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Intellectual Property
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October 17, 2024
Moderna Wants Fees For 'Frivolous' COVID-19 Vax Suit
Moderna is asking a Delaware federal judge to award it about $2.8 million in legal costs for its defense of claims in a patent suit brought by Alnylam Pharmaceuticals over its coronavirus vaccine, arguing the Boston-based company pursued "frivolous" claims that wasted court resources.
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October 17, 2024
Industrial Pipe Co. Hits Rival, Ex-Exec With Trade Secrets Suit
Industrial pipe manufacturer Atkore International Inc. took one of its former senior-level executives and the rival company he went to work for to North Carolina state court, alleging the former employee sabotaged operations on his way out the door and took valuable trade secrets with him.
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October 17, 2024
Randy Newman Sells Music Rights To Carlyle-Backed Litmus
Musician and songwriter Randy Newman has sold his stake in his recorded music and publishing rights to Carlyle-backed music rights business Litmus Music, a transaction that includes decades of popular recordings and music from feature films, including the song "You've Got A Friend In Me" from 1995's "Toy Story," Litmus said Thursday.
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October 16, 2024
Spex Jury Can't Use Kingston Deal To Calculate IP Damages
A California federal judge ruled Wednesday that jurors deciding whether Western Digital infringed Spex Technologies' data security patent can't consider Spex's 2009 licensing agreement with Kingston Technology to calculate potential damages, since there was no way to tease the value of the patent-at-issue out of the broader deal.
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October 16, 2024
Nike Still Owes Fees In 'Cool Compression' TM Case
A Pennsylvania federal judge on Wednesday ruled for a second time that Nike is on the hook for legal fees in a trademark lawsuit after the Third Circuit ordered him to take a closer look at the details of the case to determine if the outcome was truly "exceptional."
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October 16, 2024
Philips Says $12M Sanction Needed For Evidence Destruction
A spoliation sanctions hearing for around $12 million in royalty damages turned terse when the owner of a medical device equipment sale and servicing company seemingly hedged his statements, with a Texas federal judge saying, "Oh my gosh, just answer the question," during the Wednesday hearing.
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October 16, 2024
Apple Heart Rate Monitor Patent Survives PTAB
An administrative patent board has decided not to invalidate an Apple patent that the tech giant once asserted in its ongoing fight with a company in the smartwatch space.
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October 16, 2024
Judge Orders 'Starbuds' Co. To Grind Down Logo And Name
A federal judge in Manhattan has ordered a cannabis food truck to destroy all of its "Starbuds" logos, after siding with coffee giant Starbucks Corp. in a copyright infringement lawsuit.
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October 16, 2024
Photog Tells 9th Circ. Miles Davis Tattoo Was Not Fair Use
A photographer wants the Ninth Circuit to undo a California federal jury's finding that cleared celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D of claims she infringed a copyrighted photo of Miles Davis that he took, saying she failed to adequately show fair use.
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October 16, 2024
Bacardi Fends Off Cuban Co.'s 'Havana Club' TM Claim
A D.C. federal judge tossed a Cuban state-owned company's counterclaim accusing Bacardi of infringing its "Havana Club" trademark, saying U.S. law barred the court from enforcing the mark.
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October 16, 2024
NC Beach Canopy Co. Throws Shade At Rival In Patent Suit
A North Carolina-based beach canopy maker claims another Tar Heel State company has ignored its request to stop making a product that allegedly infringes a patent for its shading system.
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October 16, 2024
Mich. Panel Sinks Inventor's Atty Malpractice Appeal
A Michigan appellate panel has held that the inventor of a swim training device did not prove he would have built a successful custom swim paddle business had his attorney secured him a patent, affirming the dismissal of a legal malpractice suit against the inventor's patent attorney and firm.
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October 16, 2024
PTAB Refuses To Review Pioneer Corn Seed Patent
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has said it won't review a challenge to a plant utility patent owned by a unit of a DowDuPont spin-off, handing another loss to a Massachusetts plant breeding startup in a larger legal fight over seed patents between the companies.
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October 16, 2024
AAM, Alvogen Back Sun Pharma In Double Patenting Row
A trade group representing generic-drug makers, a generic-drug company and a plant-breeding technology business have all thrown their support behind Sun Pharmaceutical Industries' bid for the full Federal Circuit to take a closer look at the issue of double patenting.
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October 16, 2024
Fed. Circ. Restores Patent Fight Between LED Light Cos.
A small Utah company that claims to have developed novel LED lights persuaded the Federal Circuit on Wednesday to keep its patent lawsuit alive after a Los Angeles judge used an "improper construction" of words to allow a different company that sells light bulbs to slip out of the suit.
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October 16, 2024
Fed. Circ. Affirms Samsung's PTAB Wins Over LED Patents
The Federal Circuit on Wednesday upheld the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's decision to invalidate the vast majority of two Lynk Labs LED patents, but wasn't ready to address a larger issue from a third, related case.
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October 16, 2024
McCarter & English Combines With IP Boutique In Conn.
McCarter & English LLP has combined with Connecticut intellectual property boutique Harrington & Smith, continuing its recent growth in New England with the addition of 11 attorneys and staff.
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October 16, 2024
IP Litigation Duo Joins Holland & Knight In Dallas, Denver
Holland & Knight LLP announced that a pair of experienced intellectual property attorneys joined the firm's Dallas and Denver offices as partners following a stint at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP.
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October 16, 2024
Fla. Jury Finds 2 Live Crew Can Take Back Music Rights
A Florida federal jury ruled Wednesday that the Miami rap group 2 Live Crew is entitled to the copyrights on dozens of songs, finding the group made a valid claim under a law that allows them to claw back ownership of their music after more than three decades.
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October 16, 2024
DLA Piper Says 'Sloppy' Work Cost Pregnant Associate Job
DLA Piper urged a New York federal court to throw out a former associate's lawsuit alleging that she was fired after requesting maternity leave, saying her work performance was "shockingly poor" during her one year with the firm.
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October 16, 2024
French NBA Star Sues Over Illicit 'Wemby' Merchandise
Reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama has sued a Texas businessman who is allegedly selling merchandise, including T-shirts and candles, bearing his image and nickname "Wemby" without permission.
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October 15, 2024
Qualcomm Milked 'Weak Patents' For Monopoly, 9th Circ. Told
An attorney for a proposed class of cellphone buyers urged the 9th Circuit Monday to revive antitrust claims against Qualcomm, saying it used "weak patents" to secure licensing agreements that forced companies to give up their right to challenge the patents, although one judge questioned whether the plaintiffs had waived that argument.
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October 15, 2024
Western Digital Had No Way Around Patent, Spex Chief Says
Western Digital owes between $5 and $8.50 per unit for infringing Spex's data security patent based on Spex's 2009 licensing deal with Kingston Technology, Spex's president told California federal jurors Tuesday, noting that Western Digital had no noninfringing alternative to implement hardware encryption in its storage devices.
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October 15, 2024
Uncle Luke Says 2 Live Crew Songs Weren't Works For Hire
Rapper and producer Luther Campbell, also known as Uncle Luke, told jurors Monday that the checks they'd been shown for payments to members of hip-hop group 2 Live Crew were for per diem expenses, not paychecks, and insisted that the group members were not employees of his record label and can therefore claw back their rights to their old hit recordings.
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October 15, 2024
10th Circ. Finds Doll Co. Can Bring Copyright Suit In Utah
A Utah company that makes realistic human-sized dolls won a ruling from the Tenth Circuit on Tuesday that it can sue two Chinese companies for counterfeiting in Utah federal court because those businesses agreed to the jurisdiction of anywhere Amazon can be legally "found."
Expert Analysis
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Alice Step 2 Trends Show Courts' Extrinsic Evidence Reliance
A look at recent trends in how district courts are applying Step 2 of the Alice framework shows that courts have increasingly relied on extrinsic evidence to help determine whether a claimed invention is "well-understood, routine, and conventional," says Jonathan Tuminaro at Sterne Kessler.
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Recent Settlement Shows 'China Initiative' Has Life After Death
Though the U.S. Department of Justice shuttered its controversial China Initiative two years ago, its recent False Claims Act settlement with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation demonstrates that prosecutors are more than willing to civilly pursue research institutions whose employees were previously targeted, say attorneys at Benesch.
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How Orange Book Antitrust Scrutiny Is Intensifying
Pharmaceutical patent holders should be reviewing Orange Book listing practices, as the Federal Trade Commission takes a more aggressive antitrust approach with actions such as the Teva listing probe, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration calls attention to potentially improper listings, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Trending At The PTAB: 1 Year Of Denials Of Institution
An analysis of Patent Trial and Appeal Board denials of institutions between May 2023 and May of this year highlights the board’s common reasons for denial, which can provide insight to both petitioners and patent owners in future proceedings, say Kevin Rodkey and Victor Palace at Finnegan.
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Questions Linger About DTSA's Scope After Motorola Ruling
The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Motorola v. Hytera, which held that the Defend Trade Secrets Act applies extraterritorially, does not address whether an act that furthers misappropriation must be committed by the defendant in order to satisfy the law's extraterritoriality requirement, say Ilissa Samplin and Grace Hart at Gibson Dunn.
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Opinion
Conception Is The Proper Test For AI-Assisted Inventions
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office should adopt the conception standard for reviewing AI-assisted inventions, and require the disclosure of artificial intelligence prompts and responses because they are material to patentability, which would then simplify the patent examiner’s invention decision, says Thomas Hamlin at Robins Kaplan.
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What High Court TM Rulings Tell Us About Free Speech
Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings show tension between free speech and trademark law, highlighting that while political mockery is protected, established brands may be forced to adapt to evolving cultural values, says William Scott Goldman at Goldman Law Group.
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Series
Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer
When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.
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Series
After Chevron: Uncertainty In Scope Of ITC Oversight
The U.S. International Trade Commission's long-standing jurisprudence on some of the most disputed and controversial issues is likely to be reshaped by the Federal Circuit, which is no longer bound by Chevron deference in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision, say Kecia Reynolds and Madeleine Moss at Paul Hastings.
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Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity
The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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How In-House IP Counsel Can Deal With AI's Rise
Generative artificial intelligence is poised to revolutionize intellectual property law, especially for smaller and midsize enterprises, meaning IP in-house counsel need to prioritize AI implementation to navigate the coming changes, says Friedrich Laub at Diasorin.
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7th Circ. Motorola Ruling Raises Stakes Of DTSA Litigation
The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Motorola v. Hytera gives plaintiffs a powerful tool to recover damages, greatly increasing the incentive to bring Defend Trade Secrets Act claims against defendants with large global sales because those sales could generate large settlements, say attorneys at MoFo.
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1 Year At The UPC: Implications For Transatlantic Disputes
In its first year, the Unified Patent Court has issued important decisions on procedures like provisional measures, but complexities remain when it comes to coordinating proceedings across jurisdictions like the U.S. due to differences in timelines and discovery practices, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Patent Ruling Shows A Minor Typo Can Lead To A Major Loss
A federal court’s recent ruling in SIPCO v. Jasco, where patent infringement claims were dismissed because of a typo made during prosecution, highlights key moments in the terminal disclaimer application process where double-checking the patent number is especially crucial, say attorneys at Mintz.
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Opinion
Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.