Latham, Akin Beat NJ Suit Over Alleged IP Theft Scheme

By Ryan Boysen

A New Jersey federal court on Friday tossed a lawsuit claiming attorneys from Latham & Watkins LLP and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP manipulated patent litigation to steal a former Cornell University graduate student's DNA sequencing intellectual property, calling that graduate student's claims "conspiracy theories."

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Analysis

New PTAB Briefing Plan Likely To Get Patent Owner Pushback

By Ryan Davis

A proposed rule to create a separate round of briefing in Patent Trial and Appeal Board cases about whether the board should use its discretion to deny review may rankle patent owners, attorneys say, since it could effectively restrict their available arguments in many cases.

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Microsoft Narrows Virtual Assistant Patent Row Ahead Of Trial

By Andrew Karpan

A Delaware federal judge has tossed claims that Microsoft's virtual assistant program infringed a patent initially issued to a company that developed Apple's Siri software, but declined to scratch out allegations on another patent in the dispute, which is teed up for trial early next month.

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Albright Sinks Microsoft's Transfer Bid In Proxense Fight

By Andrew Karpan

U.S. District Judge Alan Albright rejected efforts by Microsoft to send an infringement lawsuit over its cloud software to its home in Washington state, citing on Friday his own "experience and effort" dealing with patents covering "a pint-sized virtual wallet" in other suits.

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HP Defeats Video Coding Patent Case At ITC

By Adam Lidgett

The U.S. International Trade Commission has terminated a patent case against HP Inc. by VideoLabs Inc. over video coding patents, agreeing with an administrative law judge that the asserted claims are invalid as indefinite.

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No Coverage For Treasure Hunter's IP Row, 9th Circ. Rules

By Ganesh Setty

Great American Insurance Co. had no coverage obligations over a $7.5 settlement stemming from a treasure hunter's claims that his former partners refused to hand over maps and other intellectual property after they parted ways, the Ninth Circuit ruled Friday, finding the treasure hunter didn't allege insurable, accidental conduct.

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Law360 Reveals Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar

By Rachel Rippetoe

In the past year, plaintiffs have won settlements and judgments for millions and billions of dollars from companies such as Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Facebook and Fox News, with many high-profile cases finally wrapping up after years of fighting. Such cases — involving over-the-top compensation packages, chemical contamination, gender discrimination and data mining — were led by attorneys whose accomplishments earned them recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2024.

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TTAB Says Expired 'Zima' TM Ends Cancellation Bid

By Adam Lidgett

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has found that a petition to cancel a trademark for the drink Zima was no longer an issue since its owner, Molson Coors, let the registration on the product expire.

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Cox Says Insurers Must Pay For Settled DMCA Suit

By Chart Riggall

Cox Enterprises Inc. sued two of its insurers this week over allegations they failed to cover the company's more than $15 million in expenses in defending, and ultimately settling, a novel lawsuit that aimed to hold the internet service provider liable for users' illegal downloads.

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

By Max Austin

This past week in London has seen budget airline Ryanair file a claim against NATS PLC after the air traffic controller's system collapsed, Mastercard and Visa Europe face group claims from Christian Dior and dozens of other beauty retailers, an intellectual property clash between the publisher of The Sun and ITV, and ISC Europe sue a former director for alleged money laundering. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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Truist Unit Survives Early Dismissal Bid In NC Poaching Suit

By Hayley Fowler

Truist Financial Corp. and its real estate finance arm can move forward with the bulk of their suit accusing three former executives of absconding for a competitor with several dozen colleagues in tow, after North Carolina's business court judge largely denied the defendants an early exit.

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JPMorgan Says Ex-Adviser Is Pilfering Clients For Wells Fargo

By Hayley Fowler

J.P. Morgan has accused a former investment management adviser of trying to poach clients for her new job at a competing Wells Fargo unit, saying she's been making unsolicited phone calls and sending emails to convince clients to leave in breach of her employment contract.

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Roundup

Off The Bench: Nassar Victims, Bush V. NCAA, New ACC Suit

By Alex Lawson

In this week's Off The Bench, the U.S. Department of Justice cuts a nine-figure deal for botching its sexual abuse investigation of disgraced USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar, college football legend Reggie Bush plows ahead with an NCAA defamation suit despite reclaiming his Heisman trophy, and Florida sues the ACC to detail its lucrative media rights contracts.

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Prince Heirs Push Del. Court To Reject 'Unfettered' Control

By Leslie A. Pappas

Four family members of the late musician Prince who claim to have taken over for two music industry veterans they once entrusted to run his estate urged a Delaware Chancery Court judge on Friday to throw out the managers' lawsuit against them, calling it "unconscionable and unreasonable."

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Ex-USPTO Solicitor Heads To Carmichael IP

By Adam Lidgett

A veteran intellectual property attorney who once served as the chief legal officer at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has made the move to Carmichael IP PLLC.

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Trending At The PTAB: Permissible New Reply Arguments

In the time since the Federal Circuit’s Axonics ruling, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has allowed petitioners to raise new unpatentability grounds in response to unforeseeable claim constructions in petitions, and reiterated that a petition need not anticipate every argument that may be raised in the response, say Joseph Myles and Timothy May at Finnegan.

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Exploring A New Era Of IP Law Amid The Rise Of Generative AI

Attorneys at Hogan Lovells explore the effects of generative artificial intelligence in three areas of intellectual property, recent updates and emerging trends, and its significance on the IP landscape now and moving forward.

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Analysis

The Best Therapy For Lawyers, According To Ex-Lawyers

By Cara Bayles

Attorneys-turned-therapists say no one understands the stresses of being a lawyer like another lawyer. They also say their clients sometimes struggle at first with treatment that prioritizes feelings, mindfulness and even body awareness over the intellectualizing and rationalizing that make them successful at their jobs.

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Immigration Firm BAL Lands 21 Attys From Seyfarth

By Christine DeRosa

Immigration firm Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP is set to welcome about 90 legal professionals — including 21 attorneys — from Seyfarth Shaw LLP this summer and will open a new office in Atlanta as part of the expansion, the firm said Monday.

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Kirkland Adds 2nd Funds Group From Goodwin This Year

By Aebra Coe

Kirkland & Ellis LLP has hired a group of four attorneys specializing in investment funds from Goodwin Procter LLP, the firm said Monday, following its addition of five investment funds lawyers from the same firm in February.

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Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Robbins Geller's Spencer Burkholz

By Rose Krebs

Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP's Spencer A. Burkholz is quick to downplay his accomplishments litigating major securities cases during his lengthy career, saying effective teamwork has been the key to those successes.

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Turkey Cos. Seek Swift Appeal Of Burford's Ability To Sue

By Emily Sawicki

Some of the country's largest turkey producers have asked an Illinois federal court for permission to immediately appeal a March ruling that allows a Burford Capital investment unit to pursue price-fixing allegations against them, arguing the Seventh Circuit should weigh in on whether the investor is permitted to bring such a claim.

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NJ Legal Groups Fight Ban On Out-Of-State Atty Referral Fees

By Jake Maher

The New Jersey State Bar Association and other Garden State professional legal groups are looking to reverse guidance from a New Jersey Supreme Court ethics committee prohibiting the state's certified attorneys from paying referral fees to out-of-state lawyers.

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The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals

Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.

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