Mealey's Intellectual Property
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October 01, 2024
Only Copyright Claim Survives In Atari’s Arcade Cabinet Row With State Farm
DALLAS — A federal judge in Texas said a copyright infringement claim brought by Atari Interactive Inc. against the State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. and advertising companies that worked with it for allegedly using an Atari arcade cabinet in a commercial without Atari’s permission can survive a motion to dismiss; however, the judge held that all other claims brought by the video game company fail.
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October 01, 2024
Order Lays Out Security Details For ChatGPT Discovery
SAN FRANCISCO — Discovery in plaintiffs’ consolidated copyright litigation over the data used by OpenAI Inc. to train its large language models (LLMs), including ChatGPT, will occur in a secure room at a computer isolated from the internet and other networks, a federal magistrate judge in California said in adopting stipulated protocol.
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October 01, 2024
DMCA AI Ruling Heads To 9th Circuit After Grant Of Immediate Appeal
OAKLAND, Calif. — Plaintiffs with copyright claims against GitHub Inc. and others stemming from the training of artificial intelligences may file an interlocutory appeal of a ruling requiring identicality under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) and dismissing the claims, a federal judge in California said.
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October 01, 2024
Man Calls AI-Assisted Art A Human Creation, Faults Copyright Office Denial
DENVER — Comparing his artificial intelligence-assisted work to that of Jackson Pollock, a man alleges in a federal court in Colorado that the Copyright Office acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner when it denied his application for a copyright of a work he says he spent in excess of 100 hours tweaking and improving.
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September 30, 2024
California Governor Signs 17 AI-Related Laws, Creates Task Force
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who recently signed 17 bills governing artificial intelligence, took yet another step toward regulation on Sept. 29, announcing the creation of new initiatives designed to ensure safe and responsible use of the technology.
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September 30, 2024
Isaac Hayes Estate Drops Some Defendants From Trump Campaign Copyright Suit
ATLANTA — The estate of a songwriter and the company that manages his works on Sept. 27 voluntarily dismissed the Republican National Committee and other groups from a lawsuit accusing former President Donald J. Trump and associated entities of copyright infringement for their use of a 1960s soul song at campaign rallies.
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September 30, 2024
Judge Denies Alleged ‘Patent Troll’s’ Motion To Dismiss Valve’s Complaint
SEATTLE — A federal judge in Washington said a video game company has shown that it had adequate reason to fear infringement claims would be brought by a man the company deems a “patent troll,” denying a motion from the man and entities he controls to dismiss the company’s complaint seeking a declaration invalidating one of the relevant patents.
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September 30, 2024
Advertisers Appeal Order Requiring Wind-Down Of Use Of Marks To 9th Circuit
LOS ANGELES — Defendant advertising firms that were ordered by a California federal judge to begin winding down their use of marks a plaintiff firm says infringe on its word mark “MARS” on Sept. 27 appealed the judge’s entry of a preliminary injunction in the plaintiff firm’s favor.
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September 27, 2024
2nd Circuit Affirms $33M In Damages In Diabetic Test Strip Trademark Fight
NEW YORK — A panel of judges in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 26 upheld a New York federal judge’s entry of default judgment and damages against a wholesaler and its principals accused by a manufacturer of diabetic test strips of trademark infringement for selling the strips without permission, holding that the wholesaler’s intentional withholding of discovery information justified the finding.
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September 27, 2024
Judge: Rogers Test Precludes Trademark Suit Over F1 Team Leader’s Book
LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California dismissed with prejudice a trademark infringement suit brought by a motor vehicle parts company against a member of the Formula 1 team it owns and his publisher, holding that the team member’s use of the company’s logos in photos in his book about his time in F1 are not infringing.
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September 27, 2024
Judge: Tattoo Artist Did Not Show How Game Makers’ Infringement Caused Damages
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — An Illinois federal judge held that the developers of wrestling video games are not entitled to judgment as a matter of law after a jury determined that they are liable for copyright infringement of a tattoo artist’s work through their depictions in-game of a tattooed wrestling star, but they are entitled to judgment as a matter of law on damages because the artist presented no evidence at trial to support the award of damages.
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September 26, 2024
Company Says 5th Circuit’s Copyright Opinion Contradicts Other Recent Opinion
NEW ORLEANS — A defendant distribution company petitioned the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for en banc rehearing, arguing that a circuit panel’s affirmation of a Louisiana federal judge’s entry of final judgment in favor of the plaintiff company on copyright infringement claims cannot be squared with a recent Fifth Circuit decision in another copyright case.
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September 26, 2024
Developers Of Video Game Cheat Again Appeal Copyright Case To 9th Circuit
SEATTLE — Only a month after the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a Washington federal judge did not err in affirming a nearly $4.4 million arbitration award in a copyright infringement case involving video game cheating software, the case is headed back to the Ninth Circuit as the companies who created the software on Sept. 25 notified the district court that they were appealing the court’s decision to deny their motion for a new trial.
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September 26, 2024
Federal Circuit Grants Google’s Petition For Rehearing Of Patent Dispute
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Sept. 25 that it will reconsider its June opinion leaving in place findings by a jury empaneled in a Texas federal court that Google LLC infringed smart thermostat technology to the tune of $20 million in damages owed to a patent owner, granting Google’s petition for en banc rehearing.
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September 25, 2024
Judge: Outlet Can’t Claim Fair Use In Copyright Suit Over Congresswoman’s Photo
NEW YORK — A nonprofit media organization cannot use a fair use defense against a copyright infringement claim brought by a photojournalist who said the media outlet posted a screenshot of a copyrighted video he took of Rep. Alexandira Ocasio-Cortez at a New Yorker’s funeral, a New York federal judge held, denying the outlet’s motion to dismiss the journalist’s suit.
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September 25, 2024
Judge: Man Owes Millions For Using American Airlines Marks In Hiring Grift
MIAMI — A man accused by American Airlines Inc. of trademark and copyright infringement for using the company’s intellectual property while allegedly running a scheme to trick job applicants into paying for fake background checks owes the company more than $3 million in damages and attorney fees, a federal judge in Florida held after granting summary judgment to the airline on most of its claims.
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September 24, 2024
Qualcomm’s Claims On Voltage Tracking Unpatentable, Federal Circuit Finds
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 23 affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s finding that certain claims in Qualcomm Inc.’s patent relating to power tracking supply voltage are unpatentable as obvious; the panel also dismissed a cross-appeal from Intel Corp. to consider a finding that other claims were not obvious.
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September 24, 2024
Federal Circuit: Eye Syringe Claims From Novartis Are Unpatentable
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board was correct to hold that a pharmaceutical company’s claims related to a prefilled syringe for eye diseases were unpatentable, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal panel held Sept. 23, agreeing with the board that the claims are combinations of prior art references.
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September 24, 2024
Music Publisher: Judge Must Reconsider Ruling In Copyright Fight Over 1986 Song
NEW YORK — A music publisher says a New York federal judge should reconsider an August holding in which the judge ruled that the publisher must pay royalties to a hip-hop group that created a 1986 hit single despite its concern that the song infringed the theme song of the long-running television show “Dragnet,” arguing that the judge’s order fundamentally and inappropriately changes the relationship between the rappers and the label.
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September 23, 2024
Judge Largely Denies Summary Judgment Bids In Penn State Cybersquatting Suit
HARRISBURG, Pa. — In a pair of lengthy orders, a federal judge in Pennsylvania granted summary judgment in favor of the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) on a counterclaim of reverse domain name hijacking brought by a defendant recreational vehicle (RV) company the university said infringed on certain of its trademarks, holding that the RV company failed to show that the university caused the relevant domain name to be suspended.
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September 23, 2024
Judge Tosses 1 Count From Comcast’s Contract Suit Stemming From Patent Claims
NEW YORK — In a contractual dispute between Comcast Cable Communications Management LLC and a developer of silicon chips for high-speed internet stemming from another developer’s ability to sue Comcast for patent infringement, a federal judge in New York dismissed one of Comcast’s claims for declaratory judgment, holding that the claim now reflects no potential harm because one of the contracts in question has expired.
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September 20, 2024
1st Circuit: Puerto Rican Food Company Abandoned Chicken Mark
BOSTON — A federal judge in Puerto Rico correctly held that a defendant food company abandoned its POLLO PICÚ mark when granting summary judgment in favor of a plaintiff company that sought to use the mark, a panel of judges in the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Sept. 19, saying the defendant company failed to show that it intended to resume its use of the mark.
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September 20, 2024
Most Claims In Pesticide Trademark, Copyright Row Survive Motion To Dismiss
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal judge in Ohio largely denied a defendant pesticide manufacturer’s motion to dismiss some trademark and copyright infringement claims brought against it by competitor plaintiff companies who allege that the defendant copied package design, holding that the plaintiff companies plausibly alleged infringement.
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September 20, 2024
Judge Tosses Canadian Legal Code Copyright Fight After 5th Circuit’s Reversal
AUSTIN, Texas — After the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued its mandate reversing a Texas federal judge’s grant of summary judgment against a publisher accused by a Canadian developer of legal codes and standards of illegally republishing complete versions of the code because the code is effectively uncopyrightable “law” in Canada, the judge on Sept. 19 filed an order granting summary judgment in the publisher’s favor.
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September 19, 2024
5th Circuit Agrees Art Education Company Did Not Infringe On Artist’s Work
NEW ORLEANS — A Texas federal judge rightly held that that a company selling art kits to students during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic did not infringe on an artist’s work by basing elements of the product on a series of dog paintings, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Sept. 18, determining that the fair use defense applied.