Analysis

How Litigation Funding Disclosure Could Affect ITC Cases

By Ryan Davis

The U.S. International Trade Commission's proposed rule to require disclosure of litigation funding in intellectual property cases could bring more transparency to disputes and promote settlements, but it could also discourage some suits if it's not carefully tailored, attorneys say.

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Fed. Circ. Judges Stuck On Drug Efficacy's Role In Patents

By Dani Kass

A Federal Circuit panel struggled Thursday to pin down where the line is between patent enablement on cancer drug patents and U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards, as a Pfizer unit tried to revive its $107 million jury victory over AstraZeneca.

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Womble Bond Atty's 'Draconian' Penalty Gives 4th Circ. Pause

By Hayley Fowler

A Fourth Circuit panel seemed to struggle Thursday with what one judge described as a "draconian" contempt order against a Womble Bond Dickinson partner, with the panel nudging counsel for both sides toward a simpler solution that wouldn't force the court's involvement.

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USPTO Tells Fed. Circ. Verizon Can't Appeal Ax Of IPR Win

By Adam Lidgett

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has told the Federal Circuit that Verizon can't appeal a ruling by the agency's former director that wiped out the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's invalidation of a patent it challenged, saying the court has consistently upheld the board's ability to terminate such challenges.

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Judge Knocks Out Pfizer Partner's Vax Case Against GSK

By Adam Lidgett

A Delaware federal judge on Thursday threw out a suit seeking a finding that a drug developer that partnered with Pfizer and BioNTech on their COVID-19 vaccine didn't infringe drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline's patents.

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Bloomberg, RPX Want Ramey's Defamation Suit Tossed

By Theresa Schliep

Bloomberg Law, Unified Patents and RPX hit back at patent attorney Bill Ramey's defamation suit accusing them of a "coordinated campaign" to sink his standing as a litigator, with RPX saying his Texas federal court case "is big on hyperbole and short on facts."

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Ye Used Infringing Song As Listening Party 'Lure,' Jury Told

By Rae Ann Varona

A damages expert for an artists rights holding company told a California federal jury on Thursday that Ye owes over $500,000 in damages for allegedly using an unauthorized sound recording in an early version of his Grammy-winning song "Hurricane," saying Ye used it to "lure" fans into the lucrative listening party.

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Course Hero Operator Wants 'Whopping' $75M IP Verdict Cut

By Elliot Weld

The company behind academic file-sharing site Course Hero has asked a Connecticut federal judge for a new trial or to reduce the $75 million verdict it was hit with by a jury that found it had violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act more than 3,000 times by manipulating documents belonging to Post University.

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Gilead Accuses Pharmacies Of Selling Counterfeit HIV Drugs

By Elliot Weld

Gilead Sciences has sued several New York City pharmacies claiming they sold counterfeit HIV medication bearing the Gilead brand.

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Judge, In 'Difficult Position,' OKs Rare Patent Defense

By Elliot Weld

A Massachusetts federal judge found himself in what he said was a "difficult position" in allowing an unusual defense to be advanced in a patent infringement case related to blood pumps in light of criticism of the defense from the Federal Circuit.

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Netlist Backs DOJ Stance On Essential IP In Samsung Case

By Adam Lidgett

The U.S. Department of Justice is correct that having a patent included in a standard does not necessarily give the patentholder market power, Netlist said in defending itself against Samsung's lawsuit accusing it of exploiting a standard-setting process.

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Google, Verizon Hit With IP Suits Over Auto-Reply Features

By Gina Kim

Google and Verizon were hit with patent infringement suits in Texas federal court Wednesday over Google Pixel's Android Auto and Verizon's Driving Mode auto-reply features that send automated responses to incoming messages when hooked up to a vehicle's Bluetooth, which helps prevent distracted driving. 

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Non-Nicotine Vape Maker Accuses Rival Of Patent Infringement

By Mike Curley

Ready Mix Naturals LLC is suing a rival vape maker in Nevada federal court, alleging rival Globrands LLC and its subsidiaries are infringing Ready Mix's patents for non-nicotine vape products.

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ZoomInfo Must Face Apollo Antitrust, False Ad Claims

By Jarek Rutz

A Delaware federal judge has allowed Apollo.io to press ahead with most of its counterclaims against competitor ZoomInfo Technologies LLC, finding that Apollo plausibly alleged that its larger rival used monopoly power, patent litigation and negative customer messaging to suppress competition in the sales-intelligence data market.

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Taylor Swift Says Vegas Artist Sought 'Showgirl' Confusion

By Lauren Berg

Taylor Swift clapped back at a Las Vegas performer accusing the pop powerhouse of infringing her "Confessions of a Showgirl" trademark, telling a California federal judge it's her accuser who has impermissibly "flooded" her social media with posts mimicking "The Life of a Showgirl" to capitalize on Swift's fame.

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Brief

Conn. Investment Firm Settles $70M Client Poach Suit

By Brian Steele

Connecticut investment firm TJT Capital Group LLC and its one-time chief compliance officer have settled a lawsuit accusing the former executive of taking 125 clients with $70 million in assets under management when he left for a new job, federal court records show.

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SAG-AFTRA Wants Out Of Singer's 'Furious 7' Royalties Suit

By Katherine Smith

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and its intellectual property rights distribution fund are seeking to escape a singer's lawsuit filed in California federal court claiming underpayment for his vocals in a song used in the film "Furious 7," arguing the claims are barred by federal law.

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Series

Speed Jigsaw Puzzling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My passion for speed puzzling — I can complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in under 50 minutes — has sharpened my legal skills in more ways than one, with both disciplines requiring patience, precision and the ability to keep the bigger picture in mind while working through the details, says Tazia Statucki at Proskauer.

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen Morrisons sued by a former logistics partner, EDF and Cripps LLP face a claim brought by a family estate near Hinkley Point C and a former BBC broadcaster file a defamation claim against a Welsh news site over articles linking her to Russian state media and conspiracy theories. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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Morgan Lewis Hires 2 More Hunton Litigators

By Andrea Keckley

Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP announced on Friday that it has hired two more attorneys from Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP to build up its litigation bench.

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Legal Industry Bounces Back, Gaining 2,400 Jobs In April

By Tracey Read

The legal sector is once again on a positive trajectory, gaining 2,400 jobs last month, according to seasonally adjusted data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Paul Weiss Says Atty Cuts Were Part Of Performance Reviews

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson

Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP told Law360 on Friday that the firm has parted ways with some attorneys following an annual review process.

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Top Atty In DOJ Appeal Over Law Firm Exec Orders To Depart

By Jake Maher

The lead federal prosecutor on the Trump administration's appeal to reinstate executive orders targeting four law firms is stepping down from his government role at the end of May, he publicly announced this week.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

The National Immigrant Justice Center and the American Civil Liberties Union lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a split Seventh Circuit panel rejected the Trump administration's argument that immigrants unlawfully in the United States have no due process rights.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

The head of the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits section said agency investigations will focus on benefit plan managers' loyalty conflicts, including pursuit of socially conscious goals. Meanwhile, Dell became the latest company to consider Texas as its new legal home. These are among the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Prosecutor Faces Probe Into Withheld Immigration Case Info

By Bonnie Eslinger

The lead assistant federal prosecutor for Rhode Island's civil division is under investigation for allegedly withholding information in an immigration case, according to an order from the Ocean State's top federal judge.

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DLA Piper Accused Of 'Frivolous' Suit To Please Chipotle GC

By Gina Kim

DLA Piper aggressively litigated a "frivolous" computer fraud lawsuit against a nonprofit volunteer in order to appease the then-general counsel of Chipotle, a client, who referred the case to the firm, according to a malicious-prosecution complaint filed Thursday in California state court. 

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

By Adam LoBelia

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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