Intellectual Property

  • 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."

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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."

  • 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.

  • July 23, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Gives Netflix 2nd Chance To Challenge Broadcom IP

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board must reconsider Netflix's petitions challenging the validity of a Broadcom unit's software performance monitoring patent, the Federal Circuit held Tuesday, finding flaws in the board's refusal to invalidate claims. 

  • July 23, 2024

    The Biggest Trademark Rulings Of 2024: A Midyear Report

    The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a California attorney's arguments that registering "Trump Too Small" as a trademark constituted speech protected by the First Amendment, and a split Ninth Circuit concluded district courts have the power to cancel trademark applications during litigation. Here's a look at some of the most notable trademark decisions so far this year.

  • July 23, 2024

    Full Fed. Circ. Won't Undo TD Ameritrade's One-Word IP Win

    The full Federal Circuit on Monday denied a patent owner's en banc rehearing petition challenging a one-word ruling in favor of stockbroker TD Ameritrade in a high-stakes patent fight and effectively rejected an amicus party's legal challenge to the court's rule allowing one-word affirmance decisions.

  • July 23, 2024

    Litigation Funder Says Apple Doc Request Is 'Mere Suspicion'

    Apple Inc. is trying to make an "end run" around a California trial court by demanding that Omni Bridgeway LLC turn over documents explaining its financial interest in patent litigation against Apple based on "mere suspicion," the litigation funder has told a Delaware federal judge.

  • July 23, 2024

    Senate Dems Roll Out Bill To Codify Chevron Deference

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., led a group of Democratic senators Tuesday in introducing a bill to codify the now-defunct doctrine of Chevron deference after it was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court last month.

  • July 23, 2024

    Firm Says Rival's Trademark Merely 'Common Spanish Phrase'

    A Houston-based immigration law firm wants claims trimmed in a suit brought by a rival Washington state firm claiming unfair competition and trademark violation, also filing a counterclaim for declaratory judgment that calls the supposed trademark a "common Spanish phrase."

  • July 22, 2024

    Elon Musk's X Corp. Accused Of TM Infringement, Again

    Public relations firm Multiply on Monday accused Elon Musk's social media platform of ripping off its stylized "X" logo to create a substantially similar design, despite knowing Multiply already has a registered trademark, according to an infringement lawsuit in California federal court.

  • July 22, 2024

    Neo Wireless Deceived Patent Officials, Auto Giants Say

    Automakers accused of infringing Neo Wireless LLC's technology have urged a Michigan federal judge to keep alive their defense that Neo committed misconduct, arguing that the wireless company withheld information about a competitor's project that would have rendered the patents at issue obvious.

  • July 22, 2024

    USPTO Wins Dismissal Of Danish Co.'s PTSD Drug Lawsuit

    A Virginia federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office appropriately rejected drugmaker Lundbeck's request for three additional months of patent exclusivity for a PTSD drug, saying the agency could dock those days due to the impermissible gray shading of some text in the company's patent application.

Expert Analysis

  • AI-Generated Soundalikes Pose Right Of Publicity Issues

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    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.

  • Why Jurors Balk At 'I Don't Recall' — And How To Respond

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    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.

  • Beware Of Trademark Scammers Leveraging USPTO Data

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    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.

  • Series

    Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge​​​​​​​ at Robinson Bradshaw.

  • 10 Tips To Build Trust With Your Witness During Trial Prep

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    Preparing a witness for deposition or trial requires more than just legal skills — lawyers must also work to cultivate trust with the witness, using strategies ranging from wearing a hat when conducting mock cross-examination to offering them a ride to court before they testify, say Faye Paul Teller and Sara McDermott at Munger Tolles.

  • A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence

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    The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.

  • PTAB Rulings Shed Light On Quantum Computing Patents

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    Recent Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions on enablement rejections against quantum computing patent claims provide patent practitioners with valuable guidance on best practices for avoiding and overcoming enablement, say Fred Qiu and Alex Nie at Sheppard Mullin.

  • To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef

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    To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?

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    Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.

  • Fed. Circ. Rulings Crystallize Polymorph Patent 'Obviousness'

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    A comparison of two recent Federal Circuit obviousness challenge decisions regarding polymorph patents provides helpful insight into the assessment of screening arguments, particularly the issue of reasonable expectation of success, say Michael Green and John Molenda at Steptoe.

  • 3 Infringement Defenses To Consider 10 Years Post-Nautilus

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    In the 10 years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s influential Nautilus ruling, the spirit of the “amenable to construction” test that the opinion rejected persists with many patent litigators and judges, so patent infringement defense counsel should always consider several key arguments, says John Vandenberg at Klarquist Sparkman.

  • Attys Beware 2 Commonly Overlooked NIL Contract Issues

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    As name, image and likeness deals dominate high school and collegiate sports, preserving a client's NCAA eligibility should be a top priority, so lawyers should understand the potentially damaging contract provisions they may encounter when reviewing an agreement, says Paula Nagarajan at Arnall Golden.

  • FTC Focus: Exploring The Meaning Of Orange Book Letters

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    The Federal Trade Commission recently announced an expansion of its campaign to promote competition by targeting pharmaceutical manufacturers' improper Orange Book patent listings, but there is a question of whether and how this helps generic entrants, say Colin Kass and David Munkittrick at Proskauer.

  • Trending At The PTAB: Real Party In Interest And IPR

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    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s recent Luminex v. Signify decision, finding a complaint seeking indemnification may be treated as a public demand sufficient to establish a real party-in-interest, shows that the board continues to apply a broad and expansive definition to that term, say Yicong (Eve) Du and Yieyie Yang at Finnegan.

  • Investors Can Aid In The Acceptance Of Psychedelic Medicine

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    Psychedelic medicine is ready to have its breakthrough moment, and although it still faces political, legal and communications challenges, private equity investors can play a significant role in changing the public perception on psychedelics from taboo to acceptance, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell, Charlie Panfil at the Daschle Group and Ethan Lutz at FTI Consulting.

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