Intellectual Property

  • September 25, 2024

    Albright Bumps Up Amazon Patent Loss To $136M

    Amazon now owes a small advertising software outfit a total of $136 million after losing a jury trial in June in Waco, Texas, in a lawsuit over patents that purportedly made it more efficient to place bids on the same pieces of ad space.

  • September 25, 2024

    All Mariah Carey Wants Is To Ax 'Christmas' IP Row For Good

    Mariah Carey and Sony Music Entertainment hope to finally put to bed a copyright infringement suit over the now-decades-old Christmas hit "All I Want For Christmas Is You," telling a California federal judge this week that the accusing musicians have not shown the similarities are anything more than common holiday tropes.

  • September 25, 2024

    Consultant Wants NC Packaging Patent Fight Tossed

    A consultant and owner of a cold-packaging company accused of lying about his patent rights is doubling down on his bid to ditch a rival business's federal lawsuit under North Carolina's abusive patent law, saying he has no intention of accusing the business of infringement.

  • September 25, 2024

    Walgreens' TM Suit Can Proceed Against Founder's Relative

    Walgreen Co. can move forward with its trademark infringement suit against the great-grandson of the company's founder for operating Walgreen Health Solutions after an Illinois federal judge denied his motion to dismiss, finding the drugstore chain has shown a likelihood of confusion between the two brands.

  • September 25, 2024

    Judge Connolly Sticks By Fining Paralegal Patent Owner

    Delaware's top federal judge won't budge on ordering a Texas paralegal to pony up $53,000 for refusing to appear for months to answer questions about a patent litigation outfit that was registered to her name, after he grilled her lawyer over who he was representing at a hearing she did show up to last week. 

  • September 25, 2024

    Rapper Says Mike Jones, Houston Texans Stole Song

    The owner of the unofficial Houston anthem "Still Tippin'" told a Harris County court this week that rapper Mike Jones and others have ripped off his 2002 song for use by the Houston Texans football team without his permission.

  • September 25, 2024

    Hairbrush Co.'s Patent Suit Over Straighteners Settles

     A hairbrush company and an investment firm that together filed several lawsuits accusing various companies of "poisoning" the market with knockoffs of their patented ceramic straightening brush asked a California federal judge Wednesday to dismiss the last of those cases, stating that the claims have been settled.

  • September 25, 2024

    Marriott Gets $8M Default Win In TM Robocall Scam Case

    A Virginia federal judge has granted Marriott International Inc. the maximum damages that the law allows for the company's trademark infringement claims against a pair of Mexican firms it accused of using its "Marriott Marks" for a robocall scam, ending the claims with an $8 million default judgment.

  • September 25, 2024

    NC State '83 Basketball Champs Drop TV Networks In NIL Suit

    Members of the 1983 North Carolina State University men's basketball team, known as the Cardiac Kids, dropped CBS and TNT from their suit in North Carolina state court accusing the NCAA of exploiting their names, images and likenesses from their national championship run during the annual promotion of March Madness.

  • September 25, 2024

    Boies Joins Authors' Meta IP Suit After Judge Blasts Lead Atty

    Veteran litigator David Boies and a top member of his firm have joined the team heading a proposed class action against Meta Platforms Inc. for allegedly using copyrighted material to train its artificial intelligence product "Llama" — days after a California federal judge told the lead plaintiff's attorney, "You are not doing your job."

  • September 25, 2024

    IP Protection Firm's $426M SPAC Merger Is Scrapped

    Intellectual property management firm Zacco Holdings, formerly known as OpSec Group, and blank check company Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp. I on Wednesday announced that they will be terminating their merger plans.

  • September 25, 2024

    Breaking IP Barriers: Q&A With Spencer Fane's DJ Healey

    Spencer Fane LLP partner DJ Healey came out as a transgender woman in 2017 — 30 years into her legal career — opening doors at a time when LGBTQ+ attorneys were gaining more acceptance from colleagues and clients.

  • September 25, 2024

    Vape Co. Sues Buchalter Alleging Malpractice After IP Action

    A Los Angeles-based cannabis company called Smoke Tokes LLC has filed a legal malpractice suit accusing Buchalter PC and two of its attorneys of causing a federal trademark action to drag on unnecessarily even after Smoke Tokes took all necessary steps to satisfy a judgment and injunction.

  • September 25, 2024

    Venable Brings On Baker McKenzie IP Litigator In DC

    A longtime Baker McKenzie intellectual property litigator whose work touches on sectors including medical devices, software, and the oil and gas industry has moved his practice to Venable LLP, the firm announced Wednesday.

  • September 25, 2024

    Former Administrative Patent Judge Joins McGuireWoods

    McGuireWoods LLP has added a former administrative judge with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board as a partner in its Richmond, Virginia, office.

  • September 25, 2024

    Pfizer, BioNTech Get New Shot To Ax Moderna's MRNA Patent

    Pfizer and BioNTech have won another shot at challenging the validity of one of Moderna's key mRNA vaccines as a judge ruled Wednesday that their appeal had a reasonable prospect of success.

  • September 25, 2024

    Full Fed. Circ. To Tackle Patent Damages In $20M Google Case

    The full Federal Circuit said Wednesday it will review a panel's holding that Google must pay EcoFactor $20 million for infringing a smart thermostat patent, after the tech giant said the court has allowed patent owners to "manufacture a royalty rate."

  • September 24, 2024

    Dentons Accused Of Hacking Laptop, Aiding Vape Co. Usurper

    Dentons helped the founder of vape distributor Next Level sabotage and usurp manufacturer Avid Holdings' brand, including breaking into its founder's laptop to access confidential information, Avid alleged in a sprawling lawsuit filed Tuesday in California federal court.

  • September 24, 2024

    Aristocrat Wins Injunction In Slot Machine Trade Secret Row

    A federal judge in Las Vegas blocked gambling game company Light & Wonder Inc. from commercializing its Dragon Train video slot machine game, saying competitor Aristocrat Technologies Inc. is "extremely likely" to succeed in showing L&W misappropriated Aristocrat's trade secrets in developing the game.

  • September 24, 2024

    Verizon Foe Defends $847M Patent Win In EDTX

    A Dallas patent business said on Tuesday it doesn't think the $847 million verdict it scored in Texas federal court in Marshall against a pair of telecom giants in June is too much.

  • September 24, 2024

    Neurosurgeon Deems Judge Newman's Brain 'Entirely Normal'

    A third doctor has found that suspended U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman, 97, is not cognitively impaired and that there's no reason to keep her off the bench, according to a report released by her attorneys Tuesday.

  • September 24, 2024

    Motorola Ducks Out Of Smartphone Camera Patent Suit

    A federal judge in Chicago on Tuesday decided to end one of the patent lawsuits by a retired businessman over operating smartphone cameras, ruling that "no reasonable jury could conclude Motorola is infringing the patent."

  • September 24, 2024

    Novo Nordisk Tells Sens. Ozempic Costs Are Linked To PBMs

    Novo Nordisk's CEO argued Tuesday that the high prices of the company's diabetes and weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy primarily stem from the actions of pharmacy benefit managers, earning support from many members of a Senate committee and frustrating others who wanted more direct answers on the Danish drugmaker's own responsibilities.

  • September 24, 2024

    Musk, X Seek To End Ex-CNN Anchor's Talk Show Fraud Suit

    Elon Musk and his social media platform X have asked a California federal judge to toss former CNN anchor Don Lemon's suit against over a collapsed talk show deal, saying the claims are insufficiently supported, Musk wasn't properly served, and there's no jurisdiction to proceed in the Golden State.

  • September 24, 2024

    Microsoft Fights Mich. Tax Treatment Of Cost Share Payments

    Microsoft urged the Michigan Tax Tribunal to find that cost sharing agreement receipts from affiliates constituted licenses of intellectual property that should be included in its apportionment formula, arguing that the state's tax agency incorrectly followed federal transfer pricing rules in excluding the payments from its tax calculations.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Flawed Fintiv Rule Should Be Deemed Overreach In Tech Suit

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    A pending federal lawsuit over the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's unilateral changes to key elements of the America Invents Act, Apple v. Vidal, could shift the balance of power between Congress and federal agencies, as it could justify future instances of unelected officials unilaterally changing laws, say Patrick Leahy and Bob Goodlatte.

  • How Associates Can Build A Professional Image

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    As hybrid work arrangements become the norm in the legal industry, early-career attorneys must be proactive in building and maintaining a professional presence in both physical and digital settings, ensuring that their image aligns with their long-term career goals, say Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners and Estelle Winsett at Estelle Winsett Professional Image Consulting.

  • Determining Who Owns Content Created By Generative AI

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    Adobe's recent terms-of-service update and ensuing clarification regarding its AI-training practices highlights the unanswered legal questions regarding ownership of content created using artificial intelligence, says John Poulos at Norton Rose.

  • Skip Versus File: The Patent Dilemma That Costs Millions

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    In the nearly 30 years since the inception of the provisional application, many have weighed the question of whether or not to file the provisional, and data shows that doing so may allow inventors more time to refine their ideas and potentially gain an extra year of protection, says Stanko Vuleta at Highlands Advisory.

  • Orange Book Warnings Highlight FTC's Drug Price Focus

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    In light of heightened regulatory scrutiny surrounding drug pricing and the Federal Trade Commission's activity in the recent Teva v. Amneal case, branded drug manufacturers should expect the FTC's campaign against allegedly improper Orange Book listings to continue, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Firms Must Rethink How They Train New Lawyers In AI Age

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    As law firms begin to use generative artificial intelligence to complete lower-level legal tasks, they’ll need to consider new ways to train summer associates and early-career attorneys, keeping in mind the five stages of skill acquisition, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Always Be Closing

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    When a lawyer presents their case with the right propulsive structure throughout trial, there is little need for further argument after the close of evidence — and in fact, rehashing it all may test jurors’ patience — so attorneys should consider other strategies for closing arguments, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Tracking China's Push To Invalidate Foreign Patents

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    China’s increasing use of courts and administrative panels to nullify patents in strategically important industries, such as technology, pharmaceuticals and rare-earth minerals, raises serious concerns about the intellectual property rights of foreign businesses operating there, say Rajat Rana and Manuel Valderrama at Selendy Gay.

  • 3 Ways To Fight Alice Rejections Of Blockchain Patents

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    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.

  • F1 Driver AI Case Sheds Light On Winning Tactics In IP Suits

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    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.

  • 8th Circ. Insurance Ruling Spotlights Related-Claims Defenses

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    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.

  • Counterfeits At The Olympics Pose IP Challenges

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    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.

  • Series

    Playing Chess Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    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.

  • Patent Lessons From 7 Federal Circuit Reversals In May

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    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.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians

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    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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