Mealey's Intellectual Property : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Intellectual Property

August 09, 2024
Examiner Failed To Show Fragrance Delivery Claims Were Obvious, PTAB Panel Finds

WASHINGTON — A Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) panel on Aug. 8 reversed a patent examiner’s decision to reject as obvious a patent application that described a delayed chemical delivery system because the prior art referenced by the examiner failed to contain the same weight ratio as disclosed in the application.
August 08, 2024
Federal Circuit Affirms PTAB’s Obviousness Findings In Dispute Over Robot Patents

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Patent Trial and Appeals Board (PTAB) did not err in finding that all but one of several challenged patent claims concerning a docking method for a robotic cleaning device were unpatentable in light of prior art, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found in affirming the PTAB’s final written decision on Aug. 8.
August 08, 2024
Restaurants’ Lanham Act Claims Against Grubhub Largely Survive Dismissal Motion

CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois said seven of nine restaurants who brought trademark violation claims in a putative class complaint against Grubhub Inc., alleging that the company included their names and logos on its food delivery app without the restaurants’ permission, failed to show that they have a protectible trademark interest, while the claims from the remaining two restaurants are adequately pleaded.
August 07, 2024
Federal Circuit Agrees That Image Information Claims Are Patent Ineligible

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal trial court did not err in finding that patent claims describing a method for storing information that relates to a captured image were patent ineligible because they are directed at an abstract idea and fail to present an inventive concept, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found in affirming the trial court’s judgment on Aug. 6.
August 07, 2024
Genetically Modified Corn Patent Claims Will Move Ahead In Delaware Federal Court

WILMINGTON, Del. — The owner of a genetically modified corn patent did not grant the public or a competitor unrestricted authorization to use its patented seeds by placing them in a deposit because such deposits can be used to disclose patent specifications in furtherance of a patent application, a Delaware federal judge found in denying the competitor’s motion to dismiss claims brought against it by the patent owner.
August 07, 2024
Judge Relates Pair Of AI Copyright Actions As Briefing On Dismissal Begins

SAN FRANCISCO — Arguments about differences in parties and the specificity of claims in two copyright suits might stand in the way of consolidation of the actions but do not prevent relating the cases, which involve artificial intelligence created by defendant Google LLC, a federal judge in California said in a docket entry.
August 07, 2024
D.C. Circuit Affirms Finding That DMCA Does Not Run Afoul Of 1st Amendment

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel rejected two technologists’ challenge to the constitutionality of certain provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), holding that a federal district court rightly enforced the statute’s anti-circumvention provision with regard to technological protection measures (TPMs).
August 06, 2024
Remote Access Voice Invention Was Obvious, Federal Circuit Says In Affirming PTAB

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) did not err in ruling that a patent describing a method of remotely accessing a computer via voice commands issued through a mobile device was obvious in light of prior art because the PTAB’s findings were supported by substantial evidence and expert testimony, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found in affirming the PTAB’s final written decision.
August 06, 2024
Federal Judge Tosses Singer’s ‘Shotgun’ Copyright Suit Targeting Music Companies

MIAMI — A federal judge in Florida dismissed a copyright claim brought by a Venezuelan musician claiming that several music companies illegally uploaded his music to online music streaming platforms, adopting a federal magistrate judge’s report wherein the magistrate judge found that the musician’s complaint is an impermissible shotgun pleading and that the musician failed to substantiate some of his claims.
August 05, 2024
11th Circuit: Court Must Reconsider If Tech Company’s Full Code Is Copyrightable

ATLANTA — A panel of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a Florida federal magistrate judge failed to fully consider the copyrightability of the code of a company that makes a software comparing life insurance quotes in a case the company brought against competitors it said stole its trade secrets by taking portions of its database, ordering the judge to make a new finding of facts for the company’s copyright claim
August 05, 2024
Judge: No New Trademark Trial For Adidas Despite Withheld Discovery Emails

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge issued an opinion explaining in detail a May order in which he denied a motion from adidas America Inc. for a new trial in its trademark dispute with Thom Browne Inc., saying that adidas did not adequately show that newly discovered emails from Thom Browne suggesting the company was aware one of its designs could be infringing on adidas’ signature stripe design were likely to have changed the outcome of the trial.
August 02, 2024
Parties To OpenAI Secondary Meaning Trademark Ruling Wrap Briefing

SAN FRANCISCO — Two entities battling over the rights to the Open AI trademark wrapped up briefing in a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals case involving a judge’s ruling finding that the mark acquired a secondary meaning with the release of OpenAI Inc.’s Dall-E website.
August 02, 2024
Judge Grants Summary Judgment To Airline On Copyright Claim Against Reseller

FORT WORTH, Texas — A federal judge in Texas held that American Airlines Inc. was entitled to summary judgment on copyright infringement claims it brought against a company that exploits an airline ticket loophole to save customers money on tickets, finding that the company failed to show that its use of the American Airlines flight symbol on its website was a fair use of the flight symbol.
August 01, 2024
Slide Designer Failed To Allege That Its Design Patent Was Knowingly Infringed

SANTA ANA, Calif. — In asserting a claim for inducement of design patent infringement against a trampoline and recreational park franchisor, a slide designer failed to allege that the franchisor had actual knowledge that the slides it sold to its franchisees infringed upon the design patent at issue, a California federal judge found in granting the franchisor’s motion to dismiss without prejudice.
August 01, 2024
1st Circuit Orders New Copyright Infringement Damages Trial For Guitar Maker

BOSTON — A panel of the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ordered a new jury trial on the issue of infringing profits on a copyright claim brought by a guitar manufacturer who said a guitar seller used a copyrighted photo of guitar headstocks on its website, holding that a New Hampshire federal judge did not accurately explain the manufacturer’s burden of proof in jury instructions.
August 01, 2024
3rd Circuit Holds Grocer’s Trademark Claims Over Imported Chocolate Milk Fail

PHILADELPHIA — A Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on July 31 upheld a New Jersey federal judge’s decision to deny an Indian food grocery company’s motion for default judgment against alleged infringers of its mark on chocolate milk powder, holding that the company showed only unauthorized sales, not trademark infringement.
August 01, 2024
Code Publisher Seeks Rehearing After 5th Circuit Finds Codes Uncopyrightable

NEW ORLEANS — In a pair of petitions, a Canadian developer of legal standards and codes requested either panel rehearing or rehearing en banc after a split panel in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a Texas federal judge’s grant of summary judgment against a publisher accused by the developer of illegally republishing complete versions of the code, arguing that the panel incorrectly held that the codes are effectively “law” in Canada.
July 31, 2024
Microprocessor Patent Owner Doomed Its Own Claims Via Assertions Made To PTO

WILMINGTON, Del. — Intel is entitled to summary judgment on claims of patent infringement brought by the owner of a patent that describes an internal architecture for improving processing speeds because the owner previously argued before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) in favor of a specific construction of its own patent that differs from Intel’s allegedly infringing products, a Delaware federal judge found in granting Intel’s motion for summary judgment.
July 31, 2024
Summary Judgment Granted In Trademark Fight Between Tourism Training Companies

PHOENIX — A federal judge in Arizona held that a defendant tourism hospitality company did not infringe on a competitor’s mark because the plaintiff tourism company did not demonstrate valid ownership over the phrase “tourism academy,” partly granting the defendant company’s motion for summary judgment.
July 31, 2024
Authors’ UCL Claim Dismissed From ChatGPT Copyright Case

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on July 30 granted a motion by OpenAI Inc. and affiliates to dismiss authors’ claims that they violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by training artificial intelligence on copyrighted material after finding the claim preempted by federal copyright law.
July 31, 2024
Federal Magistrate Judge: Photographer’s Copyright Claims Not Time-Barred

NEW YORK — A federal magistrate judge in New York recommended that a web company’s motion to dismiss copyright infringement claims brought against it by a photographer be denied, saying the company is wrong to argue that the claims are time-barred because accrual began when the alleged infringement was discovered in 2022, not when the alleged infringement occurred in 2015.
July 31, 2024
Jet Engine Heating Patents Were Anticipated By Prior Art, PTAB Panel Concludes

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A patent examiner did not err in finding that jet engine heating patents were anticipated by a prior art because the patent applicant failed to show that his claims specifically explained how the heat within the engine is generated, a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) panel found in affirming the examiner’s findings on July 30.
July 30, 2024
Stability AI Wants Copyright Suit Sent To California

WILMINGTON, Del. — California federal court provides an all-around better location for an artificial intelligence copyright suit, Stability AI Ltd. and related entities told a federal judge in Delaware on July 29, saying that California provides better access to witnesses and evidence, a less congested court and an already pending suit involving similar allegations.
July 30, 2024
Federal Circuit: Regulation Applies To Amended Claims In Internet Patent Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a dispute between a software company and Apple and Motorola over a patent regarding how internet content is displayed on mobile devices, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s determination that a regulation addressing estoppel provisions in patent office proceedings is valid but vacated and remanded the board’s decision in two reexamination proceedings for it to reconsider the regulation’s application to previously issued claims.
July 30, 2024
Patent And Trademark Director Says PTAB Erred In Focusing On Patent Discrepancy

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) panel erred in denying institution of inter partes review of patent claims describing an optical system for collecting distance information because the panel focused too heavily on a typographical erred in a cited prior patent that had no bearing on the claims at issue, the director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office found in vacating the panel’s decision under director review.