Mealey's Intellectual Property
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February 12, 2025
Federal Circuit Says AI Researcher Again Fails To Show Government Took Research
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has again upheld the dismissal of a pro se complainant’s claims against the U.S. government, rejecting arguments that the government inappropriately used his research into artificial intelligence and that a judge in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims committed judicial misconduct in overseeing the case.
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February 12, 2025
Thomson Reuters Largely Prevails On Summary Judgment In AI Copyright Case
WILMINGTON, Del. — Thomson Reuters Enterprise Centre GMBH’s headnotes surpass the low bar for originality, and sufficient evidence exists that a competitor actually or substantially copied thousands of them to train its artificial intelligence with the intent to compete in the same market, a federal judge in Delaware said Feb. 11 in largely granting summary judgment.
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February 11, 2025
Federal Circuit: District Court Patent Claims Not Estopped By PTAB Findings
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Delaware federal judge was wrong to dismiss a patent infringement claim against Groupon Inc., a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Feb. 10; the panel said that prior decisions of the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) cannot estop a patent holder from asserting infringement arguments based on other patent claims that were not considered by the board.
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February 11, 2025
Federal Circuit: New Judge Needed In Patent Row After Expert Testimony Issues
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ordered a new trial on patent infringement to be held in front of a different judge in a North Carolina federal court, holding that the judge who previously oversaw a patent dispute between two biomedical companies repeatedly made statements that could call into question his appearance of fairness in the case.
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February 10, 2025
Importing Of Albumin Products Infringed On Patent, Federal Circuit Affirms
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Trade Commission (ITC) was right to find that a biotechnology company’s act of importing products that contain albumin violated another company’s patent rights, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Feb. 7.
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February 07, 2025
2nd Circuit: Judge Got Articulation Of Trade Dress Requirement Wrong
NEW YORK — A New York federal judge wrongly held that a motorcycle equipment company failed to adequately describe its helmet trade dress in an infringement suit brought against a competitor, a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel said Feb. 6; the error led the judge to improperly dismiss the case, the panel held.
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February 07, 2025
2nd Circuit: Judge Got Articulation Of Trade Dress Requirement Wrong
NEW YORK — A New York federal judge wrongly held that a motorcycle equipment company failed to adequately describe its helmet trade dress in an infringement suit brought against a competitor, a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel said Feb. 6; the error led the judge to improperly dismiss the case, the panel held.
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February 07, 2025
‘Harmless’ Claim Error Doesn’t Affect Obviousness Finding, Federal Circuit Says
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) erred in its construction of claims in a patent dispute between two computer chip companies, but the error was “harmless,” a panel in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Feb. 6.
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February 07, 2025
Federal Judge: Clothing Trademark Dispute Should’ve Been Brought In California
BUFFALO, N.Y. — A New York federal judge ordered a trademark dispute between clothing companies over the word mark ALMOST GAMEDAY transferred to a California federal court, agreeing with the defendant companies that the complaint was filed in an improper venue.
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February 06, 2025
Patent Licenser To High Court: Federal Circuit Ignores Factual Disputes In Cases
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A patent licensing company told the U.S. Supreme Court in a recently docketed petition for a writ of certiorari that the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ignored a genuine dispute of facts in its case with Amazon companies, which it says is part of a broader trend of the appeals court resolving factual disputes without a jury.
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February 06, 2025
Federal Judge Tosses Tennessee Team’s Trademark Fight With Arkansas School
SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge in Utah dismissed a trademark complaint brought by the management company that owns a Tennessee professional soccer team against Arkansas State University (ASU), holding that the company failed to show that the university maintained sufficient contacts with Utah to establish personal jurisdiction.
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February 06, 2025
IBM To High Court: 5th Circuit’s Contract Ruling Unrelated To Copyrights
WASHINGTON, D.C. — International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) told the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 5 that it should not grant a petitioner company’s request for a writ of certiorari because there was no error when the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a $1.6 billion award in a contract dispute between the companies.
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February 05, 2025
6th Circuit: Kentucky Colonel Trademark Contempt Appeal Can Continue
CINCINNATI — A Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Feb. 4 denied a motion from the organization that holds trademarks related to the honorary title of “Kentucky Colonel” to dismiss an appeal brought by a pro se appellant held in contempt by a Kentucky federal judge for failing to comply with a permanent injunction barring him from using the mark, but the panel told the appellant that he would be afforded no more extensions of time to file his opening brief.
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February 05, 2025
9th Circuit: Former Church Member Lost License To Share Teachings In 2021
SEATTLE — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with a Washington federal judge that a former member of a Seattle-based religious community did not breach a licensing agreement by uploading copyrighted church materials after the 1999 death of the organization’s founder but reversed the judge’s finding that the license was terminated in 2021.
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February 05, 2025
Judge Again Enters Injunction In Jack Daniel’s Dog Toy Trademark Fight
PHOENIX — A federal judge in Arizona found that a dog toy maker did not infringe on marks held by Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc. but that the spirits company was still entitled to a permanent injunction because the toy that parodies the Jack Daniel’s bottle can still tarnish the alcohol marks.
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February 04, 2025
Federal Circuit Again Affirms Obviousness In Check Depositing Patent Fight
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Days after finding that the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) should have gone further in its findings of obviousness regarding electronic check depositing patents held by United Services Automobile Association (USAA), a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Feb. 3 affirmed PTAB’s findings of unpatentability of related patents held by the company.
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February 04, 2025
PTAB Didn’t Follow Step Claims In Telecoms Patent Dispute, Federal Circuit Finds
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a patent dispute among multiple telecommunications companies, the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) erred by failing to require that steps in a listed method be performed in order, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Feb. 3.
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February 04, 2025
Federal Circuit: Obviousness Finding In Check Patent Row Should’ve Gone Further
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Largely affirming but partly reversing findings from the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), a panel in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said in two related opinions that PTAB should have found that more claims in electronic banking patents held by the United Services Automobile Association (USAA) were unpatentable as obvious.
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February 03, 2025
Judge: Microsoft Must Comply With Constitutional Notice Rule In AI Copyright Suit
NEW YORK — A federal court rule governing notice for constitutional questions applies to Microsoft Corp.’s “as applied” challenge to New York’s trademark dilution statute in an artificial intelligence case, a federal judge in the state said in ordering Microsoft to comply with the rule.
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February 03, 2025
9th Circuit Affirms Fair Use Finding In Aerospace Testing Code Dispute
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge correctly found that an aerospace company’s use of replacement parts with copyrighted code from an aircraft testing software company constituted a fair use, a panel in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held in a per curiam memorandum disposition.
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January 31, 2025
Federal Circuit: Judge, Not PTAB, Correctly Construed Term In Patent Dispute
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Texas did not err during claim construction in a patent dispute between two imaging product makers, a panel in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held, saying it agreed with the judge’s construction of the claim and that a construction of the same term by the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) was incorrect.
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January 31, 2025
Microsoft Denied Dismissal Of Patent Infringement Suit Over Network Software
AUSTIN, Texas — Microsoft Corp. was unsuccessful in its bid for an early exit from a patent infringement lawsuit, when a Texas federal judge found that the plaintiff sufficiently alleged that accused products of Microsoft’s use a “network device” and achieve “secure communications” to survive the defendant's dismissal motion.
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January 30, 2025
Spotify’s Subscription Is A ‘Bundle’ For Royalty Purposes, Judge Finds
NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York on Jan. 29 dismissed with prejudice a government-appointed music license administrator’s copyright lawsuit brought against music streamer Spotify USA Inc., holding that the license administrator failed to show how Spotify violated copyright law by reporting its “Premium” subscription product as a “bundled subscription offering” instead of simply a “subscription offering.”
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January 30, 2025
Federal Circuit Affirms Preliminary Injunctions Against Two Biosimilar Makers
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a pair of Jan. 29 opinions, a panel in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a West Virginia federal judge’s decision to grant preliminary injunctions against two biosimilar manufacturers that barred them from marketing products that were biosimilars to an eye medication patented by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.; the panel rejected jurisdictional and validity arguments raised by the companies.
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January 30, 2025
Federal Circuit Affirms Cancellation Of Japanese Candy Related Word Mark
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) was right to cancel a company’s registration for the word mark TONOSAMA, a panel in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held, agreeing with the board that the mark is confusingly similar to another company’s registered trademark for the same word.