Mealey's Intellectual Property
-
November 27, 2024
Judge Dismisses ‘Tourism Academy’ Trademark Row After Settlement Agreement
PHOENIX — After a magistrate judge overseeing a settlement conference between parties in a trademark dispute involving the use of the phrase “tourism academy” indicated in a minute entry that they had reached a settlement agreement, an Arizona federal judge ordered the case be dismissed within 45 days unless the parties issue a stipulation of dismissal at an earlier date.
-
November 27, 2024
Judge Enters Recommended Injunction Against Alleged Louis Vuitton Counterfeiters
MIAMI — A federal judge in Florida adopted in full a federal magistrate judge’s report and recommendation and granted the injunction requested by a designer handbag company against three online retailers, barring the companies from further sales of the allegedly counterfeited products.
-
November 27, 2024
Judge: Some Claims In DNA Patent Dispute Based On Unpatentable Natural Laws
BOSTON — A federal judge in Massachusetts dismissed some aspects of a patent infringement suit involving technologies that detect changes in genetics, agreeing with a defendant biopharmaceutical company that some of the asserted claims in the plaintiff companies’ patents were patent ineligible because they were directed at a naturally occurring process.
-
November 27, 2024
Judge Finds Generic Drug Maker Infringed 2 Infection Treatment Patents
CHICAGO — In a lengthy and thorough ruling, an Illinois judge ruled that an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for a generic version of a bacterial infection treatment infringed two patents owned by a New Jersey biopharmaceutical firm directly and contributorily.
-
November 26, 2024
Petitioner Tells High Court 5th Circuit Contract Ruling Could Affect Copyrights
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Days after a plaintiff software company filed a petition for certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ reversal of a $1.6 billion award in a contract dispute with International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), IBM on Nov. 25 waived its right to respond to the petition.
-
November 26, 2024
Judge: Patent Claims In Immunotherapy Row Survive Summary Judgment
WILMINGTON, Del. — A federal judge in Delaware almost entirely denied a summary judgment motion filed by a defendant biopharmaceutical company, holding that a reasonable jury could find that the company had infringed upon the plaintiff company’s patented immunotherapy regimen used in treating cancer.
-
November 26, 2024
Judge: Company’s Patent On File Backup System Too Abstract To Hold Up
BOSTON — Finding that the central claims of the relevant patent are directed at an unpatentable abstract idea, a Massachusetts federal judge granted a defendant software company’s motion to dismiss a patent infringement complaint brought against it by a patent holder that claimed the company copied its invention of a digital file backup process.
-
November 26, 2024
Vaginal Remodeling Device Patent Dispute Transferred To Massachusetts
LOS ANGELES — Because the defendant in a patent infringement dispute is based in Massachusetts, a California federal judge determined that the other state would be a better venue to resolve the suit centering on vaginal remodeling devices because, among other things, it is where most of the pertinent business records, evidence and witnesses are located.
-
November 25, 2024
High Court Invites Solicitor General’s Input In Copyright Dispute
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a Nov. 25 docket order, the U.S. Supreme Court invited the U.S. solicitor general to file a brief expressing the views of the U.S. government in a dispute involving dueling petitions for writs of certiorari in which a group of record labels and music publishers say the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals wrongly vacated a $1 billion award for vicarious copyright infringement by an internet service provider (ISP), while the ISP argues that the Fourth Circuit erred in finding that it is liable for contributory infringement.
-
November 25, 2024
Federal Circuit Agrees: Electronic Pipe Patent Anticipated By Prior Art
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 22 affirmed a finding from the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in an inter partes review (IPR) brought by tobacco company Philip Morris Products SA and its American subsidiary, agreeing with the PTAB’s holding that multiple claims in a patent on an electronic smoking pipe product were patent ineligible for being anticipated by prior art.
-
November 25, 2024
Contempt Finding In Dispute Over ‘JUST’ Mark For Food Affirmed By 9th Circuit
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge was correct to find a defendant food company in contempt and impose sanctions against it after it repeatedly failed to adhere to the terms of a settlement agreement in a trademark dispute involving its use of the capitalized word “JUST” in connection with multiple products, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held.
-
November 22, 2024
Judge Won’t Toss Copyright Claims Regarding Photo Of Alvin Bragg
NEW YORK — In a copyright infringement dispute between a photographer and a New York City law firm, a New York federal judge agreed to dismiss claims of contributory and vicarious infringement, holding that the photographer cannot simultaneously allege that the law firm is directly and vicariously responsible for infringement by allegedly posting a photograph she took on an account on a Chinese-language promotional website site she claims the firm controls.
-
November 22, 2024
No Infringement Of Patent By Pet Camera Maker, Federal Circuit Agrees
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 21 found that a federal judge in Washington correctly granted summary judgment in a patent dispute over devices that allow pet owners to remotely give treats to their furry friends, agreeing with the judge that there was no genuine dispute of material fact.
-
November 22, 2024
TikTok Not Entitled To Attorney Fees In Digital Media Patent Infringement Suit
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Despite TikTok Inc. being the prevailing party and being granted judgment on the pleadings in a patent infringement suit over video clip storytelling, a California federal magistrate judge found that the case was not exceptional, leading her to deny the social media company’s motion for attorney fees of almost $5 million.
-
November 22, 2024
Judge Dismisses ‘Summer House’ Trademark Dispute After Parties’ Stipulation
AUSTIN, Texas — Months after the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a Texas federal judge misapplied the summary judgment standard in a trademark dispute between two hospitality companies over the phrase “Summer House,” the judge dismissed the case, citing the parties’ stipulation of dismissal.
-
November 21, 2024
Singer Settles ‘Electric Avenue’ Copyright Claims With Trump, Campaign
NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York on Nov. 20 discontinued with prejudice a copyright dispute between singer Edmond “Eddy” Grant and President-elect Donald J. Trump and his re-election campaign over the campaign’s usage of Grant’s song “Electric Avenue” in his unsuccessful 2020 re-election bid; it is the second such case brought by a musical artist against the Trump campaign to have reached a conclusion in the days after Trump’s electoral success.
-
November 21, 2024
Federal Circuit Agrees Patent Holder Didn’t Show Injuries From Twitter
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel granted a motion for summary affirmance from the company formerly known as Twitter Inc., agreeing with a Texas federal judge that a patent holder that inherited patents regarding online videos from a predecessor company failed to show how it as the current patent holder was harmed by Twitter; the finding doomed the patent holder’s request for a preliminary injunction that was filed nearly eight years after the suit was initially brought.
-
November 21, 2024
Parties Can’t Dismiss Patent Appeal After Opinion Was Issued, Federal Circuit Says
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Despite the parties indicating that they had agreed to a settlement after the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued an opinion vacating an order from the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in a patent infringement dispute over network security features, the Federal Circuit denied the parties’ voluntary motions to dismiss, saying that granting them at the current stage would require the modification or total vacatur of the opinion.
-
November 20, 2024
Journalism Plaintiff Defends ‘Abridgement’ Claims In AI Copyright Suit
NEW YORK — Artificial intelligence companies may not simply remove copyright management information from news stories, distribute the material among themselves and then create chatbots producing abridged and competing versions of the stories, the nonprofit publisher of Mother Jones told a federal judge in New York in opposing a motion to dismiss.
-
November 20, 2024
MosaicML AI Model Defendants Seek Consolidation Of Authors’ Lawsuits
SAN FRANCISCO — An artificial intelligence company asked a federal judge in California to consolidate three authors’ copyright class action lawsuit involving the training of large language models with a second suit also involving authors.
-
November 20, 2024
Judge: Singer’s Estate Tried Too Late To Toss Labels’ Contract Counterclaims
LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied a motion from the plaintiff estate of a late singer to dismiss a breach of contract counterclaim from defendant record labels in a dispute stemming from copyrights and trademarks associated with the singer’s work and likeness, holding that the motion was untimely brought.
-
November 19, 2024
Judge Tosses Patent Suit Against Google Over Ineligible HVAC Claims
OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal judge in California on Nov. 18 granted Google LLC’s motion to dismiss a patent infringement suit brought against it by a technology company over smart thermostat technology, holding that the company’s patent is directed at unpatentable abstract ideas.
-
November 19, 2024
Fair Use, Copyright At Issue In AI Legal Research Summary Judgment Briefing
WILMINGTON, Del. — Whether it was unlawful to train an artificial intelligence on a “vanishingly small” amount of protected legal research material and whether a copyright can even protect legal research product when the underlying materials were all in the public domain come before a federal judge in Delaware on briefing for motions for summary judgment. Redacted versions of the reply briefs were filed Nov. 18.
-
November 19, 2024
1st Circuit Affirms Injunction Denial In Lizzie Borden Trademark Fight
BOSTON — A First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel said a Massachusetts federal judge was correct to deny a motion for a preliminary injunction in a trademark dispute brought by a paranormal tour company that owns the location of two grisly 1800s murders against a nearby coffee shop and its owner for allegedly infringing marks associated with the murder, agreeing with the judge that the company failed to prove a likelihood of success.
-
November 19, 2024
Federal Circuit: No Transfer Between Districts Of Smartwatch Patent Row
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel rejected a defendant company’s petition for a writ of mandamus to force a Texas federal judge to transfer a patent infringement case involving smartwatches to a California federal court.