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Intellectual Property
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Featured
Patent Cases To Watch In The Second Half Of 2024
A U.S. Supreme Court case over the reach of the judicially created double patenting doctrine and a dispute over which patents branded drugmakers can list in a federal database are among the cases attorneys will have their eyes on for the rest of the year.
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July 12, 2024
Winery Gets $666K Fees After Winning $666K Trademark Row
An Italian winemaker won $666,214 in fees and postjudgment interest for prevailing against a Napa Valley, California, rival in a trademark dispute over similarly named wines, after a New York federal judge said the case was "exceptional," considering the defendants' continued use of the infringing name even after being sued and agreeing to stop.
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July 12, 2024
10th Circ. Tosses Prof's Conviction In 'China Initiative' Case
A split Tenth Circuit panel has reversed the conviction of a former University of Kansas professor accused of hiding the fact that he was pursuing a job in China, ruling that prosecutors hadn't offered enough evidence to prove that his omission was material to any federal agency funding decision.
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July 12, 2024
Ramey Says 'Any Competent' Atty Wouldn't Seek Sanctions Yet
Ramey LLP, counsel for mobile payment company AuthWallet LLC, has urged a Texas federal judge to reject a bank's attempt to sanction the company's attorney, saying the request is premature since the case doesn't have a prevailing party yet.
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July 12, 2024
Fed. Circ. Upholds Natera's Injunction In Cancer Test IP Fight
The Federal Circuit on Friday upheld a preliminary injunction barring NeoGenomics Laboratories Inc. from selling certain cancer tests while a North Carolina federal court decided whether they infringed Natera Inc. patents.
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July 12, 2024
Fed. Circ. Probes Case With Apple Watch Import Ban At Stake
In a case that could lead to a U.S. International Trade Commission import ban on the Apple Watch amid a patent dispute with AliveCor, Federal Circuit judges asked both companies Friday why a patent office tribunal that invalidated the patents didn't see evidence from the ITC case.
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July 12, 2024
VW Lawyers Win Fees From 'Sloppy' Texas Patent Atty
A federal judge in Houston has said a lawyer behind over 700 patent lawsuits over the past three years is personally liable to pay Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP's fees over his "sloppy" and "offensive" case against Volkswagen.
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July 12, 2024
VLSI Continues Fight Against Intel In Patent Litigation
VLSI has launched a fight in Texas federal court against an argument that Intel made in Delaware federal court that it had a license to various patents.
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July 12, 2024
Lenovo Dodges Deposition Bid In Texas Software Patent Fight
Lenovo has skirted a subpoena seeking witness testimony in a patent case involving two rival software companies and the computer giants HP and Dell, with a North Carolina federal judge finding that the request was "overbroad" and not well justified given that Lenovo isn't part of the suit.
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July 12, 2024
Tequila Co. Wants Out Of Brewer's 'Dragon's Milk' TM Suit
A Mexican tequila company said a judge should dismiss a trademark action filed by a Michigan craft brewer to protect its use of the name "Dragon's Milk," saying it hasn't threatened to assert infringement of its "Casa Dragones" mark.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Editor's Picks
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Fed. Circ.'s Fight With Newman: A Year In Review
One year has passed since it came to light that the Federal Circuit's judges were investigating whether their colleague, U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman, was mentally competent to remain on the court. In that time, Judge Newman has garnered support from many in the patent community, but has faced a series of setbacks in her legal challenges.
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Why IP Attys Are Watching This $2B Trade Secrets Battle
A case of alleged corporate espionage involving two software companies that resulted in a $2 billion verdict has all the hallmarks of a legal thriller, and attorneys are watching the appeal closely to see how it could impact trade secrets litigation.
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Trials After PTAB Invalidity Rulings Present Tricky Issues
A recent case illustrates that Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions finding patents invalid do not necessarily preclude a district court from holding an infringement trial on the same patents, though attorneys say such a scenario could raise some challenging issues.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
Cell Tech Patent Holdup Is Stalling Automaker Innovation
Courts and Congress should seek to stem anticompetitive harm caused by standard-essential patent holders squeezing automakers with unfairly high royalties for cellular connectivity technology, says Charles Haake at Alliance for Automotive Innovation.
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M&A In The AI Era: Key Deal Terms To Watch
As the artificial intelligence market matures, so will due diligence needs, as M&A deals aimed at consolidation and new synergies raise unique legal and regulatory challenges, including potential antitrust and national security reviews, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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Trending At The PTAB: Multiple Petitions In IPRs
Recent Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions and a proposed rulemaking indicate the board’s intention to continue to take a tougher stance on multiple inter partes review petitions challenging the same patent, presenting key factors for petitioners to consider, like the necessity of parallel filings and serial petitions, say Yinan Liu and Cory Bell at Finnegan.
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How Attorneys Can Reduce Bad Behavior At Deposition
To minimize unprofessional behavior by opposing counsel and witnesses, and take charge of the room at deposition, attorneys should lay out some key ground rules at the outset — and be sure to model good behavior themselves, says John Farrell at Fish & Richardson.
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Series
After Chevron: Rethinking Agency Deference In IP Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent overturning of Chevron deference could make it simpler to challenge the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s proposed rule on terminal disclaimers and U.S. International Trade Commission interpretations, says William Milliken at Sterne Kessler.
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Series
Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.
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Opinion
'Trump Too Small' Ruling Overlooks TM Registration Issues
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision last month in Vidal v. Elster, which concluded that “Trump Too Small” cannot be a registered trademark as it violates a federal prohibition, fails to consider modern-day, real-world implications for trademark owners who are denied access to federal registration, say Tiffany Gehrke and Alexa Spitz at Marshall Gerstein.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State
On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.
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Series
After Chevron: Expect Limited Changes In USPTO Rulemaking
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling overturning Chevron deference will have limited consequences for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office given the USPTO's unique statutory features, but it is still an important decision for matters of statutory interpretation, especially those involving provisions of the America Invents Act, say Andrei Iancu and Cooper Godfrey at Sullivan & Cromwell.
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Fed. Circ. Skinny Label Ruling Guides On Infringement Claims
The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Amarin v. Hikma shows generic drug manufacturers must pay close attention to the statements in their abbreviated new drug application labels to put themselves in the best position in defending against an induced infringement claim, say Luke Shannon and Roshan Shrestha at Taft Stettinius.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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USPTO Disclaimer Rule Would Complicate Patent Prosecution
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's proposed changes to terminal disclaimer practice could lead to a patent owner being unable to enforce a valid patent simply because it is indirectly tied to a patent in which a single claim is found anticipated or obvious in view of the prior art, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.
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Series
Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.