Intellectual Property

  • July 09, 2024

    Fight Over Golf-Aid Sales Puts Amazon In RICO Hot Seat

    A pair of golf marketing companies conspired with Amazon to cash in on the sale of popular equipment endorsed by top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler after tricking the manufacturer into selling it to them wholesale, the equipment-maker claimed in a fraud and RICO suit filed in California federal court on Tuesday.

  • July 09, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Patent Fights Against Dating Apps

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday quickly shot down appeals from a patent litigation outfit trying to breathe life back into its failed legal campaign against a handful of prominent dating apps.

  • July 09, 2024

    9th Circ. Lets Librarian's Suit Against Dun & Bradstreet Go On

    The Ninth Circuit has backed a California federal court's decision not to throw out a suit claiming Dun & Bradstreet Holdings sold personal information of individuals without consent, saying the proposed class action can move forward.

  • July 09, 2024

    Newman Loses Suit Against Fed. Circ. Over Suspension

    A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday dismissed the lawsuit Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman filed against her colleagues over her suspension for refusing to undergo medical tests, saying she failed to prove the judicial conduct law at issue is unconstitutional.

  • July 08, 2024

    5th Circ. Unstrings Gibson's Win In Guitar Design TM Fight

    Gibson must retry its case alleging a rival guitar maker sold counterfeit instruments that infringed its trademark on the Flying V guitar and other iconic models, the Fifth Circuit ruled Monday, saying the district court improperly excluded evidence.

  • July 08, 2024

    NBC Settles IP Suit Over Documentary Of Landscaping Co.

    NBC has reached a deal in a copyright infringement suit in New York federal court brought by the owners of a video showing Rudy Giuliani claiming voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, which was originally posted on YouTube before some of it appeared in a half-hour NBC documentary about how the press conference affected Four Seasons Total Landscaping.

  • July 08, 2024

    Biotech Slaps Intellia With IP Suit Over $100M Regeneron Deal

    Biotechnology company BlueAllele Corp. sued Intellia Therapeutics Inc. in Delaware federal court Monday, claiming the rival has infringed on three of its patents related to gene editing and using its invented technology to reap over $100 million under a deal with another biotech, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.

  • July 08, 2024

    Smoke Shops Say Rivals Are Copying Name, Filching Goodwill

    A Washington smoke chain has hit several rivals with trademark infringement lawsuits, accusing them of unauthorized use of its name, Smoke City, so they can lean on the goodwill it has developed with customers.

  • July 08, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Won't Let Charter Shake Off Texas Patent Suit

    The Federal Circuit on Monday turned down an argument from Charter Communications to direct a lower court in Marshall, Texas, to toss a patent infringement suit it's facing — less than a year after the cable company lost a nearly identical argument in a different patent case before the appeals court.

  • July 08, 2024

    Ex-Worker Under Protective Order Stole Gym's Name, Suit Says

    A former mixed martial arts gym employee with a protective order against him for threatening his boss and several other workplace misconduct violations stole the company's name to use in opening a competing gym and luring co-workers and clients away, according to a suit filed Friday in Colorado state court.

  • July 08, 2024

    Biotech Co. Alleges Arbitrator Conflict In Patent Award Fight

    Pennsylvania-based biotechnology company Renmatix Inc. is urging the Delaware Court of Chancery to nix an arbitral award favoring Finnish company UPM-Kymmene Corp. in a long-running patent dispute, pointing to an allegedly undisclosed conflict of interest involving the Finnish company's counsel at DLA Piper.

  • July 08, 2024

    Patent Office Continues To Fight Smartflash's FOIA Suit

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has again said it shouldn't have to turn over documents an inventor is seeking about Patent Trial and Appeal Board reviews of his patents, saying that doing so would harm its ability to respond to public information requests.

  • July 08, 2024

    Netherlands-Based NXP Cos. Want Out Of Texas IP Suit

    Semiconductor company NXP Semiconductors NV and NXP BV, which are both based in the Netherlands, have said a Texas federal judge should throw out a lawsuit claiming they infringed more than half a dozen patents owned by Redwood Technologies LLC, saying the court doesn't have authority over the foreign companies.

  • July 08, 2024

    'Amazon Of Hemp' Wants Early Exit From NC Pot Farm Fight

    An online hemp retailer is looking to ditch claims that it's passing off a North Carolina farm's hemp products as its own and has otherwise doctored THC test reports, calling the suit "fatally defective" and saying that other parts of the complaint contradict those claims.

  • July 08, 2024

    ITC Hands Innoscience Partial Loss In Semiconductor IP Row

    A judge at the U.S. International Trade Commission has found that Innoscience flouted federal law by importing semiconductor technology that infringes an Efficient Power Conversion patent.

  • July 08, 2024

    DraftKings Hiding Ball On Noncompete Law, 1st Circ. Told

    A former DraftKings executive fighting a noncompete so he can work for rival sports-betting upstart Fanatics has told the First Circuit his ex-employer is overlooking the importance of a California law that could unwind the restrictive covenant.

  • July 08, 2024

    Patent Holder Drops VoIP Suits Against Capital One, Fidelity

    A small company that owns a voice recognition technology patent has agreed to drop its lawsuits in Texas federal court against Capital One and Fidelity.

  • July 08, 2024

    Puma Aims To Unveil Redacted Docs In Shoe IP Battle

    Puma has pushed a rival sports gear company to turn over previously withheld and unredacted versions of documents in a trademark fight over shoes, telling a Washington federal judge that Brooks Sports Inc. already sent the materials to a third party.

  • July 08, 2024

    Calif. Realtor Sued Over Use Of Kanye West's Ranch Photos

    A real estate photographer has accused a property listings site in California federal court of stealing his photos of a Hidden Hills, California, ranch home that used to be owned by controversial rap artist Kanye West.

  • July 08, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Prince's heirs were left standing alone in a cold world last week after Delaware's Court of Chancery found their attempts to gain control of the late musician's estate too demanding. Delaware's court of equity also waved a wand for Walt Disney and slashed nearly $10 million from a damages award for Sears stockholders. In case you missed anything, here's a recap of all the latest news from Delaware's Chancery Court.

  • July 08, 2024

    The Biggest Patent Rulings Of 2024: A Midyear Report

    The Federal Circuit issued its first en banc patent decision since 2018, a circuit judge's suspension was solidified and courts shed further light on foreign damages and skinny labels. Here's a look back at these rulings and other top patent decisions from the first half of 2024.

  • July 05, 2024

    GitHub, OpenAI Get Developers' Copyright Claim Tossed

    A California federal judge has trimmed software developers' suit claiming OpenAI and Microsoft's GitHub ripped off their source code to build artificial intelligence tools, axing their claim under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, according to an order unsealed Friday.

  • July 05, 2024

    Prince Estate's Managing Members Prevail In Spat With Family

    Delaware's Court of the Chancery on Friday held that some of Prince's family members ran afoul of an LLC agreement when they tried to oust two managing members of the late musician's estate and give themselves more control.

  • July 05, 2024

    HBO Dodges Copyright Suit Over 'FBoy Island,' For Now

    A New York federal judge ruled that a young producer failed to sufficiently allege HBO's "Fake Famous" and "FBoy Island" shows ripped off his "Instafamous" reality show concept, but the flaws in the producer's copyright infringement allegations weren't so bad they couldn't be fixed.

  • July 05, 2024

    Apple Says Masimo Can't Rely On LKQ In Design Patent Fight

    Apple Inc. has told a Delaware federal court that medical tech company Masimo Corp.'s attempt to use the Federal Circuit's latest holding on design patent jurisprudence in one of their multiple ongoing legal fights surrounding the Apple Watch "fails to address any … authority concerning any pending motion."

Expert Analysis

  • How AI Cos. Can Cope With Shifting Copyright Landscape

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    In the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, recent legal disputes have focused on the utilization of copyrighted material to train algorithms, meaning companies should be aware of fair use implications and possible licensing solutions for AI users, say Michael Hobbs and Justin Tilghman at Troutman Pepper.

  • How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case

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    The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.

  • Supply Chain Considerations For Companies Deploying AI

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    Many businesses will risk failure by embracing artificial intelligence without fully understanding the risks, and the value of a five-step AI supply chain analysis cannot be overstated, say Brooke Berg and Nathan Staffel at Nardello & Co.

  • How Real Estate Cos. Can Protect Their IP In The Metaverse

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    The rise of virtual and augmented reality creates new intellectual property challenges and opportunities for real estate owners, but certain steps, including conducting a diligence investigation to develop an understanding of current obligations, can help companies mitigate IP issues in the metaverse, says George Pavlik at Levenfeld Pearlstein.

  • Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content

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    From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.

  • Patent Lessons From 4 Federal Circuit Reversals In April

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    Four Federal Circuit decisions in April that reversed or vacated underlying rulings provide a number of takeaways, including that obviousness analysis requires a flexible approach, that an invalidity issue of an expired patent can be moot, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • How To Use Exhibits Strategically Throughout Your Case

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    Exhibits, and documents in particular, are the lifeblood of legal advocacy, so attorneys must understand how to wield them effectively throughout different stages of a case to help build strategy, elevate witness preparation and effectively persuade the fact-finders, say Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie and Colorado prosecutor Adam Kendall.

  • Tips For Companies Tapping Into Commercial Cleantech

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    A recent report from the European Patent Office and European Investment Bank examining the global financing and commercialization of cleantech innovation necessary for the green energy transition can help companies understand and solve the issues in developing and implementing the full potential of cleantech, says Eleanor Maciver at Mewburn Ellis.

  • Opinion

    USPTO's Proposed Disclaimer Rule Would Harm Inventors

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s recently proposed rule on terminal disclaimers will make the patent system less available to inventors and will unfairly favor defendants in litigation, say Stephen Schreiner at Carmichael IP and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.

  • Series

    Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.

  • 15 Quick Tips For Uncovering And Mitigating Juror Biases

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    As highlighted by the recent jury selection process in the criminal hush money trial against former President Donald Trump, juror bias presents formidable challenges for defendants, and attorneys must employ proactive strategies — both new and old — to blunt its impact, say Monica Delgado and Jonathan Harris at Harris St. Laurent.

  • Tips For Keeping Trade Secrets In The Vault

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    Key practices aimed at maintaining confidentiality can help companies establish trade secret status as the Federal Trade Commission's ban on noncompetes makes it prudent to explore other security measures, says John Baranello at Moses & Singer.

  • Reducing Patent Litigation Costs Starts With Early Strategy

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    With the average cost ranging from $1 million to $4 million, defending a patent case can create a serious strain on resources, particularly for midsize or smaller companies, so certain cost-cutting steps should be considered at the outset — even if some seem counterintuitive, say Jeffrey Ahdoot and Wendy Verlander at Verlander.

  • Legal Issues To Watch As Deepfake Voices Proliferate

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    With increasingly sophisticated and accessible voice-cloning technology raising social, ethical and legal questions, particularly in the entertainment industry and politics, further legislative intervention and court proceedings seem very likely, say Shruti Chopra and Paul Joseph at Linklaters.

  • Opinion

    'Natural Person' Or Not, AI-Made IP Deserves Protection

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    The entire legal edifice rests on a determination that an artificial system is not a so-called natural person, and although this may appear to be straightforward on its face, rapid advances in technology may soon force us to revisit our understanding of a natural person, says Manav Das at McDonnell Boehnen.

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