Intellectual Property

  • March 06, 2025

    Disney Slams Paltry Evidence As 'Moana' IP Trial Nears End

    Counsel for a unit of The Walt Disney Co. urged a California federal judge to enter judgment in their favor as a copyright trial wound to a close Thursday, saying an artist has theories but no actual evidence that his work was stolen for the blockbuster animated movie "Moana."

  • March 06, 2025

    ASUSTeK, HTC, Others Sued Over Media Patent

    A New York-based patent-holding company has launched a series of lawsuits in Texas federal court accusing 13 companies of infringing its patent covering a media keying system used to upload content to users.

  • March 06, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Judge Stresses Unknown Software To Fintiv, Apple

    A Federal Circuit panel expressed frustration Thursday as it struggled to get straight answers regarding whether Apple's products have a "widget" that would infringe Fintiv's contactless payment patent, with one judge ending arguments by saying that "after 45 minutes here, I'm still not clear what the widget does."

  • March 06, 2025

    Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

    Believe it or not, there's still important litigation happening that doesn't involve President Donald Trump, and the proof exists in this month's circuit court calendars. During the remaining weeks of March, arguments will explore numerous high-profile topics, including a law firm's severe punishment for alleged misconduct in 9/11 litigation and a judicial rebuke of Trader Joe's for "an attempt to weaponize the legal system."

  • March 06, 2025

    USPTO's AI Strategy Doc From Biden Era Gets Scrubbed

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has seemingly withdrawn its artificial intelligence strategy issued in the last days of the Biden administration, scrubbing from the internet a report that emphasized the safe and responsible development of the technology.

  • March 06, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Won't Force Director Review Of Freight Patent App

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday rejected a company's bid to get the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director to review a decision denying it a freight logistics patent, saying the company took too long to make a constitutional challenge in its case.

  • March 06, 2025

    Ex-Gizmodo Editor Loses IP Suit Over Apple Film 'Tetris'

    A New York federal judge tossed litigation brought by the former editor-in-chief of tech news site Gizmodo on Thursday, finding him unable to prove allegations that Apple and other defendants ripped off his 2016 book "The Tetris Effect" for the Apple TV+ film "Tetris."

  • March 06, 2025

    Colo. Jury Finds Prospector Didn't Steal Anschutz Oil Secrets

    A Denver jury found that a prospector didn't misappropriate an Anschutz-owned oil and gas exploration company's trade secrets, reaching a unanimous verdict Thursday evening after a four-day trial in Anschutz's case alleging the prospector secured a $9 million deal based on its stolen data.

  • March 06, 2025

    No Cancer Therapy Patent For AbbVie, Says Federal Circuit

    The Federal Circuit declined on Thursday to second-guess a Virginia federal judge who sided with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in refusing to issue a patent requested to cover a purportedly new way of administering a clinical stage cancer treatment to an AbbVie unit.

  • March 06, 2025

    Reuters Won't Have To Turn Over Meta AI Deal To Authors

    A California federal judge has sided with Reuters News & Media Inc. that it doesn't have to turn over its multi-year licensing agreement with Meta Platforms Inc. to use its news content in Meta's AI chatbot to authors suing OpenAI Inc. for allegedly using their books to train OpenAI's large language models.

  • March 06, 2025

    Penn State Fights Bid To Duck Infringement Case Costs

    An online retailer's bid to avoid paying court costs for the Pennsylvania State University's trademark-infringement case was "unreasonable litigation conduct" and should be denied because Penn State was undoubtedly the prevailing party in the case, the university has told a federal court.

  • March 06, 2025

    Fox Rothschild Lands McCarter & English IP Ace In Princeton

    Fox Rothschild LLP announced Thursday that it has added a New Jersey-based partner specializing in intellectual property and outside general counsel work for emerging growth companies who joined the firm from McCarter & English LLP.

  • March 06, 2025

    Contempt Of Atty's 'Own Making,' Judge Says In Allowing Trial

    A Dutch software company can't push back a copyright trial after one of its attorneys from Womble Bond Dickinson was held in contempt and was temporarily kicked off the case, a North Carolina federal judge ruled, finding the predicament "entirely of counsel's own making."

  • March 05, 2025

    Rival Cos. Called 'Empower' Agree To End TM Fight, For Now

    Empower Annuity Insurance Co. of America and Empower Finance Inc. agreed to end, for now, their trademark infringement dispute over the "Empower" mark, over a year after a Colorado federal judge found customer confusion was "unlikely" in the financial services sector and refused to order Empower Finance to change its name.

  • March 05, 2025

    PTAB Bar Urges Congress, Lutnick To Protect USPTO Workers

    The PTAB Bar Association is calling on intellectual property leaders in Congress, along with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, to spare the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office from Trump administration initiatives to freeze hiring and require in-person work.

  • March 05, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Backs PNC's PTAB Win Over Mobile Banking IP

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a win PNC Bank landed at an administrative patent board against a Texas bank that is suing PNC over mobile banking technology.

  • March 05, 2025

    Celltrion Can't Undo Eye Med Biosimilar Injunction On Appeal

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a lower court's preliminary injunction barring South Korea-based Celltrion Inc. from launching a biosimilar version of Regeneron's blockbuster eye disease treatment Eylea, rejecting Celltrion's argument that it has shown a patent on the drug may be invalid.

  • March 05, 2025

    Justices Asked To Recuse Fitbit Judge Over Google Ties

    A Silicon Valley-based patent-holding company that lost its infringement case against Fitbit is telling the U.S. Supreme Court that a California federal judge and her husband's financial ties to Fitbit parent Google are so strong that "if these circumstances do not warrant recusal ... then nothing does."

  • March 05, 2025

    Teva Wants Pause Of Patent Delisting For High Court Appeal

    Israeli drugmaker Teva Pharmaceuticals is hoping the Federal Circuit will keep an injunction ordering it to remove its inhaler patents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Orange Book on hold while it appeals the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • March 05, 2025

    Disney Doesn't Allow IP Theft, 'Moana' Co-Creator Testifies

    One of the creators of "Moana" testified in a California federal copyright trial Wednesday that he "would never" use another writer's idea without permission, noting that one of his projects was killed after The Walt Disney Co. was unable to buy source material.

  • March 05, 2025

    Bezos' Satellite Co. Drops Docs Fight With His Newspaper

    Jeff Bezos' satellite company has ended a public records fight with the Bezos-owned Washington Post over Washington state labor department workplace investigation records, after both sides agreed on blacking out some details to shield trade secrets.

  • March 05, 2025

    NJ Panel Wrestles With Reviving Lorillard's Tax Refund Claim

    New Jersey state appeals court judges grappled Wednesday with whether to revive tax refund claims from Lorillard following a state Tax Court decision that said changes to a royalty addback and deduction rule retroactively fixed constitutional issues with the regulation.

  • March 05, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Says Marketing Costs Can Permit ITC Patent Suits

    The Federal Circuit ruled Wednesday that the U.S. International Trade Commission has wrongly prohibited domestic expenses related to sales, marketing and other activities from allowing companies to pursue ITC patent cases, and revived a suit brought by eyelash extension company Lashify.

  • March 05, 2025

    Parameters Set For Final NIL Deal Approval Hearing

    The California federal judge overseeing the massive $2.78 billion name, image and likeness settlement between the National Collegiate Athletic Association and former and current student-athletes has released guidelines for the deal's final approval hearing in April.

  • March 05, 2025

    Steven Madden Resolves Libel Dispute Over IP Allegations

    Parties in Steven Madden Ltd.'s lawsuit accusing Danish "affordable luxury" brand Ganni A/S of falsely claiming that two of its shoe designs infringed Ganni's intellectual property have reached an agreement to resolve the dispute, according to a filing Tuesday in New York federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • FDA's Red No. 3 Ban Reshapes Food Safety Legal Landscape

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recent ban on Red No. 3 represents more than the end of a controversial dye — it signals a shift in regulatory priorities, consumer expectations, intellectual property strategy, compliance considerations and litigation risk, says Dino Haloulos at Foley Mansfield.

  • Series

    Adventure Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Photographing nature everywhere from Siberia to Cuba and Iceland to Rwanda provides me with a constant reminder to refresh, refocus and rethink the legal issues that my clients face, says Richard Birmingham at Davis Wright.

  • Fed. Circ. Inherency Ruling Refines Obviousness Framework

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    The Federal Circuit's December decision in Cytiva v. JSR has definitively eliminated the requirement of "reasonable expectation of success" analysis for inherent properties in obviousness determinations, while providing some key clarifications for patent practitioners, says Lawrence Kass at Steptoe.

  • 5 Ways To Create Effective Mock Assignments For Associates

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    In order to effectively develop associates’ critical thinking skills, firms should design mock assignments that contain a few key ingredients, from messy fact patterns to actionable feedback, says Abdi Shayesteh at AltaClaro.

  • And Now A Word From The Panel: How MDLs Fared In 2024

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    A significant highlight of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation's practice during 2024 was the increase in the percentage of new MDL petitions granted by the panel, with 25 granted and only eight denied — one of the highest grant rates in years, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.

  • What Public View Of CEO's Killing Means For Corporate Trials

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    Given the proliferation of anti-corporate sentiments following recent charges against Luigi Mangione in connection with the killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO, attorneys who represent corporate clients and executives will need to adapt their trial strategy to account for juror anger, says Clint Townson at Townson Litigation Consulting.

  • Private-Bidding Compliance Lessons From Siemens Plea Deal

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    Siemens Energy’s recent wire fraud conspiracy guilty plea shows that U.S. prosecutors are willing and able to police the private, domestic bidding market to protect the integrity of the competitive marketplace, and companies will need a robust compliance program to mitigate these risks, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

  • Lessons From The Pharma Industry On Patent Cliffs

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    In the next five years, patents for drugs that have generated billions in global sales are set to expire, and companies that view this imminent patent cliff as an opportunity for strategic renewal rather than a challenge will be best positioned to maintain market leadership, says Keegan Caldwell at Caldwell Law.

  • FTC Report On AI Sector Illuminates Future Enforcement

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    The Federal Trade Commission's report on cloud service providers and their partnerships with developers of artificial intelligence's large language models suggests that the agency will move to rein in Big Tech with antitrust enforcement to protect startups, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • Artfully Conceding Liability Can Offer Defendants 3 Benefits

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    In the rare case that a company makes the strategic decision to admit liability, it’s important to do so clearly and consistently in order to benefit from the various forms of armor that come from an honest acknowledgment, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

  • Mentorship Resolutions For The New Year

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    Attorneys tend to focus on personal achievements or career milestones when they set yearly goals, but one important area often gets overlooked in this process — mentoring relationships, which are some of the most effective tools for professional growth, say Kelly Galligan at Rutan & Tucker and Andra Greene at Phillips ADR.

  • What Nearshoring Growth In Americas Means For Patents

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    With the new U.S. administration potentially focused on implementing draconian trade restrictions, nearshoring in the Americas is expected to grow, and patent prosecution attorneys will be kept on their toes as the patent landscape from country to country continues to evolve, says Ernest Huang at Procopio.

  • Series

    Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.

  • Influencer IP Case Risks Judges Becoming Arbiters Of 'Vibes'

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    The case of Gifford v. Sheil, pending in Texas federal court, involves an influencer alleging that distinctive social media aesthetics constitute protectable property, and reflects a troubling trend: the overreach of intellectual property law in areas better left for creative freedom, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • 5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025

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    Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.

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