complex patent dispute as the case heads for director review, says Ryan Hagglund at Loeb & Loeb.

  • 6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media

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    In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.

  • Opinion

    Biden Admin's March-In Plan Would Hurt Medical Innovation

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    The Biden administration's proposal to reinterpret the Bayh-Dole Act and allow the government to claw back patents when it determines that a commercialized product's price is too high would discourage private investment in important research and development, says Ken Thorpe at the Rollins School of Public Health.

  • Google Patent Case Is A Claim Construction Litigation Lesson

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    The Federal Circuit's recent precedential decision in Google v. EcoFactor, which held that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board erred in the claim construction it had unknowingly adopted, shows that litigators should be alert to claim construction issues that masquerade as something else, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

  • A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise

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    After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.

  • Reassessing Trade Secrets Amid Proposed Noncompete Ban

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    The Federal Trade Commission's proposed ban on noncompete agreements as well as state bans make it prudent for businesses to reevaluate and reinvigorate approaches to trade secret protection, including knowing what information employees are providing to vendors, and making sure confidentiality agreements are put in place before information is shared, says Rob Jensen at Wolf Greenfield.

  • Considering The Logical Extremes Of Your Legal Argument

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    Recent oral arguments in the federal election interference case against former President Donald Trump highlighted the age-old technique of extending an argument to its logical limit — a principle that is still important for attorneys to consider in preparing their cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • How High Court SEC Case Could Affect The ITC

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy will likely spare the U.S. International Trade Commission from major operative changes, the ITC’s ability to issue penalties for violations of its orders may change, say Gwendolyn Tawresey and Ryan Deck at Troutman Pepper.

  • 2nd Circ. Ruling Will Guide Social Media Account Ownership

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    The Second Circuit’s recent decision in JLM Couture v. Gutman — which held that ownership of social media accounts must be resolved using traditional property law analysis — will guide employers and employees alike in future cases, and underscores the importance of express agreements in establishing ownership of social media accounts, says Joshua Glasgow at Phillips Lytle.

  • Storytelling Strategies To Defuse Courtroom Conspiracies

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    Misinformation continues to proliferate in all sectors of society, including in the courtroom, as jurors try to fill in the gaps of incomplete trial narratives — underscoring the need for attorneys to tell a complete, consistent and credible story before and during trial, says David Metz at IMS Legal Strategies.

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