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Intellectual Property
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July 25, 2024
Copyright Office OKs Group Registration For News Websites
The U.S. Copyright Office has created a new group registration option for news websites that are updated frequently, allowing publications to register a group of updates as a collective work with portions of the work rather than all the website's content, according to the federal register.
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July 25, 2024
Fed. Circ. Axes 'Trump Too Small' Holding After Justices' Rule
The Federal Circuit on Thursday vacated its 2022 ruling that California attorney Steve Elster should be allowed to register "Trump Too Small" as a trademark after the U.S. Supreme Court concluded he could not because the "names clause" of the Lanham Act prohibits registering a name as a mark without that person's permission.
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July 25, 2024
USPTO No Longer Wants To Change TM Response Deadlines
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said Thursday it has decided to keep current post-registration response deadlines after the agency concluded that many trademark owners would not be subject to the proposed shorter response period.
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July 25, 2024
Both Sides Seek Fees After Jury Axes Elevated Stairs Patent
Following a jury verdict this month invalidating a patent on elevated stairs used by law enforcement, both the patent owner and the accused infringer, his former employer, have moved for attorney fees, with each claiming the opposing side's arguments were baseless.
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July 25, 2024
Patent Atty Seeks Closure Over Ex-Firm's Back Wages
Discovery in a patent attorney's suit against his former firm, Pittsburgh-based Keevican Weiss & Bauerle LLC, has produced enough evidence to support summary judgment on some of his claims, according to a new motion filed this week in Allegheny County.
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July 25, 2024
Tobacco Products Co. Hits Wash. Pot Business With TM Suit
Wholesaler BBK Tobacco & Foods LLP has hit a Washington state cannabis company with a complaint in Arizona federal court that alleges it is infringing the "Juicy" trademark BBK uses for a variety of smoking and smoking-related products.
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July 25, 2024
The Biggest Copyright Decisions Of 2024: A Midyear Report
The justices ruled there's no time limit for how far back copyright plaintiffs can pursue infringement damages as long as their claims are timely, and an Ohio jury said video game developers didn't infringe a tattoo artist's works by depicting the images on basketball players. Here's a look at some of the most notable copyright decisions so far in 2024.
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July 25, 2024
7-Eleven Settles TM Suit Against Seven Eleven Law Group
7-Eleven Inc. and a Chicago-based law practice called Seven Eleven Law Group have settled the trademark complaint the convenience store chain filed in November, alleging the firm was infringing its mark and causing consumer confusion.
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July 24, 2024
FTC Chair Wary AI Tools Can Be Used For Corporate Collusion
Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan weighed in on a host of topics during a discussion Wednesday at the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, expressing concerns about the agency's high legal bills for expert witnesses and describing AI price-setting tools as a potential loophole for collusion.
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July 24, 2024
NBA Reaches $76B, 11-Year Deal With Amazon, NBC, Disney
The National Basketball Association announced Wednesday that it has negotiated new telecast and streaming agreements with Amazon, NBCUniversal and The Walt Disney Co. collectively worth $76 billion, bringing to an end the league's long-standing partnership with TNT, which has vowed to "take appropriate action."
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July 24, 2024
Albright Stays 3D Patent Row Against Apple For PTAB Appeal
U.S. District Judge Alan D. Albright has agreed to pause a patent owner's suit accusing Apple of infringing its three-dimensional interface technology for mobile devices to let both sides appeal to the Federal Circuit the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's rulings invalidating some of the asserted patents.
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July 24, 2024
Fed. Circ. Rejects Challenges To PTAB's Network IP Decisions
The Federal Circuit rejected an internet router-maker's bid to restore testimony that could have flipped two decisions at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, ruling Wednesday that the court won't revive ideas developed decades ago by a since-bankrupt tech company.
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July 24, 2024
Apple Foe Urges Fed. Circ. To Rethink PTAB Holding
A Michigan professor's startup has asked the full Federal Circuit to revisit a ruling penned by U.S. District Judge Alan Albright, arguing the wrong call was made on what kind of arguments from Apple the Patent Trial and Appeal Board could field.
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July 24, 2024
Pictures Worth More Than Words In Croc Clog Design Fight
A Colorado federal judge has declined to use foam shoemaker Joybees' written descriptions in rival Crocs' intellectual property suit, concluding the design of the clogs is better represented by Crocs' patent illustrations.
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July 24, 2024
TikTok Can't Nix Trade Secrets Row By Worker's Ex-Employer
A California federal judge on Tuesday denied TikTok's motion to toss a trade secrets suit by Beijing Meishe relating to copyrighted source code for video editing, finding Meishe plausibly alleged it found a "striking similarity" between the two companies' object codes after one of its employees quit and joined TikTok.
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July 24, 2024
Carrier, Ex-Salesman Reach Deal In Trade Secrets Case
Florida-based Carrier Corp. and one of its former salesmen reached an agreement Wednesday in the company's lawsuit alleging theft of its trade secrets, with the ex-employee promising a Connecticut federal court that he won't share protected information from his previous job and will allow searches of his electronic devices.
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July 24, 2024
Copyright Protections For Safety Standards Stall In US House
The U.S. House failed to advance legislation to let the private groups that set standards for a variety of safety matters keep copyright protections when their works are incorporated by reference into laws as long as the standards are still available for free online.
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July 24, 2024
Patent Cap In Drug Pricing Bill Seen As Having Muted Effect
The U.S. Senate recently passed a bill aiming to lower drug prices by limiting the number of patents that can be asserted in cases over biosimilars, but attorneys say the measure's numerous exceptions make it unlikely to have a major effect on litigation or consumer costs.
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July 24, 2024
McCarter & English Beats Biotech Malpractice Suit In NJ
McCarter & English LLP defeated a New Jersey biotechnology company's legal malpractice suit this week, following a New Jersey state judge's finding that the malpractice claims should have been brought in an earlier round of litigation over unpaid legal fees.
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July 24, 2024
Nixon Peabody Adds Veteran GC With IP, Korean Biz Focus
The longtime general counsel of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency's Los Angeles office has joined Nixon Peabody LLP, continuing the firm's recent growth of its intellectual property team on the West Coast.
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July 24, 2024
Newman Facing 2nd Suspension For 'Continuing Misconduct'
A panel of Federal Circuit judges on Wednesday recommended U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman remain suspended for another year based on her ongoing refusal to cooperate with an investigation into her health, or even acknowledge the court's concerns.
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July 24, 2024
Ozy Media Ends Trade Secrets Suit After Ex-CEO's Conviction
News startup Ozy Media has dropped its trade secrets theft suit against Buzzfeed, its former editor-in-chief Ben Smith and the media company he co-founded, Semafor Inc., about a week after Ozy and its former CEO were convicted of lying to banks and investors to secure tens of millions of dollars to fund the multimedia business.
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July 23, 2024
Samsung Loses Bid To Throw Out $303M Patent Verdict
A Texas federal judge shot down Samsung's attempt to throw out a $303 million verdict over infringement of server memory patents, saying the South Korean electronics giant's arguments that Netlist's comments prejudiced it during trial fell short in a July 12 opinion that was unsealed Tuesday.
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July 23, 2024
Sonos Tells Fed. Circ. 100K Patents At Risk If Google Prevails
Wireless audio brand Sonos has warned the Federal Circuit that a federal judge's decision to scrap its jury win in a $32.5 million patent case against Google means that "about 100,000 patents are vulnerable."
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July 23, 2024
On Limiting ITC's Power, House Republican Is 'Appalled'
Proposals that would restrict how companies can use the U.S. International Trade Commission to go after device manufacturers met a frosty reception from at least one patent-owning Republican on Tuesday, who said he was "appalled" by one idea, and likened another suggestion to communism.
Expert Analysis
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3 Ways To Fight Alice Rejections Of Blockchain Patents
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
With blockchain-related patent application filings on the rise, Thomas Isaacson at Polsinelli offers strategies for responding to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office determinations that the blockchain network is just a generic computer and patent-ineligible under the U.S. Supreme Court's 2014 Alice v. CLS Bank decision.
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F1 Driver AI Case Sheds Light On Winning Tactics In IP Suits
A German court recently awarded damages to former F1 driver Michael Schumacher's family in an artificial intelligence dispute over the unlicensed use of his image, illustrating how athletes are using the law to protect their brands, and setting a precedent in other AI-generated image rights cases, William Bowyer at Lawrence Stephens.
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8th Circ. Insurance Ruling Spotlights Related-Claims Defenses
The Eighth Circuit’s recent Dexon v. Travelers ruling — that the insurer must provide a defense despite the policy’s related-acts provision — provides guidance for how policyholders can overcome related-acts defenses, say Geoffrey Fehling and Jae Lynn Huckaba at Hunton.
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Counterfeits At The Olympics Pose IP Challenges
With the 2024 Olympic Games quickly approaching, the proliferation of counterfeit Olympic merchandise poses a difficult challenge to the protection of intellectual property rights and the preservation of the Olympic brand's integrity, says Kimiya Shams at Devialet.
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Series
Playing Chess Makes Me A Better Lawyer
There are many ways that chess skills translate directly into lawyer skills, but for me, the bigger career lessons go beyond the direct parallels — playing chess has shown me the value of seeing gradual improvement in and focusing deep concentration on a nonwork endeavor, says attorney Steven Fink.
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Patent Lessons From 7 Federal Circuit Reversals In May
A look at recent cases where the Federal Circuit reversed or vacated decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board or a federal district court provide guidance on how to succeed on appeal by clarifying the obviousness analysis of design patents, the finality of a judgment, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.
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Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians
Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent
As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.
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Momofuku Chili War May Chill Common Phrase TM Apps
Momofuku’s recent trademark battle over the “Chili Crunch” mark shows that over-enforcement when protecting exclusivity rights may backfire not just in the public eye, but with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as well, says Anthony Panebianco at Davis Malm.
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Trademark In Artistic Works 1 Year After Jack Daniel's
In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court's Jack Daniel's v. VIP Products ruling, courts have applied Jack Daniel's inconsistently to deny First Amendment protection to artistic works, providing guidance for dismissing trademark claims relating to film and TV titles, say Hardy Ehlers and Neema Sahni at Covington.
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NCAA Settlement May End The NIL Model As We Know It
The recent House v. NCAA settlement in California federal court, in which the NCAA agreed to allow schools to directly pay March Madness television revenue to their athletes, may send outside name, image and likeness collectives in-house, says Mike Ingersoll at Womble Bond.
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Legal Battles Show Brands' Dilemma In Luxury Resale Trend
Recent litigation, such as Chanel's pending case against The RealReal, underscores the intricate balance luxury brands must strike between protecting their trademarks and embracing the burgeoning secondhand market that values sustainability, says Prachi Ajmera at Michelman & Robinson.
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AI-Generated Soundalikes Pose Right Of Publicity Issues
Artificial intelligence voice generators have recently proliferated, allowing users to create new voices or manipulate existing vocals with no audio engineering expertise, and although soundalikes may be permissible in certain cases, they likely violate the right of publicity of the person who is being mimicked, says Matthew Savare at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Why Jurors Balk At 'I Don't Recall' — And How To Respond
Jurors often react negatively to a witness who responds “I don’t remember” because they tend to hold erroneous beliefs about the nature of human memory, but attorneys can adopt a few strategies to mitigate the impact of these biases, say Steve Wood and Ava Hernández at Courtroom Sciences.
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Beware Of Trademark Scammers Leveraging USPTO Data
Amid a recent uptick in fraudulent communications directed at trademark applicants, registrants must understand how to protect themselves and their brand from fraudulent schemes and solicitation, say Michael Kelber and Alexandra Maloney at Neal Gerber.