Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  1 Year After Rule 702 Changes, Courts Have Made Progress

  

  In the year since amendments to the Federal Rules of Evidence went into effect, many federal judges have applied the new expert witness standard correctly, excluding unreliable testimony from their courts — but now state courts need to update their own rules accordingly, says Lee Mickus at Evans Fears.

• Using Contracts As Evidence Of Trade Secret Protection

  

  Recent federal and U.S. International Trade Commission decisions demonstrate an interesting trend of judges recognizing that contracts and confidentiality provisions can serve as important evidence of the reasonable secrecy measures companies must take to prove the existence of protected trade secrets, say attorneys at Finnegan.

• Unwrapping Retailer AI Risks Amid Holiday Shopping Season

  

  While generative artificial intelligence tools can catalyze game-changing results for retailers looking to stay ahead of the competition during the holiday season, and year-round, it can also bring certain legal risks, including product liability concerns, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

• An Underutilized Tool To Dismiss Meritless Claims In Texas

  

  In Texas, special appearances provide a useful but often overlooked tool for out-of-state defendants to escape meritless claims early in litigation, thus limiting discovery and creating a pathway for immediate appellate review, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

• The Implications Of 2024's AI Rules And Regs For Patent Attys

  

  Christina Huang, John Smith and Devin Stein at Faegre Drinker review this year's new rules and regulations on the development and use of artificial intelligence — from the Biden administration, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the American Bar Association and various states — as they apply to patent attorneys.

• When US Privilege Law Applies To Docs Made Outside The US

  

  As globalization manifests itself in disputes over foreign-created documents, a California federal court’s recent trademark decision illustrates nuances of both U.S. privilege frameworks and foreign evidentiary protections that attorneys must increasingly bear in mind, say attorneys at Hunton.

• Looking For Patterns In Pharmaceuticals' Use Of AI Patents

  

  Merging data from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's artificial intelligence patent dataset and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Orange Book sheds light on pharmaceutical patents involving AI technology, as well as trends in the industry's use of this technology, says Kiefer Ahn at NERA.

• Notable 2024 Trademark Cases And What To Watch In 2025

  

  Emerging disputes between established tech giants and smaller trademark holders promise to test the boundaries of trademark protection in 2025, following a 2024 marked with disputes in areas ranging from cybersquatting to geographic marks, says Danner Kline at Bradley Arant.

• How A 9th Circ. Identicality Ruling Could Affect AI Cos.

  

  If the Ninth Circuit agrees to settle a district court split over whether the Digital Millennium Copyright Act requires a copy to be identical to an original to support an actionable claim for removing copyright management information, the decision could have important ramifications for artificial intelligence businesses, says Maria Sinatra at Venable.

• The State Of USPTO Rulemaking At The End Of Vidal's Term

  

  As U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director, Kathi Vidal placed a particular emphasis on formal rulemaking — so as she returns to private practice this week, attorneys at Irell take stock of which of her proposals made it across the finish line, and where the rest stand on the cusp of a new administration.

• Examining Vidal's Guidance On PTAB Section 315 Time Bar

  

  Last month's decision by outgoing U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal in Luminex v. Signify addresses the Section 315 statutes that preclude institution of inter partes review proceedings after certain civil actions are filed, and is instructive as PTAB panels are likely to follow this approach going forward, says Amanda Wieker at McGuireWoods.

• What A Motorcycle IP Case Says About Parallel Int'l Litigation

  

  A Texas federal court recently rejected an electric motorcycle manufacturer's attempt to dismiss a design patent suit in the U.S. and limit the litigation to China, illustrating the challenges in trying to counter a parallel litigation strategy, say attorneys at King & Wood.

• What 2024 Trends In Marketing, Comms Hiring Mean For 2025

  

  The state of hiring in legal industry marketing, business development and communications over the past 12 months was marked by a number of trends — from changes in the C-suite to lateral move challenges — providing clues for what’s to come in the year ahead, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

• Navigating The Minefield Of Patenting AI-Generated Inventions

  

  For businesses and individuals trying to patent inventions partially developed with assistance from artificial intelligence — like software that's been coded by AI — recordkeeping and diligent documentation are of paramount importance when seeking patent protection, says Robert Plotkin at Blueshift IP.

• How Attorneys Can Master The Art Of Eye Contact At Trial

  

  As a growing body of research confirms that eye contact facilitates communication and influences others, attorneys should follow a few pointers to maximize the power of eye contact during voir dire, witness preparation, direct examination and cross-examination, says trial consultant Noelle Nelson.