Ramey IP Attys Pay Sanctions, But Defend Fed. Circ. Appeal

By Lauren Berg

Texas intellectual property lawyer Bill Ramey and two other attorneys informed a California federal court Monday that they have made payments toward fines totaling $64,000 and alerted disciplinary bodies that they were sanctioned, the same day they urged the Federal Circuit to keep alive their appeal of the sanctions.

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High Court Passes On Coke Sweetener Patent Case

By Theresa Schliep

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a Texas chemical company's challenge to a Federal Circuit decision scratching claims in a patent on the process to create the artificial sweetener used in Coke Zero, in a case that addressed whether the secret usage of that process could preclude its patent eligibility. 

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High Court Declines Review Of 'Server Test' In Copyright Suit

By Ivan Moreno

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a challenge to the Ninth Circuit's criteria for determining copyright liability when photos are embedded online, denying a photographer's appeal in a case where he is suing Canadian media company Valnet Inc.

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Chinese Cos. Lose Immunity Fight In 9th Circ. IP Case

By Adam Lidgett

The Ninth Circuit on Monday shot down arguments from related Chinese steel companies that they shouldn't have to face espionage charges that they stole DuPont trade secrets for creating titanium dioxide, saying they aren't protected by foreign sovereign immunity.

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USPTO Discovery In VLSI Row Unlawul, PQA Tells Fed. Circ.

By Theresa Schliep

A company that was sanctioned for flouting discovery while challenging the validity of a VLSI Technology LLC patent underpinning a since-vacated $1.5 billion infringement verdict told the Federal Circuit on Friday that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director lacked the authority to order that discovery.

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Trump Must Face Copyright Claim Over Isaac Hayes Song Use

By Kelcey Caulder

A Georgia federal judge refused to free President Donald Trump from a copyright infringement claim levied against him over his election campaign's use of artist Isaac Hayes' song "Hold On, I'm Coming" at rallies.

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'Top Gun: Maverick' Writer's Cousin Says He Co-Piloted Script

By Craig Clough

The cousin of a "Top Gun: Maverick" screenwriter has sued Paramount Pictures in New York federal court, alleging he penned many of the film's key scenes but never received any credit or compensation for his purported contribution to the 2022 blockbuster.

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SAIC, Feds, Microsoft Settle Night-Vision Goggle Patent Suit

By Adam Lidgett

The federal government has reached a deal to end a suit from Science Applications International Corp. accusing the government of contracting with Microsoft and L3 Technologies Inc. for night-vision goggle weapon systems with infringing displays.

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Stewart Wants PTAB To Check If Chip Co. Has Ties To Intel

By Andrew Karpan

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's acting director has ordered the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to allow discovery over a chipmaker's relationship with Intel Corp., which could block challenges targeting patents issued to a former Texas Instruments Inc. executive.

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PTAB Axes 3 Gaming Patents, Trims Another In Playrix Fight

By Andrew Karpan

Administrative patent judges have agreed to wipe out three mobile video game software patents asserted against game developer Playrix but split on prior art arguments challenging two claims in a related fourth patent.

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Casper Sleep Gets PTAB To Squash Cooling Pillow Patent

By Adam Lidgett

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has ruled that the claims in a patent for a cooling pillow were invalid, handing a win to e-commerce sleep product company Casper Sleep in its challenge.

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Brief

ITC Affirms Optimum's Network Patent Case Is Over

By Andrew Karpan

The U.S. International Trade Commission has decided not to breathe any new life into Optimum Communications Services Inc.'s patent infringement case against several Chinese tech companies over network switching and routing patents, but it also cut part of an agency judge's findings on ownership of the patents.

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Brief

NC Judge Says 'Natural Dog' TM Confusion Fight Needs A Trial

By Ryan Harroff

A North Carolina federal judge denied a Tar Heel State pet store chain's bid for a pretrial win in a trademark infringement suit brought against it by Natural Dog Acquisitions LLC, ruling Monday that the case needs a jury trial to resolve certain questions of fact.

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Google Claims Row Delays Dormify's Ch. 11 IP Asset Sale

By Vince Sullivan

A dispute over a $600,000 claim from Google led bankrupt dorm room furnishing retailer Dormify Inc. to delay approval of a sale of its intellectual property assets to Williams-Sonoma Inc. Monday to give the debtor time to resolve the conflict.

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As Tariffs Rise, Cos. Can Address Trademark Non-Use Risks

Although new tariffs may temporarily prevent companies from selling their goods and services in the U.S., businesses can take steps to minimize the risk of losing their trademark rights due to non-use, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

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Understanding How Jurors Arrive At Punitive Damage Awards

Much of the rising trend of so-called thermonuclear verdicts can be tied to punitive damages amounts that astonish the imagination, so attorneys must understand the psychological underpinnings that drive jurors’ decision-making calculus on damages, says Clint Townson at Townson Litigation.

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The 2025 Lawyer Satisfaction Survey

Law firms and the legal profession are facing new uncertainties, shifting the stress levels, economic pressures, and overall contentment of lawyers in private practice, according to the 2025 Law360 Pulse Lawyer Satisfaction Survey.

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'The Court Is Not A Cartoon': Judge Rips Dragon Watermark

By Hailey Konnath

A Michigan federal magistrate judge Monday ordered an East Lansing, Michigan, firm called Dragon Lawyers PC to stop plastering its pleadings with a large, suit-clad purple cartoon dragon watermark on each page, saying it's not only "distracting, it's juvenile and impertinent."

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Analysis

Feds Have Strong Hand On Judge Charged With Blocking ICE

By Danielle Ferguson and Carolyn Muyskens

A Wisconsin state judge faces an uphill battle in defending against federal criminal allegations that she helped a man evade immigration officials at a Wisconsin courthouse, but she may be able to stake out a defense in arguing the government can't prove intent, experts told Law360. 

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California Judge Loses Pay After Conviction For Murdering Wife

By Gina Kim

The California Commission on Judicial Performance formally suspended a California judge without pay after a state jury found him guilty of second-degree murder last week for shooting his wife to death in their Anaheim Hills home on Aug. 3, 2023, following a heated argument. 

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Q&A

Sullivan M&A Chief Sees Opportunities Amid Tariff Turmoil

By Al Barbarino

After a rocky start to 2025, the mergers and acquisitions landscape is grappling with economic volatility, shifting trade policies and a complex regulatory environment. But even in a "choppy" market, there are always deals to be made, says Melissa Sawyer, global head of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP's M&A group and co-head of its corporate governance practice.

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NJ Judge Apologizes Through Waylon Jennings Lyrics

By George Woolston

Clark Township, New Jersey, Municipal Judge Antonio Inacio said Tuesday that he isn't proud of all the things that led him to appear before a Garden State judiciary disciplinary committee, but he can say that he never intentionally hurt anyone by his conduct.

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$10M Brown Rudnick Deal With Guo Trustee Gets Judge's OK

By Aaron Keller

A Connecticut bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved a $10 million deal between Miles Guo's Chapter 11 trustee and the Chinese exile's onetime attorneys at Brown Rudnick LLP, and greenlighted 10 lesser settlements with other firms and luxury retailer Versace.

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Analysis

GOP Plan To Shutter Audit Watchdog Could Strain SEC

By Jessica Corso

Congressional Republicans are renewing the push to get rid of a financial regulator that conservatives have complained is costly and lacks proper oversight, but some former staffers at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board wonder whether the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has the manpower or expertise to take over the board's duties.

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Federal Defenders Of NY Staff Announce Union Drive

By Andrea Keckley

Staff members at the Federal Defenders of New York have announced their plans to join their attorney colleagues as members of the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys.

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Justices Scoff At Feds' Defenses In Mistaken FBI Raid Case

By Chart Riggall

Supreme Court justices Tuesday appeared flummoxed by the government's "ridiculous" arguments it should be immune to a Georgia resident's lawsuit over a mistaken FBI raid on her house, but seemed unlikely to issue a blanket ruling on when an officer's discretion trumps their liability for injuries caused by their actions.

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Alex Jones Wants High Court Look At $1.3B Sandy Hook Case

By Brian Steele

Bankrupt Infowars host Alex Jones will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate a mammoth libel judgment that families of Sandy Hook shooting victims secured against him and his company over his conspiratorial broadcasts calling the massacre a hoax, he told a Connecticut appellate court in seeking to extend a pause on the payout.

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Breyer To Talk Pragmatism At NJ Bar Association Convention

By Carla Baranauckas

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will bring his pragmatic legal philosophy to center stage when he appears at the New Jersey State Bar Association Convention on May 16 in Atlantic City.

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