Intellectual Property
-
Featured
Who Can Appeal PTAB Decisions? Here's What We Know
Anyone can challenge a patent at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. But the Federal Circuit has not been as welcoming when someone is unhappy with the board’s decision. Here’s a look at what the court has said about who can — and cannot — appeal a PTAB loss.
-
July 19, 2019
Katy Perry's 'Dark Horse' 'Borrows' Rapper's Beat, Jury Told
Katy Perry's single "Dark Horse" uses a musical phrase that's substantially similar to that of a Christian rap song the pop singer is accused of ripping off, a California federal jury heard Friday in an intellectual property trial over whether Perry's songwriters listened to the rap before writing her hit.
-
July 19, 2019
Jury Hits Besco With $5M Verdict In Oil-Drilling Patent Case
A Louisiana federal jury has slapped Besco Tubular with a $5 million verdict, finding the oil services company guilty of patent infringement, breach of contract, violating state consumer protection law, fraud, and trade secret appropriation in a suit brought by Spoked Manufacturing over a tool used in the oil and gas industry.
-
July 19, 2019
Ill. Atty Says Sanctions Should Be Dropped Over Mix-Up
The attorney for former Segerdahl Corp. employees accused of misappropriating trade secrets asked an Illinois federal judge on Friday to reconsider sanctions imposed against him, saying they were only granted because of a deadline mix-up.
-
July 19, 2019
Cannabis Candy Maker Sued Over 'Stoney Patch' Gummies
The maker of Sour Patch candies, Mondelez Canada Inc., lodged a lawsuit on Friday in California federal court alleging a company that sells cannabis-infused gummies under the name “Stoney Patch” is infringing its intellectual property.
-
July 19, 2019
DNC Wants Mueller Report Kept Out Of Election Hack Suit
The Democratic National Committee told a Manhattan federal judge Friday there is no need to take judicial notice of the Mueller report in considering the plausibility of its complaint claiming the party was harmed by email hacking in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.
-
July 19, 2019
Endo Pharma To Pay $2.3M To 18 States In Lidoderm Deal
Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. has agreed to pay $2.3 million to 18 states in a deal reached Friday, the same day the states hit the pharmaceutical company with a suit alleging it entered into a reverse-payment agreement to obstruct generic competition to Lidoderm, a pain relief patch.
-
July 19, 2019
PTAB Backs Comcast, Axes By-Voice Video-Ordering Patent
Comcast Cable Communications LLC demonstrated that many claims of a Silicon Valley-based company’s patent covering a system that lets TV viewers order videos online using voice commands are invalid, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has found.
-
July 19, 2019
Fed. Circ. Won’t Weigh If Inventorship Is Tied To Validity
The Federal Circuit on Thursday said it would not consider an appeal in a battle between paper manufacturers concerning who invented a patent covering a process for using ultrasound to dry paper during manufacturing.
-
July 19, 2019
Real Housewife Settles Pay-Seizure Suit With Vineyard Vines
"Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Margaret Josephs has settled a New York state court lawsuit over clothier Vineyard Vines’ bid to intercept her Bravo pay to help satisfy a $610,000 federal copyright infringement judgment, a lawyer for the reality star said Friday.
-
July 19, 2019
Brand Battles: Tinder Tightens Grip On 'Swipe' Trademark
In Law360's latest roundup of new actions at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, Tinder takes a swipe at a smaller company's “Swiped-Out” trademark, golf legend Jack Nicklaus defends his "Golden Bear" logo, and BMW finds itself in a "Mini" dispute with Macy's.
-
July 19, 2019
Model Gigi Hadid Escapes Copyright Suit Over Instagram Pic
Supermodel Gigi Hadid has escaped a copyright suit against her for posting a paparazzi photo of herself on Instagram, after a New York federal judge on Thursday found that the company that owns the photo failed to obtain a registered copyright for the photo before bringing the suit.
-
July 19, 2019
Qualcomm's Profitability No National Security Issue, FTC Says
The Federal Trade Commission has fired back against efforts by Qualcomm and the U.S. Department of Justice to pause a blockbuster antitrust ruling forcing the chipmaker to retool its business model, arguing that reining in Qualcomm’s anti-competitive conduct outweighs any vague national security concerns the pair alluded to.
-
July 18, 2019
Katy Perry Takes The Stand To Defend 'Dark Horse' Beat
Katy Perry told a California federal jury Thursday that she's never heard the Christian rap song she's accused of ripping off to make her single "Dark Horse," kicking off an intellectual property trial over whether her songwriters listened to the rap before writing her hit.
-
July 18, 2019
Stryker Slams Zimmer's High Court Bid Following $254M Loss
Zimmer Inc.’s quest to see its $254 million surgical tool patent infringement loss reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court is “predicated on a strawman argument” and “completely misses the point” of the high court’s 2016 ruling relaxing the standard for enhanced patent damages, Stryker Corp. told the Supreme Court on Thursday.
-
July 18, 2019
BU Loses Bid To Reinstate $14M LED Patent Win
A Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday shut down Boston University’s bid to reinstate a $14 million patent infringement verdict against three LED manufacturers that was overturned by the Federal Circuit last year.
-
July 18, 2019
Nike Says Kawhi Leonard's Logo Suit Flouts Copyright Office
Nike Inc. shot back Wednesday at NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard's federal lawsuit seeking to deny the shoe company the copyright to a "Claw" logo that Leonard says he designed based on his notably large hands, alleging the star player is trying to "re-write history" and "defraud" the U.S. Copyright Office.
-
July 18, 2019
Pfizer Wants Breast Cancer Drug MDL Consolidated In Del.
Pfizer Inc. and its affiliates asked the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation Thursday to transfer a suit from West Virginia to Delaware, where 13 nearly identical federal complaints are pending that claim infringement of three drug patents central to a Pfizer breast cancer treatment.
-
July 18, 2019
4 Things To Know About The New PTAB Trial Practice Guide
The newest edition of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's Trial Practice Guide for America Invents Act reviews calls for those who file multiple petitions challenging a patent to justify their filings, among other new guidelines. Here's what attorneys need to know about the update.
-
July 18, 2019
Copyright Small Claims Court Bill Heads To Senate Floor
A proposal to establish small claims courts to hear copyright disputes will head to the U.S. Senate floor after easily clearing the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
-
July 18, 2019
Facebook, WhatsApp Score Messaging Patent Victory
Facebook and its popular messaging platform WhatsApp landed a victory this week when the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board invalidated many of the patent claims on electronic messaging held by a competing media company, finding those claims to be unpatentable over prior art.
-
July 18, 2019
Fox Rothschild Is Fully Out Of The Porn Copyright Biz
Following the exit of a partner who filed hundreds of cases over pornography, BigLaw giant Fox Rothschild LLP is no longer the most litigious copyright firm in the country, replaced by a New York attorney who was once labeled a "troll" by a federal judge.
-
July 18, 2019
NY Strip Clubs Mostly Escape Models' TM Claims
Two New York City strip clubs are largely off the hook in a lawsuit over their use of images of models on social media, after a federal judge ruled most of the women who brought the case weren't famous enough to have trademark rights over their pictures.
-
July 18, 2019
Sports Photogs' Claims Against Last Memorabilia Co. Tossed
A lawsuit launched by a pair of sports photographers against nearly two dozen companies and individuals accused of illegally reprinting and selling their photos has come to an end after a New York federal judge on Thursday dismissed claims against the last remaining defendant for lack of jurisdiction.
-
July 18, 2019
Tax Court Hewed Too Closely To CUT In Medtronic, Atty Says
The U.S. Tax Court would have been better served by a looser interpretation of the comparable uncontrolled transaction method in the Medtronic case, tax specialists who examined the use of different methods in transfer pricing cases said Thursday.
-
July 18, 2019
Fla. Law Firms Fight Over Who Can Say 'Simon Says'
Central Florida personal injury law firm Simon Law Group PA launched a trademark infringement suit Wednesday against local competitor Nicholson Injury Law PA over its use of the tagline “Simon Says Justice” in advertisements.
Editor's Picks
-
The Big Picture: What To Know About FTC V. Qualcomm
A judge has ruled that Qualcomm has been illegally negotiating standard-essential patent licenses covering smartphone technology, giving the Federal Trade Commission a huge win. Here, Law360 looks at the lead-up to the decision and the related battle between Qualcomm and Apple.
-
The 2018 Federal Circuit Year In Review
The Federal Circuit has been awash in appeals for years now, but in 2018 the appeals court appeared to take its patent workload in stride. Law360’s annual look at the Federal Circuit’s patent docket uses Law360 data and reporting to dive into the most important trends at the appeals court.
-
Waco's New Judge Primes District For Patent Growth
A former Bracewell LLP patent litigator who recently took the federal bench in Waco, Texas, has caused a major stir for the state's intellectual property bar, with some firms betting the new judge could grow the Western District of Texas into a patent hotbed that could rival the state's Eastern District.
Expert Analysis
-
1st Circ. Takes A Bite Out Of Advertising Injury Coverage
The First Circuit's decision in Sterngold Dental v. HDI Global Insurance clarifies the treatment of the intellectual property exclusion to personal and advertising injury coverage under the standard commercial general liability form, bypassing the need to determine whether a trademark is an advertising idea, say Bryon Friedman and Robert Joyce of Littleton Park.
-
Preinstitution Submissions May Limit Certain ITC Probes
Following recent rule changes, U.S. International Trade Commission determinations and decisions by the Federal Circuit, proposed respondents may be able to prevent or limit the scope of ITC Section 337 investigations if they act quickly using various types of preinstitution submissions, says Michael Doane of Miles & Stockbridge.
-
Remembering Justice Stevens As A Law Firm Leader
Rothschild Barry's John Coffey, who joined Justice John Paul Stevens' law firm in 1965, shares what it was like to watch Justice Stevens practice law, mentor younger lawyers and land a malfunctioning plane.
-
The Ripple Effect Of SAS Institute V. Iancu On IPR Practice
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 SAS Institute v. Iancu decision has had subtle effects on Patent Trial and Appeal Board inter partes review institution practice. Understanding these nuances can help practitioners to alter their strategy and tactics to achieve the desired outcome on IPR petitions, say Tyler Bowen and Emily Greb of Perkins Coie.
-
5 Takeaways From DOJ Focus On Chinese Trade Secret Theft
Since its official announcement of the China Initiative eight months ago, the U.S. Department of Justice has publicized the initiation of six new cases that include references to both trade secrets and China. These shed some light on DOJ and U.S. business priorities, says Sara O’Connell at Pillsbury.
-
Key Differences In The Final GILTI Regulations
Apart from a too-narrow high-taxed global income exclusion, the notable differences in the final regulations released by the IRS last month from the proposed regulations were the refinements to the calculation of global intangible low-taxed income, says Robert Kiggins of Culhane Meadows.
-
Considerations Before Relying On AIA Prior User Rights
While prior user rights under the America Invents Act may lead a company to elect trade secret protection over patent protection for the potential cost savings, there are important caveats, says Karam Saab of Kilpatrick Townsend.
-
IP Protection Still Elusive For Data Compilations In US And EU
As businesses continue to increase investment into artificial intelligence systems, questions arise as to whether they can own or legally protect data compiled by those systems. Currently, in the U.S. and EU, obtaining copyright protection for databases is difficult and trade secret protection requires policies and procedures to establish rights, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
-
Answers To Key Legal Finance Ethics Questions
While there is discussion in some quarters about new regulations on commercial legal finance, the hands-off approach taken by the majority of courts and legislatures is an implicit recognition that it is already sufficiently regulated, says Danielle Cutrona of Burford Capital.
-
New US Counsel Rule For Foreign TMs Promises Sea Change
This month’s dramatic announcement by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that all foreign domiciled trademark applicants, registrants and parties will now be required to retain U.S. counsel is set to transform the role of trademark practitioners in relation to a massive class of new clients, say Darren Cahr and Melissa Dillenbeck of Drinker Biddle.
-
Federal Agencies Need A Uniform Record-Keeping Process
The administrative record is very important to federal agency litigation — as showcased in last month's U.S. Supreme Court decision concerning the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census — yet there is no set of consistent principles to guide agencies in compiling these official records, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
-
USPTO Guidance Changes Cannabis TM Filing Strategy
A narrow range of filings for trademark registrations covering cannabis goods or services is permitted under new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office guidelines, and cannabis-related business owners who could not previously receive federal trademark protection should now reassess their options for protecting their brands, says Daniel Lano of Dinsmore & Shohl.
-
Defense Of Copyright Claims: Don’t Let Your Proof Go Poof
The recent proliferation of communications platforms in which content literally disappears after a short period of time has increased the risk of companies losing out on important evidence that would be crucial in copyright litigation, says Evynne Grover of QBE North America.
-
The Role Of Dictionaries In Last Term's High Court Decisions
Since 32 of the 67 decisions issued by the U.S. Supreme Court during its October term cite dictionaries, it’s worth reviewing the opinions to learn which dictionaries the justices consulted and how they used them, say Bruce Wessel and Brian Weissenberg of Irell & Manella.
-
How To Evaluate The Rise In Legal Employment
Although the rate of employment for law school graduates — which had been falling steadily — saw a small increase over the last year, other factors, such as fewer graduates overall and potential future job growth stagnation, temper the good news for those pursuing law degrees, say Tiffane Cochran and Tyler Grimm of AccessLex Institute.