Intellectual Property

  • August 12, 2024

    Celebrity Photo Companies Hit Ye With $1.5M Copyright Suit

    Ye, the musical artist formerly known as Kanye West, was hit with a $1.5 million copyright infringement suit by two celebrity photography companies that claimed he posted at least 10 of their photos to his Instagram account and his Yeezy website without permission.

  • August 09, 2024

    Takeda Should Face Certified Antitrust Classes, Judge Says

    A New York federal judge on Friday recommended certifying two classes of direct purchasers and end payors in consolidated antitrust actions accusing Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. of unlawfully inflating the price of its diabetes treatment Actos by delaying entry of generic alternatives.

  • August 09, 2024

    Delaware Jury Says Fecal Treatment Patents Are Worth $25M

    A Delaware federal jury decided Friday that a Swiss drugmaker owes a smaller drug rival at least $25 million in a patent case involving an experimental enema used to treat a particularly deadly form of diarrhea.

  • August 09, 2024

    VLSI Sues USPTO For Records Related To Intel IP Disputes

    VLSI Technology has sued the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. Department of Commerce in D.C. federal court claiming the agencies have stalled on its public records request for documents relating to ongoing litigation involving Intel Corp. and the invalidation of one of VLSI's microchip patents.

  • August 09, 2024

    Valeant's Legal Gripe A Total 'Nothingburger,' Justices Told

    A lawyer who assembled a whistleblower lawsuit against a major pharmaceutical company using publicly available patent board filings says the larger legal question of whether he can do that is way too niche for the U.S. Supreme Court to bother thinking about.

  • August 09, 2024

    Intel Hit With Copyright Suit Over Expired Anaconda License

    Software company Anaconda Inc., which describes itself as "the operating system for AI," has accused Intel Corp. of copyright infringement, alleging in a complaint in Delaware federal court that Intel has been using Anaconda's technology for its artificial intelligence development platform without paying.

  • August 09, 2024

    Vidal Can't Be Used Against Ex-Client At PTAB, Fed. Circ. Says

    The Federal Circuit said Friday that the initial involvement of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal in a handful of patent challenges during her private practice days at Winston & Strawn LLP isn't enough to prevent the patent board from ever deciding on those petitions.

  • August 09, 2024

    Akoustis Blames Qorvo's Experts For $38M Trade Secrets Win

    Akoustis Technologies Inc. has asked a Delaware federal court to overturn a May jury verdict against it for stealing trade secrets and the $38.3 million in damages awarded to wireless company Qorvo Inc., arguing that two Qorvo experts "eschewed the well-established and accepted methods" to measure unjust enrichment for misappropriation.

  • August 09, 2024

    Novartis Wants DC Judge To Quickly Block Entresto Generic

    Novartis Pharmaceuticals urged a D.C. federal judge Friday to temporarily restrain the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from officially approving a generic version of the company's blockbuster heart failure medication Entresto.

  • August 09, 2024

    IP Row Over Beyoncé's 'Renaissance' Sample Dropped

    A New Orleans music group has voluntarily dropped its claims accusing Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Sony Music Entertainment and others of infringing the group's copyright in Beyoncé's song "Break My Soul" and her film discussing the world tour of her "Renaissance" album that features the track.

  • August 09, 2024

    Vidal's Sanctions Make It Clear: Don't Mess With The PTAB

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has only faced a handful of instances where sanctions took center stage, but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director's rulings have made attorneys increasingly aware that pushing ethical boundaries at the board could put their cases and their careers at risk.

  • August 09, 2024

    Mich. Pot Co. Alleges IP Atty, Wife Are Ruining Its Reputation

    Efforts by a Montana intellectual property attorney and his wife to hit back after losing money in an alleged investment scam have missed the mark by targeting a Michigan cannabis company that was also ripped off, the company claimed Wednesday.

  • August 09, 2024

    Rolling Stones Copyright Suit Can't Get No Jurisdiction

    The Fifth Circuit backed up a Louisiana federal court's decision to throw out a Spanish artist's copyright suit accusing the Rolling Stones of ripping off key elements of two of his songs, ruling that the artist failed to show why the Pelican State had jurisdiction over the matter.

  • August 09, 2024

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

    This past week in London has seen China Evergrande Group file a commercial fraud claim against its founder's ex-wife, legal action by Manolete Partners against the directors of an insolvent construction company, VietJet tackle a claim by French banking group Natixis and more developments in the "Dieselgate" scandal. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • August 09, 2024

    Ex-Boston U Law Instructor Sues Over Course Materials

    A former Boston University Law School instructor has sued the university, accusing it of copyright infringement through use of course materials he developed, in violation of a prior settlement agreement.

  • August 08, 2024

    ​​​​​​​UMG Hit With Copyright Suit Over Pitbull Song 'I Feel Good'

    Rapper Pitbull's 2021 hit "I Feel Good" ripped off the melody, tempo and arrangement used in another composition made over a decade ago, a New York company alleges in a copyright infringement suit filed in New York federal court Thursday against Universal Music Group and Pitbull's label imprint.

  • August 08, 2024

    ITC Rips Google's Bid To Wield Chevron's End In Sonos Row

    The U.S. International Trade Commission on Thursday joined Sonos in urging the Federal Circuit to reject Google's argument that the end of so-called Chevron deference means the appellate court should review precedent on the ITC's patent powers, calling the dispute a "poor vehicle" for such a review.

  • August 08, 2024

    2nd Circ. Says Fla. Biz Should Have Been More Diligent Earlier

    A small Florida chain of souvenir stores had no luck Thursday at the Second Circuit trying to revive allegations that owners of a bankrupt beachwear company concealed the ownership of trademark registrations in a since-settled, decade-old lawsuit, because the chain "should have uncovered the alleged fraud" the first time.

  • August 08, 2024

    Testimony of 3 Experts Limited In PNC's TM Suit Against Plaid

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has approved several suggested expert witnesses but limited the testimony of others in PNC Financial Services Group's trademark infringement lawsuit against Plaid Inc. claiming the company copied its logo and login screens when linking bank accounts to financial apps.

  • August 08, 2024

    Valve Says 'Enough Is Enough,' Seeks Patent Suit Sanctions

    Video game maker and online game store operator Valve Corp. urged a Texas federal judge to punish a Texas company that Valve called a "patent troll" in its sanctions motion for allegedly re-arguing "frivolous" legal theories and purposely taking its barcode patent infringement suit to an allegedly improper venue.

  • August 08, 2024

    Pot Cos. Get Creative To Boost Brands Despite Feds' TM Ban

    The marijuana industry still lives in the shadows of trademark law while the drug remains federally illegal, leaving businesses and their lawyers to seek workarounds to protect their brands.

  • August 08, 2024

    Apple Wins Bid For 2 Trials In IP Dispute With Masimo

    A California federal judge will hold separate trials on Masimo Corp.'s trade secrets and patent claims over the Apple Watch, siding with Apple Inc. and rejecting Masimo's request for one later trial on all the issues, in a case with potentially billions of dollars at stake.

  • August 08, 2024

    TikTok Says Chinese Co. Doesn't Own IP In Trade Secrets Spat

    TikTok Inc. has filed 18 affirmative defenses in California federal court in a copyright and trade secrets complaint it faces from a Chinese company that claims the popular social media platform ripped off proprietary information, saying among other things that Beijing Meishe Network Technology Co. Ltd. does not own some or all of the alleged copyrighted works and trade secrets.

  • August 08, 2024

    General Motors Fender Patent Won't Be Challenged, After All

    General Motors Co. says that it has come to a deal with a Chicago auto parts supplier who went all the way to the full Federal Circuit — and changed design patent jurisprudence — in a now-abandoned challenge to a patent covering the design of a front fender.

  • August 08, 2024

    New Car Seat Isn't Yesterday's Model, Judge Says In IP Suit

    An Ohio infant car seat company convinced a Delaware federal court that its newly designed car seats are not the same as the patent-infringing ones that were the subject of a sales ban and a $3.2 million court judgment won by a Taiwanese rival.

Expert Analysis

  • The Secret Sauce For Trademarking Viral Food Products

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    Three recent high-profile trademark disputes in the food industry illustrate the importance of protecting brands early — especially for any company aiming for viral fame — and underscore the value of intent-to-use applications, say Elliot Gee and Matthew Dowd at Dowd Scheffel.

  • Chanel TM Ruling Shows Resellers Must Tread Carefully

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    The Southern District of New York's recent jury verdict in Chanel v. What Goes Around Comes Around, in which Chanel brought trademark infringement and false association claims, serves as a reminder that businesses must routinely ensure their practices are protected by the first sale and fair use doctrines, say Stephen Barrett and Gabriela Rios at Wilson Elser.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic

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    Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Fed. Circ. Ruling Shows Difficulty Of Proving Deceptive Intent

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    The Federal Circuit’s recent Freshub v. Amazon decision demonstrates how proving the deceptive intent requirement for inequitable conduct can be challenging, even when there is a five-year delay after abandonment before revival, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals

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    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.

  • Breaking Down The EPO's Revised Practice Guidelines

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    The European Patent Office's updated guidelines for examination recently took effect and include significant changes related to the priority right presumption, the concept of plausibility and artificial intelligence, providing invaluable insight on obtaining patents from the office, say lawyers at Finnegan.

  • Trending At The PTAB: Permissible New Reply Arguments

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    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.

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

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    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.

  • Fed. Circ. Defines Foreign IP Damages, Raises New Questions

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    In Brumfield v. IBG, the Federal Circuit recently clarified which standard determines the extraterritoriality of the patent statute after the U.S. Supreme Court's WesternGeco decision, opening a new avenue of damages for foreign activities resulting from certain domestic activities while also creating some thorny questions, say Amol Parikh and Ian Howard at McDermott.

  • Series

    Being An Equestrian Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Beyond getting experience thinking on my feet and tackling stressful situations, the skills I've gained from horseback riding have considerable overlap with the skills used to practice law, particularly in terms of team building, continuing education, and making an effort to reset and recharge, says Kerry Irwin at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Teach Your Party Representative The Art Of Nonverbal Cues

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    As illustrated by recent reports about President Donald Trump’s nonverbal communication in court, jurors notice what’s happening at counsel table, which may color their perceptions of the case as a whole, so trial attorneys should teach party representatives to self-monitor their nonverbal behaviors, says Clint Townson at Townson Consulting.

  • Fintiv Denials Are On The Rise At PTAB

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    Following last year's CommScope v. Dali decision, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board is increasingly using Fintiv factors to discretionarily deny inter partes review petitions — and attorneys ignore it at their peril, say Josepher Li and Michelle Armond at Armond Wilson.

  • 4 Ways To Refresh Your Law Firm's Marketing Strategy

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    With many BigLaw firms relying on an increasingly obsolete marketing approach that prioritizes stiff professionalism over authentic connection, adopting a few key communications strategies to better connect with today's clients and prospects can make all the difference, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law.

  • What Law Firms Should Know Amid Rise In DQ Motions

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    As disqualification motions proliferate, law firms need to be aware of the types of conflicts that most often lead to disqualification, the types of attorneys who may be affected and how to reduce their exposure to these motions, says Matthew Henderson at Hinshaw.

  • What Have We Learned In The Year Since Warhol?

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    In the almost year since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith, which was widely seen as potentially chilling to creative endeavors, seven subsequent decisions — while illuminating to some extent — do not indicate any trend toward a radical departure from prior precedents in fair use cases, says ​​​​​​​Jose Sariego at Bilzin Sumberg.

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