Intellectual Property

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How Penn State Trial Against Retailer Could Upend TM Law

The Pennsylvania State University and an online retailer of goods bearing retro logos and images of schools and sports teams are set to clash in a trademark trial next week that could upend how courts examine infringement claims.
November 12, 2024
Oakland Airport Must Stop Using 'San Francisco Bay' In Name

The Port of Oakland must stop using "San Francisco Bay" in its international airport's new name, a federal magistrate judge in California ruled Tuesday, saying in a trademark infringement suit that travelers might be confused into thinking the Oakland airport is affiliated or associated with San Franciso International Airport.
November 12, 2024
Trump Taps Elon Musk To Head New 'Gov't Efficiency' Dept.

President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a newly created "Department in Government Efficiency" for his administration come January.
November 12, 2024
Future of Anti-Deepfake Federal Law Is Murky, Panel Says

Panelists at a Los Angeles intellectual property conference that included attorneys and representatives of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the U.S. Copyright Office and Microsoft agreed Tuesday that any federal legislation on deepfake technology must strike the difficult balance of punishing bad actors without stifling innovation.
November 12, 2024
Masimo Can't Tie Alleged IP Theft To Apple Profits, Expert Says

An Apple expert witness defended the company Tuesday in a California federal bench trial over Masimo's claim that the tech giant stole pulse oximetry trade secrets for its popular smartwatch, testifying Masimo cannot tie any value to the purported secrets and that Apple's profits can't be attributed to the watch's blood oxygen features.
November 12, 2024
Deal Ends Google Patent Case Soon After Start Of $22.5M Trial

A patent trial in New York federal court ended with a settlement Tuesday, shortly after counsel for Kewazinga Corp. told jurors that the Street View feature in Google Maps infringes its patents on navigating through images, and that Google owes $22.5 million in damages.
November 12, 2024
Catfished Ex-NBA Player Says Atty Stole Cash, Blew Film Deal

A former NBA player is suing his longtime attorney for legal malpractice in Colorado state court, claiming the attorney stole his money and failed to protect his intellectual property rights while negotiating the terms of a documentary deal about his victimization in an elaborate online catfishing scheme.
November 12, 2024
Justices Told Fed. Circ. Overstep Claims Are 'Simply Incorrect'

A unit of pharmaceutical company Alvogen on Tuesday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a petition from the company whose blockbuster IBS drug it's hoping to copy, saying the "petition's fundamental premise" that the Federal Circuit went beyond its legal boundaries "is simply incorrect."
November 12, 2024
Big Tech Litigant's Latest Suit Vs. Google Tossed

A Florida federal judge has granted Google's motion to dismiss a patent infringement and antitrust suit from web development company Greenflight targeting the search giant's reverse phone number lookup, ruling that the plaintiff's phone lookup service appearing low on Google's search results doesn't amount to standing to sue.
November 12, 2024
'Heat Machine' Maker's Trade Dress Win Clears 8th Circ.

The Eighth Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a finding from a bench trial that cleared the Costco supplier behind the "Heat Machine" involved in "a complex intellectual property dispute" with the maker of the "HeatDish," a different machine that Costco also sells.
November 12, 2024
Amazon Beats Speech Recognition Patent Suit Over Alexa

A federal judge in Virginia has decided that three patents initially issued to Japanese electronics company JVCKenwood Corp. "are ineligible for patent protection," sinking a patent litigation outfit's case targeting Amazon.com Inc.'s Alexa virtual assistant brand.
November 12, 2024
HIV Drug Buyers Want Gilead Product Switch Claims Revived

Insurers and benefit plans are asking the Ninth Circuit to revive a chunk of their antitrust case against Gilead, arguing their claims that Gilead delayed generic competition to its HIV drugs by monopolizing the market should have new life.
November 12, 2024
Genasys Reaches Deal With Ex-Workers In Trade Secrets Case

Genasys Inc. has agreed to settle a suit against two former employees it accused of stealing trade secrets to form a competing business, saying they have reached a provisional deal.
November 12, 2024
Huawei Urges Judge To Toss US IP Theft, Fraud Charges

China's Huawei Technologies and its affiliates have asked a Brooklyn federal judge to dismiss the majority of a criminal indictment, slamming allegations that it tried to steal intellectual property from U.S. rivals and deceived banks and the U.S. government about its business dealings with sanctioned countries.
November 12, 2024
Judge Locks Down Byju Entity's IP In Ch. 11

A Delaware bankruptcy judge Tuesday voided transfers of an Apple App Store account linked to the insolvent U.S.-based financing arm of Indian education technology giant Byju's, as the Chapter 11 trustee overseeing one of its debtor subsidiaries rang the alarm about "bad actors" trying to make off with the unit's cash and intellectual property.
November 12, 2024
Roblox, WowWee Settle Avatar Toy Infringement Case

Online game platform Roblox Corp. has agreed to drop a suit alleging WowWee Group Ltd. sold toys based on Roblox's avatars, saying the two companies have reached a settlement to end the trademark and copyright infringement case.
November 12, 2024
GOP Reps. Propose Another Bill On TRIPS Waivers

A new bill from Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives seeks to force the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to file a report "before the negotiation of any international agreement relating to an intellectual property right."
November 12, 2024
Unsatisfied With $70M UTC Win, Sandoz Appeals To 3rd Circ.

Sandoz Inc. has moved to appeal its already $70 million-plus breach of contract damages win over biopharmaceutical firm United Therapeutics Corp., teeing up a Third Circuit request to ask for more damages and to revive antitrust claims previously tossed by a New Jersey federal court.
November 12, 2024
KFC Sues Chicken Rival Church's Over 'Original Recipe' TM

KFC lodged a trademark infringement suit seeking to stop Church's Texas Chicken from using the term "original recipe" to promote its fried chicken, saying in a complaint filed Friday in Texas federal court that the term has been synonymous with KFC's chicken for more than 50 years.
November 12, 2024
Designers Can Pursue RICO Claims Against Shein In IP Suit

A California federal judge has ruled that a group of independent designers can pursue racketeering claims against Shein Distribution Corp. and other defendants in a lawsuit where the plaintiffs accuse the online retailer of copyright and trademark infringement for allegedly copying and selling the designers' works.
November 12, 2024
Penn State TM Jury Asked To Ponder Sponsorship Confusion

A central Pennsylvania federal jury will have to weigh whether consumers are likely to be confused by a Seattle-based online retailer's use of historic logos and art associated with Pennsylvania State University, with opening arguments Tuesday promising dueling experts on consumer surveys and interpretations of trademark law.
November 12, 2024
White Stripes Drop Suit Over Trump's 'Seven Nation Army' Use

Disbanded rock band The White Stripes has agreed to drop their case targeting President-elect Donald Trump over his use of the iconic introductory riff of the Grammy-winning song "Seven Nation Army" on a social media clip without permission.
November 12, 2024
Navajo Co. Says Paralegal Blocking Return Of Privileged Docs

A Navajo Nation natural resources company is suing a former paralegal in Colorado state court to enforce a settlement requiring the return of confidential documents that she allegedly emailed to herself, accusing the paralegal of "erecting unreasonable roadblocks" to their agreement.
November 12, 2024
Vidal To Leave USPTO For Private Sector

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal is stepping down from her role at the agency and will be heading back to the private sector in mid-December, she said in a Tuesday letter.
November 12, 2024
Trial Consultant Agrees To Keep Ex-Employer's Biz Info Secret

An ex-employee for jury analysis firm Jury-X has agreed to avoid using the company's confidential information while its trade secrets lawsuit unfolds, according to a stipulation filed Tuesday in North Carolina federal court.
November 12, 2024
Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Billable Hours Patent Against RELX

The Federal Circuit won't undo a New York federal judge's finding that a Realtime Tracker Inc. patent for tracking billable hours was invalid as an abstract idea, backing a win for LexisNexis parent company RELX.

Editor's Picks

Why Many Drugs Remain Pricey 40 Years After Hatch-Waxman

In the four decades since Congress passed the Hatch-Waxman Act in an effort to make generic drugs more available, the pharmaceutical industry has used patent thickets, "evergreening" and pay-for-delay tactics to block competition and keep prices of life-saving specialty drugs astronomical, several legal experts told Law360, while the industry argues other parties shoulder more of the blame.
Full Fed. Circ. Looks To Clarify Damages In Google Case

The full Federal Circuit has agreed to review EcoFactor's $20 million infringement award against Google, a move that attorneys say should provide much-needed guidance for both judges and parties when calculating damages.
Who Wore '8' Better? Jackson, Aikman Locked In TM Battle

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is banking his popularity will make consumers think of him when they see the number "8" on products he sells, but a beer company associated with Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman — who wore the same jersey number — doesn't see it that way, as the players square off in a trademark fight.

Expert Analysis

Key Territory-Split Licensing Lessons For Life Sciences Cos.

Territory-split deals can allow life sciences companies to maximize products' potential across a range of geographic areas, but these deals also present unique challenges requiring highly bespoke structures that can make or break the value of an asset, say attorneys at Covington.
A Look At 2024 NIL Rights And Economies In College Sports

Permutations in the arena of name, image and likeness affecting collegiate athletics have continued unabated this year, and practitioners and industry representatives should anticipate significant activity at schools and continuing legal changes at the state level, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
Legislation Most Likely To Pass In Lame Duck Session

As Congress begins its five-week post-election lame duck session, attorneys at Greenberg Traurig break down the legislative priorities and which proposals can be expected to pass.
Copyright Questions Surround AI Music Platform Suits

If recent lawsuits filed by the Recording Industry Association of America against two artificial intelligence music platform developers — who maintain that use of copyrighted works to train AI models constitutes fair use — go to trial, this novel issue will make for potentially precedent-setting decisions, says intellectual property lawyer Eric Lane.
Patent Marking Steps After Fed. Circ. Opens Lanham Act Door

Following the Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Crocs v. Effervescent, which seemingly revives private actors’ ability to bring false patent marking claims under the Lanham Act, marketing and legal teams should be careful to avoid advertisement language that implies nonexistent patent rights, says Jeffrey Ratinoff at Spencer Fane.
Litigation Strategies In View Of New Double Patenting Rulings

Recent Federal Circuit decisions, including in Allergan v. MSN, raise several issues that patent owners should understand and consider addressing proactively regarding obviousness-type double patenting, at least in their prosecution strategies, say attorneys at Dentons.
Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals

Excerpt from Practical Guidance

Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.
Series

Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron.
Tracking The Slow Movement Of AI Copyright Cases

The tech community may be expecting a prompt resolution on whether products generated by artificial intelligence are a fair use of copyrighted works, but legal history shows that a response to this question — at the heart of over 30 pending cases — will take years, say attorneys at White & Case.
The EU Design System Changes US Cos. Need To Know About

With a number of major reforms to the European Union's design protection system set to take effect in the first half of 2025, U.S. companies need to stay informed about specific details to maintain effective intellectual property management in the EU market, say lawyers at Finnegan.
Curious Case Of FTC's Amicus Brief In Teva Fed. Circ. Appeal

Attorneys at BCLP explore the Federal Trade Commission's backing of Amneal's Orange Book-delisting efforts on Teva ahead of a key Federal Circuit hearing in a case between the two pharmaceutical companies, and wonder if the FTC amicus brief indicates a future trend, especially in the next administration.
E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Metadata

Several recent rulings reflect the competing considerations that arise when parties dispute the form of production for electronically stored information, underscoring that counsel must carefully consider how to produce and request reasonably usable data, say attorneys at Sidley.
When 'Patented' Goes Beyond Inventorship In False Ad Cases

The Federal Circuit's recent false advertising holding in Crocs v. Effervescent is significant because it offers a nuanced yet realistic understanding of what false claims about a product's status as "patented" can mean, say attorneys at McDermott.
The Fed. Circ. In October: Aetna And License-Term Review

The Federal Circuit's recent decision that Aetna's credit card licensing agreement with AlexSam did not give the insurer immunity from patent infringement claims serves to warn licensees to read their contracts carefully, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.
Opinion

PREVAIL Bill Is Another Misguided Attempt To Restrict PTAB

The decade-long campaign against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board — currently focused on the PREVAIL Act that's slated for markup in the Senate — is not really about procedural issues, and it is not aimed at securing more accurate patentability decisions, says Clear IP's Joseph Matal, former acting director at the USPTO.