Intellectual Property

  • July 12, 2024

    AIG Says Ex-Execs Who Started Rival Co. Stole Trade Secrets

    Insurance giant American International Group is accusing three of its former senior executives of unlawfully using confidential company information to launch a startup New Jersey insurance company.

  • July 12, 2024

    Zimmer Biomet Owes Despite Expired Patents, 7th Circ. Says

    Zimmer Biomet Holdings shouldn't have stopped paying royalties on knee replacement devices it developed using an orthopedic surgeon's various patents after those patents expired, the Seventh Circuit said Friday, backing a lower court's decision affirming an arbitration ruling in favor of the surgeon's estate.

  • July 12, 2024

    Steris Infringing 'AST' Trademark, Medical Equipment Co. Says

    Medical supply company Steris Corp. is allegedly infringing the "AST" trademark of a Washington engineering and medical equipment firm, according to a complaint filed Friday in Washington federal court.

  • July 12, 2024

    Fed. Circ. To PTAB Detractor: Didn't We Do This Already?

    The Federal Circuit seemed confused Friday by Arbor Global Strategies' argument that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board was acting outside the Administrative Procedure Act when it invalidated the company's processor module patent claims, since they'd tackled that question in an earlier precedential opinion.

  • July 12, 2024

    NPE Patent Suits Up 19% From 2nd Half Of 2023

    The number of patent lawsuits filed by so-called nonpracticing entities has continued to increase in the past year, with the Eastern District of Texas being the top district in terms of patent litigation, according to a new report.

  • July 12, 2024

    AbbVie Brings Atty-Client Privilege Fight To Supreme Court

    Drugmaker AbbVie has set its sights on the U.S. Supreme Court, asking justices to weigh in on a discovery battle over what it believes are privileged attorney-client communications relating to a "sham" Pennsylvania patent case.

  • July 12, 2024

    Litigation Funding 'Abuses' Targeted By Federal Lawmakers

    Federal lawmakers are seeking to put the reins on third-party investors bankrolling litigation, with Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., introducing legislation that would require disclosure of third-party financing deals in civil lawsuits, and Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., asking Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday to have the Judicial Conference review the practice.

  • July 12, 2024

    Biggest Washington Decisions Of 2024: A Midyear Report

    The first half of 2024 in Washington courts was punctuated by a fizzled startup's $72 million trial win against The Boeing Co., and Monsanto Co.'s appellate reversal of a $185 million verdict in one of a series of high-profile PCB poisoning cases. Here is a closer look at some of the biggest decisions in Washington state and federal courts in the first half of 2024.

  • July 12, 2024

    Polsinelli Hires Longtime Daspin & Aument IP Atty In Chicago

    Polsinelli PC has hired a Daspin & Aument LLP attorney in Chicago as an intellectual property litigation practice shareholder, after he spent almost 17 years with the firm, according to an announcement Thursday.

  • July 12, 2024

    Microsoft Squashes Beef With Ex-Engineer Over Xbox Patents

    Microsoft has resolved litigation with a former software engineer who was fighting with the company over whether he could claim to own patents that he says Microsoft uses in its Xbox software.

  • July 12, 2024

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

    This past week in London has seen the owner of the Lambretta scooter brand Innocenti SA embroiled in a trademark dispute with a property developer, a clash between two art dealers over a collection of tapestries, Telecom Italia pursue a debt claim against a competing telecommunications company, and performing arts trade union Equity hit a casting directory for charging unfair subscription fees on actors. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • July 11, 2024

    Ah, Geez! Fox Sues Pop-Up For Copying 'The Simpsons' Pub

    Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. slapped a Philadelphia special event company with a federal lawsuit Thursday claiming infringement of intellectual property rights it holds in "The Simpsons" animated series and movie, saying JMC Pop Ups is creating unauthorized replicas of Moe's Tavern from the popular show.

  • July 11, 2024

    Sens. Pitch COPIED Act To Fight AI-Content, Empower Artists

    A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced legislation dubbed the COPIED Act on Thursday to fight the growth of AI-generated "deepfakes," proposing a framework that would give journalists and artists control over their work via a watermarking process and allow them to sue those who use their work without permission.

  • July 11, 2024

    Beastie Boys Want Chili's To Stop Playing 'Sabotage'

    The Beastie Boys can't stand it. Chili's parent company, Brinker International Inc., has allegedly been using the band's 1990s hit "Sabotage" in social media videos to promote the restaurant chain without permission, and the band wants it to stop, according to a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court.

  • July 11, 2024

    VLSI Tells Fed. Circ. IPR Should Have Ended After Sanctions

    VLSI Technology is urging the Federal Circuit to revive the patent it used to win a $1.5 billion infringement verdict against Intel, saying the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's invalidation was tainted by mishandled sanctions proceedings.

  • July 11, 2024

    Senate Clears Patent Bill Aiming To Lower Drug Prices

    The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would pump the brakes on the ability of pharmaceutical companies to steer patients away from generic versions of a drug, a measure that lawmakers said would lower drug costs.

  • July 11, 2024

    Vidal Says USPTO Has Improved Patent, TM Application Speed

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday said it has been able to cut down lags in reviewing patent and trademark applications through increased hiring, better pay for patent examiners and improving technology.

  • July 11, 2024

    Vidal Says Late Response Isn't An 'Abandonment' Of IPR

    The head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has thrown out a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision that issued a loss to an owner of a patent covering a portable backup charger, sending the case back to the board.

  • July 11, 2024

    IP Forecast: Napa Winery's Ex-Atty Wants Another Trial

    A Texas lawyer plans to tell an appeals court why he should receive another trial in a trademark case from a Napa Valley winery, a former client that he claims sold off a "wildly successful California cult wine" out from under him.

  • July 11, 2024

    Judge Won't Dismiss Cannabis Extraction IP Dispute

    Subsidiaries of Canadian cannabis company Halo Collective Inc. can't escape patent infringement claims by a Colorado-based firm specializing in developing techniques for extracting hemp oil, a California federal judge has ruled, rejecting a slew of motions seeking summary judgment.

  • July 11, 2024

    DC Judge Questions Pharma Co.'s Generic Harm In FDA Spat

    A D.C. federal judge on Thursday seemed skeptical about Vanda Pharmaceuticals' claims that waiting for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to review its challenge to the agency's approval of a generic challenger to its sleep medication would seriously jeopardize the company's future.

  • July 11, 2024

    Va. Jury Invalidates Elevated Stairs Patent Claims

    A federal jury in Virginia has found that claims in an inventor's patent on elevated stairs are invalid, in a win for Mission Integrated Technologies.

  • July 11, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Pauses Ouster Of Teva Patents From Orange Book

    Teva can keep challenged asthma inhaler device patents listed on, and protected by, an important government database after the Federal Circuit agreed Wednesday to pump the brakes on the patents' delisting while the Israeli drugmaker appeals an order won by Amneal in an infringement lawsuit.

  • July 11, 2024

    Security Manager Gave $85M Biz Book To Rival Co., Suit Says

    A former Connecticut regional manager spent days downloading "extensive" data before leaving a security firm for a direct competitor, then gave his new employer millions of dollars' worth of stolen secrets to snipe clients and bolster his chances for earning a lucrative bonus, according to a new suit filed in federal court.

  • July 11, 2024

    GSK Asks Judge To Rule In Teva IP Case, Citing Opioid Deals

    A GlaxoSmithKline lawyer has urged a Delaware federal judge to make up his mind about a nearly $400 million patent case against Teva Pharmaceuticals in light of unrelated "opioid-related cases" that the Israeli generic-drug maker has been settling in the billions of dollars.

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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