Mealey's Intellectual Property : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Intellectual Property

August 22, 2025
Federal Circuit Affirms Contempt Denial For Tennis Association In Patent Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A New York federal judge was correct to refuse to hold the United States Tennis Association Inc. (USTA) in contempt of a temporary restraining order (TRO) in a patent dispute involving let detection systems used at the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, a panel in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Aug. 21.
August 22, 2025
Judge: No Patent Infringement, Harm From False Claims In Chemical Row

BALTIMORE — A federal judge in Maryland found after a bench trial that plaintiff chemical makers failed to prove literal infringement on the part of W.R. Grace & Co.-Conn. because they did not show that each of Grace’s accused catalyst particles met the requirements of the asserted patent’s claims.
August 21, 2025
9th Circuit: Supertramp’s Royalty Agreement Not Terminable, Judgment Reversed

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge erred in finding that a publishing agreement related to the music from the band Supertramp was terminable, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Aug. 20; the panel remanded for a judgment in favor of the plaintiff former band members who claimed that the band’s main songwriters suddenly stopped paying royalties in 2018.
August 21, 2025
Federal Judge Denies Injunction Pending Appeal In Fired Register Of Copyrights’ Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in the District of Columbia on Aug. 20 denied a motion for an injunction pending appeal filed by the register of copyrights and director of the U.S. Copyright Office who sued after she was purportedly fired in May by President Donald J. Trump and was denied a preliminary injunction in her case; a similar motion remains pending before the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
August 21, 2025
Judge Sees No Similarity Between Novels And Netflix Film, Tosses IP Claims

ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida dismissed with prejudice copyright, false advertising and related claims brought by a novelist against Netflix Inc. and related entities, finding that the novelist failed to show that the 2021 Netflix disaster comedy “Don’t Look Up” copied any protectible element of his books.
August 21, 2025
Federal Circuit: 1993 Amphibious Vehicle Sale Invalidates Patent Claims

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a Louisiana federal judge’s finding in an infringement dispute that all asserted claims of a patent describing an amphibious vehicle for dredging were unpatentable as anticipated.
August 20, 2025
Federal Circuit Affirms PTAB’s Invalidation Of Glucose Monitor Patent Claims

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Aug. 19 affirmed a decision from the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) invalidating all challenged claims in a patent related to a glucose sensor for monitoring blood sugar levels, finding no error in PTAB’s prior art analysis.
August 20, 2025
No Fees For Publisher That Overcame Copyright Judgment Before 5th Circuit

AUSTIN, Texas — Adopting a federal magistrate judge’s report and recommendation, a Texas federal judge denied attorney fees to a publishing company that saw the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals vacate a summary judgment of copyright infringement against it after a panel held that the Canadian civil codes it was accused of illegally copying were effectively uncopyrightable “law” in the country.
August 19, 2025
Federal Judge Again Finds Contempt In Long-Running Jarred Sauce Trademark Row

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge held the owners of a city pizzeria named Patsy’s Pizzeria and their counsel in contempt in a long-simmering trademark infringement dispute over packaged sauces launched in 1999 by another New York restaurant, Patsy’s Italian Restaurant, after they again violated an injunction by applying for “Patsy’s” marks.
August 19, 2025
Federal Judge: Tech Company Didn’t Support Trademark Claims Against Meta

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted a motion for summary judgment from Meta Platforms Inc., finding that plaintiff Metabyte Inc. failed to provide evidence of confusion in support of its trademark infringement claims it brought against the social media company after it changed its name from Facebook Inc.
August 18, 2025
9th Circuit Affirms Quashing Of Subpoena For ISP Customers In Piracy Row

SAN FRANCISCO — On a matter of first impression, Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Aug. 15 that an internet service provider (ISP) acting only as a “conduit” for the infringement of copyrighted materials cannot be forced by a clerk-issued subpoena to provide the identities of subscribers who used torrenting software under a section of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
August 18, 2025
PTAB Right To Invalidate Data Download Patent, Federal Circuit Holds

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a finding by the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) invalidating all claims of a patent related to data downloads in an inter partes review (IPR) sought by Apple Inc., agreeing with arguments made by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) as an intervenor after Apple withdrew from the appeal.
August 18, 2025
Class Responds To Anthropic, Amici’s Attempt At Immediate Appeal

SAN FRANCISCO — A class of copyright holders told the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in opposition to artificial intelligence company Anthropic PBC’s petition for an immediate appeal of a class certification ruling that summary judgment in the case left only allegations that Anthropic PBC pirated and retained works en masse and that any claim that a verdict would be a death knell for the company is undercut by an agreement to cap the appellate bond at $5 billion.
August 15, 2025
Getty Images Dismisses AI Copyright Suit With Intent To Refile In California

WILMINGTON, Del. — Getty Images (US) Inc. on Aug. 14 notified a federal judge in Delaware that it was seeking voluntary dismissal of its artificial intelligence copyright suit without prejudice so that it may refile the action in a California federal court where Stability AI Ltd. argued the case properly belonged.
August 15, 2025
Federal Circuit Revives Haptic Patent Suit Against Apple After Judgment

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel vacated a California federal judge’s grant of summary judgment in Apple Inc.’s favor on infringement allegations regarding patents for haptic feedback on devices, finding that the judge abused his discretion by striking the patent owner’s expert testimony and erred by importing narrowing claim limitations not supported by the evidence.
August 15, 2025
2nd Circuit Affirms Co-Ownership Of ‘Zioness’ Mark, Vacates Fee Denial

NEW YORK — A panel in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a federal jury’s finding that two pro-Zionist advocacy groups were the co-owners of the trademark “Zioness,” holding that sufficient evidence supported a finding that there was overlap of use of the mark before its registration.
August 15, 2025
USAA Tells High Court Federal Circuit Affirmed Arbitrary IPR Ruling

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) tells the U.S. Supreme Court that the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals wrongly affirmed the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) finding that its mobile banking patents are invalid; USAA argues in its petition for a writ of certiorari that PTAB acted arbitrarily given opposite decisions regarding its patents on materially similar issues in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings sought by different petitioners.
August 14, 2025
Federal Circuit Reverses Jury’s Infringement Finding In DNA Sequencing Kit Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Aug. 13 reversed a Delaware federal jury’s finding that a genetic sequencing kit-maker infringed a competitor’s patents and owed $4.7 million in damages; the panel held that no reasonable jury could have found that the accused product met multiple specifications of the patents at issue.
August 14, 2025
Texas Federal Judge Rejects Fees For Microsoft After Patent Judgment

AUSTIN, Texas — A federal judge in Texas denied Microsoft Corp.’s motion for attorney fees in a patent infringement suit filed against it, despite a federal magistrate judge’s recommendation that Microsoft’s motion be partially granted; the judge disagreed with the magistrate judge’s assessment that the plaintiff company’s post-discovery conduct did not justify finding that the case was “exceptional.”
August 13, 2025
Anthropic, Amici Ask 9th Circuit For Review Of Class, Fair Use Rulings

SAN FRANCISCO — A ruling denying summary judgment on claims that Anthropic PBC pirated and kept copyrighted works and a second one certifying a class of potentially impacted copyright holders is replete with individuality issues and notice manageability problems and the rushed class ruling prematurely forces the company to grapple with the possibility of billions of dollars in business-ruining damages, the company and various amici curiae tell a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel in seeking immediate appeal.
August 13, 2025
E-Cig Maker To High Court: Federal Circuit Gets Patent Damages Wrong

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Electronic cigarette maker R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. (RJR) tells the U.S. Supreme Court in a petition for a writ of certiorari that the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ affirmation of a jury’s award of more than $95 million in damages for infringing on another company’s tobacco pod technology conflicts with Supreme Court precedent on the apportionment of damages in patent infringement cases.
August 13, 2025
‘Space Force’ Mark Applicant Takes Rejection To High Court, Citing Loper

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals inappropriately deferred to the interpretation used by the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of a section of the Lanham Act when affirming the TTAB’s rejection of an attorney’s application for a mark on US SPACE FORCE filed only days after President Donald J. Trump’s first proposals regarding the branch, the attorney told the U.S. Supreme Court in a petition for a writ of certiorari.
August 12, 2025
Federal Circuit Revives Dumbbell Patent Row, Reversing Invalidity

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Aug. 11 that a federal judge in Utah was wrong to find that a patent was directed to an abstract idea, conflating a “rather simple mechanical invention” for stacking dumbbells with the kind of computerized automation that is often unpatentable as abstract.
August 12, 2025
Federal Circuit Affirms PTAB’s Invalidation Of Bone Plate Patent Claims

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) correctly invalidated all challenged claims in two related inter partes review (IPR) proceedings, a panel in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held, affirming PTAB’s finding that the claims in the patents relate to bone plates for certain types of foot surgery.
August 12, 2025
Judge Won’t Stay AI Case While Anthropic Appeals Class Cert, Fair Use Rulings

SAN FRANCISCO — Any appeal by Anthropic PBC of a ruling rejecting fair use defenses for pirating copyrighted works or granting class certification should involve a full record, and to the extent going to trial financially threatens the artificial intelligence company, that reality would be the outcome of its own conduct, a federal judge in California said Aug. 11 in declining to stay the case pending appeal.