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Intellectual Property
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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August 08, 2024
Insurer Utica Off Hook In High-End Leather Goods Dispute
Utica National Insurance Group is not obligated to defend or indemnify a maker of high-end leather goods against claims it fraudulently induced a former partner into a deal in order to steal his designs and then attempt to drive him out of business, a Massachusetts intermediate appellate court has concluded.
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August 08, 2024
Colo. Trailer Dealership Says Would-Be Buyer Infringed TM
A Colorado trailer dealership is accusing a competitor that purportedly tried to buy its business of changing its public name to one confusingly similar to the dealership's registered trademark after the acquisition offer was rejected for being "much less than plaintiff's business was worth."
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August 08, 2024
Sporting Good Cos. Fight Over Helmet Tech In Patent Suit
A company suing football helmet manufacturer Certor for patent infringement took aim Wednesday at its rival's interpretations of the disputed patent, accusing it of trying to sidestep the court's earlier construction of a term with "no change in the law, no new facts to consider, nothing."
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August 08, 2024
Texas Co. Says Timex Infringed Wearable Device Data Patent
A Texas company took Timex Group USA Inc. to Connecticut federal court alleging that the watch company infringed its patent for "systems, methods and apparatuses for enabling wearable device users access to secured electronic systems" by putting out a line of smartwatches for families to keep track of their children.
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August 07, 2024
Investor Asks Justices To Overturn $5.7M Arb. Award Ruling
An investor who put money into an unsuccessful business looking to revolutionize the chemical manufacturing industry urged the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday to overturn a split Ninth Circuit decision enforcing a $5.7 million arbitration award in favor of that business' founders, arguing the award should never have been issued.
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August 07, 2024
Hemp Cos. Owner Says Cousin Ripped Off Formula, Trademarks
The owner of Florida-based CBD and hemp companies White Lab LLC and GS Distribution LLC is suing a company owned by his cousin, saying the cousin has failed to pay up on a distribution agreement and is now trying to steal the trademarks to one of White Lab's product lines.
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August 07, 2024
Judge's Pharma Comments Could Decide Ineligibility Appeal
A Federal Circuit panel on Wednesday was willing to explore Astellas Pharma's argument that a Nebraska federal judge should be taken off its infringement case over the bladder medication Myrbetriq, given statements that showed a potential bias against the pharmaceutical industry, but also made clear that such reassignments are rare and difficult.
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August 07, 2024
6th Circ. Backs 20 Years For Chinese Spy Who Targeted GE
The Sixth Circuit upheld a 20-year prison sentence for a Chinese spy convicted of espionage for trying to steal trade secrets from General Electric's GE Aviation unit, noting in an opinion unsealed Wednesday the punishment was reasonable as he continuously pursued the confidential information using sophisticated tradecraft processes for several years.
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August 07, 2024
Robot Vacuum Cleaner Patent Ruling Remains Undisturbed
Federal Circuit judges proved unpersuaded on Wednesday to do anything to touch an administrative board ruling that wiped out most, but not all, of the claims in a patent that allegedly covered a new feature in the Roomba brand of robotic vacuum cleaners.
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August 07, 2024
Advocates Tell 9th Circ. To Revive Invisalign Monopoly Suit
Competition advocates are backing the revival of a class action accusing the makers of Invisalign of monopolizing the market for clear dental aligners, telling the Ninth Circuit in a new amicus brief that a district court summary judgment ruling for Align Technology creates a dangerous precedent for refusal-to-deal cases.
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August 07, 2024
Teva Finds Some Big-Pharma Friends In Inhaler Patent Fight
Two large pharmaceutical companies have weighed in to ask the Federal Circuit to overturn a ruling that found that Teva's branded drugmaking operation misused a key federal patent database in order to block the release of competing generic asthma inhalers.
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August 07, 2024
Judge Says PNC's TM Suit Against Plaid Must Go To Trial
A Pennsylvania federal judge has ruled that PNC Financial Services Group's trademark infringement complaint against third-party software broker Plaid Inc. will proceed to trial after he denied each party's summary judgment motion on Wednesday, saying jurors must decide claims that "could reasonably come out either way."
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August 07, 2024
Fed. Circ. Scrutinizes Role Of A Patent's Admissions In IPRs
A Federal Circuit panel on Wednesday grappled with when statements in a patent admitting that certain technology was well-known can improperly form the basis of an inter partes review validity challenge, taking up a long-running dispute between Apple and Qualcomm.
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August 07, 2024
NC Biz Court Bulletin: The Battles Making Summer Sizzle
A 1983 championship basketball team's intellectual property rights and a public feud between Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP and its insurer are among the legal battles that have kept North Carolina Business Court judges and Tar Heel state private practice attorneys busy this summer. In case you missed those and others, here are the highlights.
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August 07, 2024
Amgen Waged Lawfare To Overcharge For Drug, Suit Claims
Maryland-based independent licensees of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association claim pharmaceutical giant Amgen Inc. and its subsidiaries have engaged in unlawful monopolistic practices that have inflated the cost of the blockbuster drug Enbrel.
Expert Analysis
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M&A In The AI Era: Key Deal Terms To Watch
As the artificial intelligence market matures, so will due diligence needs, as M&A deals aimed at consolidation and new synergies raise unique legal and regulatory challenges, including potential antitrust and national security reviews, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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Trending At The PTAB: Multiple Petitions In IPRs
Recent Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions and a proposed rulemaking indicate the board’s intention to continue to take a tougher stance on multiple inter partes review petitions challenging the same patent, presenting key factors for petitioners to consider, like the necessity of parallel filings and serial petitions, say Yinan Liu and Cory Bell at Finnegan.
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How Attorneys Can Reduce Bad Behavior At Deposition
To minimize unprofessional behavior by opposing counsel and witnesses, and take charge of the room at deposition, attorneys should lay out some key ground rules at the outset — and be sure to model good behavior themselves, says John Farrell at Fish & Richardson.
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Series
After Chevron: Rethinking Agency Deference In IP Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent overturning of Chevron deference could make it simpler to challenge the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s proposed rule on terminal disclaimers and U.S. International Trade Commission interpretations, says William Milliken at Sterne Kessler.
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Series
Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.
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Opinion
'Trump Too Small' Ruling Overlooks TM Registration Issues
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision last month in Vidal v. Elster, which concluded that “Trump Too Small” cannot be a registered trademark as it violates a federal prohibition, fails to consider modern-day, real-world implications for trademark owners who are denied access to federal registration, say Tiffany Gehrke and Alexa Spitz at Marshall Gerstein.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State
On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.
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Series
After Chevron: Expect Limited Changes In USPTO Rulemaking
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling overturning Chevron deference will have limited consequences for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office given the USPTO's unique statutory features, but it is still an important decision for matters of statutory interpretation, especially those involving provisions of the America Invents Act, say Andrei Iancu and Cooper Godfrey at Sullivan & Cromwell.
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Fed. Circ. Skinny Label Ruling Guides On Infringement Claims
The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Amarin v. Hikma shows generic drug manufacturers must pay close attention to the statements in their abbreviated new drug application labels to put themselves in the best position in defending against an induced infringement claim, say Luke Shannon and Roshan Shrestha at Taft Stettinius.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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USPTO Disclaimer Rule Would Complicate Patent Prosecution
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's proposed changes to terminal disclaimer practice could lead to a patent owner being unable to enforce a valid patent simply because it is indirectly tied to a patent in which a single claim is found anticipated or obvious in view of the prior art, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.
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Series
Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.
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Opinion
Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.