Intellectual Property

  • August 19, 2024

    Judge Suggests Atty, Firm Pay Up For Not Probing IP Claims

    A Florida lawyer who once represented former President Donald Trump and the lawyer's firm should pay $150,000 in attorney fees as a monetary sanction for failing to properly investigate patent claims before suing, a federal magistrate judge has recommended, which is far below the $684,000 the defendants in the case sought.

  • August 19, 2024

    DOJ Says No Arthrex Problem In SpaceX Hiring Bias Probe

    The U.S. Department of Justice is urging a Texas federal judge to side with the administrative law judge overseeing the immigration bias investigation against SpaceX, saying the company is using its constitutional attack against the framework of the proceeding as a distraction.

  • August 19, 2024

    NuVasive Beats Fraudulent Inducement Claim At Trial

    A Delaware federal jury has rejected a physician's claim that NuVasive Inc. fraudulently induced him to enter into a 2014 agreement related to patents he owns for spinal implant system components — but also rejected the medical device manufacturer's claim that the doctor had breached the deal by suing.

  • August 19, 2024

    Philips Drops FRAND Case After Jury Trial Canceled

    Dutch electronics giant Koninklijke Philips NV agreed to drop its patent case against a major French cellular brand on Monday, shortly after both sides agreed to cancel a jury trial in Delaware federal court that would have set the licensing rates for patents covering ways of complying with 3G and 4G telecom standards.

  • August 19, 2024

    Activision Blizzard Settles After $23.4M Patent Verdict

    Video-game developer Activision Blizzard Inc. has settled a dispute with San Francisco incubator Acceleration Bay Group Inc. after a Delaware federal jury found Activision infringed two patents with its World of Warcraft and Call of Duty games and owed $23.4 million, according to papers filed in federal court on Friday.

  • August 19, 2024

    Roku Takes Dispute Over ITC Powers To Supreme Court

    Roku is telling the U.S. Supreme Court that the U.S. International Trade Commission doesn't have the power to ban the import of patent-infringing software if those patents only have a limited connection to products on sale in the market.

  • August 19, 2024

    'Mere Speculation' Thwarts PTAB Appeal, Fed. Circ. Says

    The Federal Circuit has blocked an optical filter maker from appealing a failed Patent Trial and Appeal Board challenge to a rival's patent, ruling that the company lacked standing to appeal because it presented only "mere speculation" that it might be sued again.

  • August 19, 2024

    Isaac Hayes' Family Sues Trump For Using Song In Campaign

    The family of legendary singer-songwriter Isaac Hayes has sued Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his campaign for using the song "Hold On, I'm Coming" to close his events and rallies, alleging the former president does not have authorization to play it and has ignored demands that he stop.

  • August 19, 2024

    Civil Rights Activist's Name Being Stolen For Diner, Suit Says

    The fight over the name of a New Jersey diner has spilled into federal court, with the family of a former operator and Garden State civil rights icon claiming the now-owners of the building home to the eponymous "Mr. G's" can't reopen it with the same name.

  • August 19, 2024

    Fair Use Dooms Santos Suit Over Jimmy Kimmel's Prank Videos

    A New York federal judge said Monday that the fair use exception to copyright law is fatal to former U.S. Rep. George Santos' suit against ABC and Jimmy Kimmel over video clips that the late-night TV show host tricked the ex-congressman into making.

  • August 19, 2024

    Quinn Emanuel Atty Behind Google IP Win Joins Debevoise

    Debevoise & Plimpton LLP has brought on a former Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP partner to its San Francisco office, strengthening its intellectual property litigation group with an attorney who helped Google convince a federal judge last year to wipe out speaker maker Sonos' nearly $33 million jury award against Google.

  • August 19, 2024

    Latham Recruits Haynes Boone Patent Litigation Pro In Austin

    Latham & Watkins LLP announced Monday that it has bolstered its intellectual property litigation practice with a partner in Austin, Texas, who came aboard from Haynes and Boone LLP.

  • August 16, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Quells Fears Over Double-Patenting Overreach

    A recent Federal Circuit decision finding patent claims licensed by Allergan were not invalid for obviousness-type double patenting provided relief to attorneys who were concerned the court had made it easier to invalidate patents that had extended expiration dates to make up for regulatory delays.

  • August 16, 2024

    CDK's $100M Deal Puts Auto Dealer Settlements Up To $130M

    Car dealerships sought preliminary approval Friday for a $100 million class action settlement resolving claims that auto dealer data management software giant CDK Global anticompetitively locked out rival data companies, adding to the $29.5 million agreement reached previously in the sprawling litigation with CDK peer Reynolds and Reynolds.

  • August 16, 2024

    Deal Struck After Jury Clears US Well On Halliburton Patents

    U.S. Well Services LLC and Halliburton Energy Services Inc. have agreed to a settlement in principle to resolve their long-running patent infringement dispute, which has seen several patents invalidated, according to a joint motion the parties filed after a jury cleared U.S. Well of infringing three still-registered Halliburton patents.

  • August 16, 2024

    Cisco Gets Another Shot At Sinking Network Security Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Friday told the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to take another look at a ruling upholding language in a network security technology patent at the heart of Cisco Systems Inc.'s fight with a litigation outfit.

  • August 16, 2024

    2nd Circ. Faults 'Sophisticated Plaintiff' Logic In Axing IP Case

    The Second Circuit on Friday said a Manhattan federal judge wrongly dismissed a photography studio's copyright complaint as time-barred by concluding that a "sophisticated plaintiff" such as the studio could not avail itself of the discovery rule, a judicial doctrine holding that copyright claims accrue when an alleged infringement is discovered.

  • August 16, 2024

    Farmers Insurance Hits Former Agents With Trade Secrets Suit

    Farmers Insurance on Friday filed a lawsuit in Colorado federal court accusing two of its former agents of walking away from the company with trade secrets to divert customers to their own agency with a third former Farmers agent.

  • August 16, 2024

    Apple Needs To Wait Its Turn In ITC, Masimo Tells Fed. Circ.

    Apple wants to speed up its appeal over a U.S. International Trade Commission patent ruling that forced the company to disable an Apple Watch feature that measures the oxygen in blood, but both its courthouse rival and the agency itself say there's no compelling reason to cut in line.

  • August 16, 2024

    Mich. Judge Won't Raise $350K Award Against Ford To $15M

    A Michigan federal judge refused to increase a California tech company's $350,000 jury award to $15 million in a dispute over Ford Motor Co.'s misuse of an interface module, finding that the parties' agreement to Ford's sales numbers at trial barred him from changing the jury's decision.

  • August 16, 2024

    Anthropic Says IP Suit Doesn't Show AI Users Infringed Lyrics

    Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has asked a California federal court to toss the bulk of a copyright suit from several music publishers that allege their song lyrics were ripped off to train Anthropic's chatbot Claude, arguing among other things that the plaintiffs have not shown any infringing acts by Claude users.

  • August 16, 2024

    $117M Interest Ruled 'Not A Windfall' On $262M Patent Verdict

    A California federal judge approved $117 million in prejudgment interest for an Austrian inventor's company on top of the $262 million royalty verdict in its favor against hard drive maker Western Digital Technologies Inc., ruling that the interest "does not amount to a windfall or a punitive award."

  • August 16, 2024

    Attys Eye $10.5M In Fees From Pegasystems Securities Deal

    Attorneys for lead plaintiffs in a shareholder class action against Pegasystems are seeking $10.5 million in attorney fees from the $35 million settlement that ended claims that the software company failed to properly disclose a rival's trade secret litigation that led to a since-vacated $2 billion verdict.

  • August 16, 2024

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

    This past week in London has seen Barry Manilow sued by music rights company Hipgnosis, a struck-off immigration lawyer take on the Solicitor's Disciplinary Tribunal and the former CEO of a collapsed bridging loan firm start proceedings against the FCA. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • August 16, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Urged Not To Rehear $20M Google Royalty Ruling

    EcoFactor Inc. urged the Federal Circuit to reject Google LLC's bid for a full court rehearing of its split panel decision to uphold a $20 million patent infringement damages award in EcoFactor's favor, arguing that Google is looking to create a "rigid rule" that will only enable more patent infringement.

Expert Analysis

  • How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case

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    The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.

  • Supply Chain Considerations For Companies Deploying AI

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    Many businesses will risk failure by embracing artificial intelligence without fully understanding the risks, and the value of a five-step AI supply chain analysis cannot be overstated, say Brooke Berg and Nathan Staffel at Nardello & Co.

  • How Real Estate Cos. Can Protect Their IP In The Metaverse

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    The rise of virtual and augmented reality creates new intellectual property challenges and opportunities for real estate owners, but certain steps, including conducting a diligence investigation to develop an understanding of current obligations, can help companies mitigate IP issues in the metaverse, says George Pavlik at Levenfeld Pearlstein.

  • Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content

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    From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.

  • Patent Lessons From 4 Federal Circuit Reversals In April

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    Four Federal Circuit decisions in April that reversed or vacated underlying rulings provide a number of takeaways, including that obviousness analysis requires a flexible approach, that an invalidity issue of an expired patent can be moot, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • How To Use Exhibits Strategically Throughout Your Case

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    Exhibits, and documents in particular, are the lifeblood of legal advocacy, so attorneys must understand how to wield them effectively throughout different stages of a case to help build strategy, elevate witness preparation and effectively persuade the fact-finders, say Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie and Colorado prosecutor Adam Kendall.

  • Tips For Companies Tapping Into Commercial Cleantech

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    A recent report from the European Patent Office and European Investment Bank examining the global financing and commercialization of cleantech innovation necessary for the green energy transition can help companies understand and solve the issues in developing and implementing the full potential of cleantech, says Eleanor Maciver at Mewburn Ellis.

  • Opinion

    USPTO's Proposed Disclaimer Rule Would Harm Inventors

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s recently proposed rule on terminal disclaimers will make the patent system less available to inventors and will unfairly favor defendants in litigation, say Stephen Schreiner at Carmichael IP and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.

  • Series

    Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.

  • 15 Quick Tips For Uncovering And Mitigating Juror Biases

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    As highlighted by the recent jury selection process in the criminal hush money trial against former President Donald Trump, juror bias presents formidable challenges for defendants, and attorneys must employ proactive strategies — both new and old — to blunt its impact, say Monica Delgado and Jonathan Harris at Harris St. Laurent.

  • Tips For Keeping Trade Secrets In The Vault

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    Key practices aimed at maintaining confidentiality can help companies establish trade secret status as the Federal Trade Commission's ban on noncompetes makes it prudent to explore other security measures, says John Baranello at Moses & Singer.

  • Reducing Patent Litigation Costs Starts With Early Strategy

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    With the average cost ranging from $1 million to $4 million, defending a patent case can create a serious strain on resources, particularly for midsize or smaller companies, so certain cost-cutting steps should be considered at the outset — even if some seem counterintuitive, say Jeffrey Ahdoot and Wendy Verlander at Verlander.

  • Legal Issues To Watch As Deepfake Voices Proliferate

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    With increasingly sophisticated and accessible voice-cloning technology raising social, ethical and legal questions, particularly in the entertainment industry and politics, further legislative intervention and court proceedings seem very likely, say Shruti Chopra and Paul Joseph at Linklaters.

  • Opinion

    'Natural Person' Or Not, AI-Made IP Deserves Protection

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    The entire legal edifice rests on a determination that an artificial system is not a so-called natural person, and although this may appear to be straightforward on its face, rapid advances in technology may soon force us to revisit our understanding of a natural person, says Manav Das at McDonnell Boehnen.

  • Lessons On Challenging Class Plaintiffs' Expert Testimony

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    In class actions seeking damages, plaintiffs are increasingly using expert opinions to establish predominance, but several recent rulings from California federal courts shed light on how defendants can respond, say Jennifer Romano and Raija Horstman at Crowell & Moring.

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