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Intellectual Property
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September 25, 2024
Judge Connolly Sticks By Fining Paralegal Patent Owner
Delaware's top federal judge won't budge on ordering a Texas paralegal to pony up $53,000 for refusing to appear for months to answer questions about a patent litigation outfit that was registered to her name, after he grilled her lawyer over who he was representing at a hearing she did show up to last week.
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September 25, 2024
Rapper Says Mike Jones, Houston Texans Stole Song
The owner of the unofficial Houston anthem "Still Tippin'" told a Harris County court this week that rapper Mike Jones and others have ripped off his 2002 song for use by the Houston Texans football team without his permission.
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September 25, 2024
Hairbrush Co.'s Patent Suit Over Straighteners Settles
A hairbrush company and an investment firm that together filed several lawsuits accusing various companies of "poisoning" the market with knockoffs of their patented ceramic straightening brush asked a California federal judge Wednesday to dismiss the last of those cases, stating that the claims have been settled.
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September 25, 2024
Marriott Gets $8M Default Win In TM Robocall Scam Case
A Virginia federal judge has granted Marriott International Inc. the maximum damages that the law allows for the company's trademark infringement claims against a pair of Mexican firms it accused of using its "Marriott Marks" for a robocall scam, ending the claims with an $8 million default judgment.
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September 25, 2024
NC State '83 Basketball Champs Drop TV Networks In NIL Suit
Members of the 1983 North Carolina State University men's basketball team, known as the Cardiac Kids, dropped CBS and TNT from their suit in North Carolina state court accusing the NCAA of exploiting their names, images and likenesses from their national championship run during the annual promotion of March Madness.
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September 25, 2024
Boies Joins Authors' Meta IP Suit After Judge Blasts Lead Atty
Veteran litigator David Boies and a top member of his firm have joined the team heading a proposed class action against Meta Platforms Inc. for allegedly using copyrighted material to train its artificial intelligence product "Llama" — days after a California federal judge told the lead plaintiff's attorney, "You are not doing your job."
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September 25, 2024
IP Protection Firm's $426M SPAC Merger Is Scrapped
Intellectual property management firm Zacco Holdings, formerly known as OpSec Group, and blank check company Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp. I on Wednesday announced that they will be terminating their merger plans.
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September 25, 2024
Breaking IP Barriers: Q&A With Spencer Fane's DJ Healey
Spencer Fane LLP partner DJ Healey came out as a transgender woman in 2017 — 30 years into her legal career — opening doors at a time when LGBTQ+ attorneys were gaining more acceptance from colleagues and clients.
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September 25, 2024
Vape Co. Sues Buchalter Alleging Malpractice After IP Action
A Los Angeles-based cannabis company called Smoke Tokes LLC has filed a legal malpractice suit accusing Buchalter PC and two of its attorneys of causing a federal trademark action to drag on unnecessarily even after Smoke Tokes took all necessary steps to satisfy a judgment and injunction.
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September 25, 2024
Venable Brings On Baker McKenzie IP Litigator In DC
A longtime Baker McKenzie intellectual property litigator whose work touches on sectors including medical devices, software, and the oil and gas industry has moved his practice to Venable LLP, the firm announced Wednesday.
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September 25, 2024
Former Administrative Patent Judge Joins McGuireWoods
McGuireWoods LLP has added a former administrative judge with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board as a partner in its Richmond, Virginia, office.
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September 25, 2024
Pfizer, BioNTech Get New Shot To Ax Moderna's MRNA Patent
Pfizer and BioNTech have won another shot at challenging the validity of one of Moderna's key mRNA vaccines as a judge ruled Wednesday that their appeal had a reasonable prospect of success.
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September 25, 2024
Full Fed. Circ. To Tackle Patent Damages In $20M Google Case
The full Federal Circuit said Wednesday it will review a panel's holding that Google must pay EcoFactor $20 million for infringing a smart thermostat patent, after the tech giant said the court has allowed patent owners to "manufacture a royalty rate."
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September 24, 2024
Dentons Accused Of Hacking Laptop, Aiding Vape Co. Usurper
Dentons helped the founder of vape distributor Next Level sabotage and usurp manufacturer Avid Holdings' brand, including breaking into its founder's laptop to access confidential information, Avid alleged in a sprawling lawsuit filed Tuesday in California federal court.
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September 24, 2024
Aristocrat Wins Injunction In Slot Machine Trade Secret Row
A federal judge in Las Vegas blocked gambling game company Light & Wonder Inc. from commercializing its Dragon Train video slot machine game, saying competitor Aristocrat Technologies Inc. is "extremely likely" to succeed in showing L&W misappropriated Aristocrat's trade secrets in developing the game.
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September 24, 2024
Verizon Foe Defends $847M Patent Win In EDTX
A Dallas patent business said on Tuesday it doesn't think the $847 million verdict it scored in Texas federal court in Marshall against a pair of telecom giants in June is too much.
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September 24, 2024
Neurosurgeon Deems Judge Newman's Brain 'Entirely Normal'
A third doctor has found that suspended U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman, 97, is not cognitively impaired and that there's no reason to keep her off the bench, according to a report released by her attorneys Tuesday.
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September 24, 2024
Motorola Ducks Out Of Smartphone Camera Patent Suit
A federal judge in Chicago on Tuesday decided to end one of the patent lawsuits by a retired businessman over operating smartphone cameras, ruling that "no reasonable jury could conclude Motorola is infringing the patent."
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September 24, 2024
Novo Nordisk Tells Sens. Ozempic Costs Are Linked To PBMs
Novo Nordisk's CEO argued Tuesday that the high prices of the company's diabetes and weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy primarily stem from the actions of pharmacy benefit managers, earning support from many members of a Senate committee and frustrating others who wanted more direct answers on the Danish drugmaker's own responsibilities.
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September 24, 2024
Musk, X Seek To End Ex-CNN Anchor's Talk Show Fraud Suit
Elon Musk and his social media platform X have asked a California federal judge to toss former CNN anchor Don Lemon's suit against over a collapsed talk show deal, saying the claims are insufficiently supported, Musk wasn't properly served, and there's no jurisdiction to proceed in the Golden State.
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September 24, 2024
Microsoft Fights Mich. Tax Treatment Of Cost Share Payments
Microsoft urged the Michigan Tax Tribunal to find that cost sharing agreement receipts from affiliates constituted licenses of intellectual property that should be included in its apportionment formula, arguing that the state's tax agency incorrectly followed federal transfer pricing rules in excluding the payments from its tax calculations.
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September 24, 2024
Pilates Co. Stretches Patent Campaign To ITC
A San Francisco pilates equipment maker has persuaded the U.S. International Trade Commission to hear its patent infringement case against an assortment of companies that one of its lawyers calls "Chinese knockoff artists."
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September 24, 2024
11th Circ. Rejects Atty Fees In Roller-Coaster IP Dispute
The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday shot down an attempt by attorneys to collect fees after securing a partial win in an intellectual property dispute related to a roller-coaster project in Dubai.
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September 24, 2024
Firms Allowed To Exit IP Case After Gaining Philips' Consent
A North Carolina federal judge allowed Dentons and Morningstar Law Group to withdraw as Transtate Equipment Co. Inc.'s counsel in a copyright and unfair competition case, after a stipulation was struck with opposing attorneys representing a Dutch health technology conglomerate that initially scoffed at the request.
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September 24, 2024
Entertainment IP Veteran Joins Saul Ewing In New York
Saul Ewing LLP announced Tuesday that a longtime intellectual property attorney with over 30 years of experience representing clients in matters related to advertising and branding has joined the firm's New York office as a partner.
Expert Analysis
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Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics
Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.
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Defamation Law Changes May Be Brewing At Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court's significant rightward shift has produced dramatic changes in many areas of the law, and the long-standing "actual malice" standard protecting speech about public figures could be the next precedent to fall, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.
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Exploring Practical Employer Alternatives To Noncompetes
With the Federal Trade Commission likely to appeal a federal court’s recent rejection of its noncompete ban, and more states limiting the enforceability of these agreements, employers should consider back-to-basics methods for protecting their business interests and safeguarding sensitive information, says Brendan Horgan at FordHarrison.
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It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers
Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.
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Breaking Down Director Review Timing At The PTAB
Attorneys at Fish & Richardson examine the complexities of director review of a Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruling, including timelines for requests and decisions, and how these factors influence related district court cases.
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Calif. Bill, NTIA Report Illustrate Open-Model AI Safety Debate
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s balanced recommendations for preventing misuse of open artificial intelligence models, contrasted with a more aggressive California bill, demonstrate an evolving regulatory debate about balancing democratic access to this powerful new technology against potential risks to the public, say Stuart Meyer and Fredrick Tsang at Fenwick.
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Behind 3rd Circ. Ruling On College Athletes' FLSA Eligibility
The Third Circuit's decision that college athletes are not precluded from bringing a claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act raises key questions about the practical consequences of treating collegiate athletes as employees, such as Title IX equal pay claims and potential eligibility for all employment benefits, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Patent Lessons From 4 Federal Circuit Reversals In July
The Federal Circuit’s July reversal of four cases, all of which were Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions, highlights lessons for patent practitioners regarding the scope of estoppel provisions, potential issues with obtaining certain substitute claims, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.
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Video Game Release Highlights TM Pitfalls Of App Store
The upcoming release of poker video game Balatro in Apple's App Store underscores the tradeoff of keyword advertising and trademark protection for indie developers who, unlike corporate counterparts, lack resources but seek to maximize the reach of their game, say Parmida Enkeshafi and Simon Pulman at Pryor Cashman.
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5 Credibility Lessons Trial Attys Can Learn From Harris' Run
In launching a late-stage campaign for president, Vice President Kamala Harris must seize upon fresh attention from voters to establish, or reestablish, credibility — a challenge that parallels and provides takeaways for trial attorneys, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.
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Patent Owner Estoppel Questions In The Wake Of SoftView
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's seldom-litigated Rule 42.73(d)(3) on Patent Trial and Appeal Board estoppel was recently brought to the forefront in the Federal Circuit's SoftView v. Apple decision, highlighting uncertainties in this aspect of patent practice, say David Haars and Richard Crudo at Sterne Kessler.
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Copyright Termination Opinion Departs From Long-Held Views
In Vetter v. Resnik, a federal court recently held for the first time that termination rights under Section 304 of the Copyright Act recapture domestic and foreign rights where the original grant was for "worldwide" rights — misinterpreting a basic principle of international copyright treaties, say Rebecca Benyamin and Eric J. Schwartz at Mitchell Silberberg.
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3 Patent Considerations For America's New Quantum Hub
Recent developments signal an incredibly bright future for Chicago as the new home of quantum computing, and it is crucial that these innovators — whose technology has the potential to transform many industries — prioritize intellectual property strategy, says Andrew Velzen at McDonnell Boehnen.
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Fed. Circ. Ruling Creates New Rule For Certification Marks
The Federal Circuit's decision last month in Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac v. Cologne & Cognac Entertainment is significant in that it establishes a new standard for assessing evidence of third-party uses of a certification mark in deciding whether the mark is famous, say Samantha Katze and Lisa Rosaya at Manatt.
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A Preview Of AI Priorities Under The Next President
For the first time in a presidential election, both of the leading candidates and their parties have been vocal about artificial intelligence policy, offering clues on the future of regulation as AI continues to advance and congressional action continues to stall, say attorneys at Mintz.