Intellectual Property

  • December 01, 2023

    PTAB Scratches Out Some Oil-Dri Kitty Litter Patent Claims

    Some of mineral company Oil-Dri Corp. of America's patent claims for "clumpable" cat litter were invalid as anticipated or obvious, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has ruled.

  • December 01, 2023

    Chicago Atty Pushes Back On 7-Eleven Trademark Suit

    The Chicago attorney who runs a small intellectual property law practice called Seven Eleven Law Group made good on her promise this week to fight the trademark infringement allegations that convenience store giant 7-Eleven sued her for last month, rejecting the company's claims that her firm is creating consumer confusion and profiting from 7-Eleven's multinational brand.

  • December 01, 2023

    TikTok Parent Rips Coder's 'Gamesmanship,' Urges Arbitration

    TikTok's parent company ByteDance urged a California federal judge at a remote hearing Friday to send an engineer's wrongful termination suit accusing it of being the Chinese Communist Party's "propaganda tool" to arbitration, arguing the plaintiff has engaged in "gamesmanship" to avoid that and get to the state court's "bully pulpit."

  • December 01, 2023

    Justices Call O'Connor 'American Hero,' 'Perfect Trailblazer'

    Following news of retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's death at the age of 93, current and former high court justices paid public homage to her trailblazing career, devotion to the rule of law and illuminating charisma.

  • December 01, 2023

    Google Ends 2 Patent Cases In Western Texas

    Google lawyers managed to hash out their legal fights with two patent-licensing outfits represented by the same powerhouse Delaware patent law firm, over a year after U.S. District Judge Alan Albright of the Western District of Texas sent one of the lawsuits to the Northern District of California, but months after he decided to keep the second in Waco. 

  • December 01, 2023

    Albright Sets Post-Trial Hearing In Intel Case After VLSI Prods

    U.S. District Judge Alan Albright has scheduled a post-trial conference with Intel Corp. and microchip patent licensing outfit VLSI Technology LLC for Dec. 11 after VLSI sought entry of a final judgment on a Texas federal jury's year-old $949 million patent infringement verdict against Intel.

  • December 01, 2023

    IP Hires: Womble Bond Dickinson, Winstead

    Womble Bond Dickinson has lured a team of intellectual property attorneys to its practice group, while Winstead PC, Foley Hoag and other firms have also added new attorneys in the IP field. Here are the details on these and other notable intellectual property hires.

  • December 01, 2023

    Natera Wins Cancer Test Injunction After $19M IP Verdict

    A Delaware federal judge has barred Invitae Corp. from using its Personalized Cancer Monitoring test in certain ways that infringe patents owned by Natera Inc., according to a rare injunction made public Friday.

  • December 01, 2023

    Former Clerks Say Justice O'Connor Still Worth Emulating

    BigLaw attorneys mentored by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who died Friday after a lengthy battle with dementia, say she'll be remembered as an incisive jurist who always put facts and practical considerations above abstract ideological commitments, as well as a deeply gracious and down-to-earth woman who never let her dedication to the law overshadow her zest for life.

  • December 01, 2023

    Assa Abloy Loses PTAB Challenge To Biometric Patent

    No claims in a biometric security patent challenged by Swedish manufacturing company Assa Abloy AB were unpatentable as obvious, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has ruled.

  • December 01, 2023

    Cloudera Attacks Numbers Used To Back $240M Patent Verdict

    The cloud software company Cloudera wants U.S. District Judge Alan Albright in Texas to give it a new trial after a jury was swayed in October by "unreliable and speculative testimony" that used numbers from an old licensing offer that Facebook rejected to support the idea of paying patent licensing outfit StreamScale $240 million.

  • December 01, 2023

    Nokia Gets ITC To Review HP, Amazon Imports Over Patents

    The U.S. International Trade Commission has agreed to review Nokia's allegations that HP and Amazon were wrongly importing products that infringed a variety of Nokia patents related to video technology.

  • December 01, 2023

    Med Tech Co. Sues AI Maker Over Use Of 'Judi' Mark

    Boston-based AGMednet told a Massachusetts court Friday that the company behind a JUDY-branded AI cloud assistant service, Judefly, wrongfully accused it of trademark infringement, claiming it had used the "Judi" mark for years before Judefly developed its AI tool.

  • December 01, 2023

    Kona Coffee Farmers' Attys Get $3.7M Fees From Settlements

    Lawyers representing a class of Hawaiian coffee farmers will get $3.7 million from a settlement fund with major grocery stores and other retailers who allegedly sold knockoff Kona coffee, a federal judge in Washington ruled, calling the attorney fee request fair.

  • December 01, 2023

    DOD Owes Developer $13M For Unauthorized Software Copies

    A Court of Federal Claims judge has awarded a software developer $12.7 million for copyright infringement after finding that a U.S. Department of Defense contractor made unauthorized copies of the company's software and the DOD tried to cover up that copying.

  • December 01, 2023

    Xencor Scoffs At USPTO Bid To Send Case To Review Panel

    Xencor is urging the Federal Circuit to reject what it calls the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's "eleventh hour" effort to terminate an appeal of a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision, which backed an examiner's denial of a patent application on antibodies that can be used in autoimmune disease treatments.

  • December 01, 2023

    Whirlpool Injunction Row Raises Circuit Split, Chinese Co. Says

    A Chinese company embroiled in a trademark dispute with Whirlpool Corp. over the latter's iconic KitchenAid stand mixers has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review whether personal jurisdiction is required for preliminary injunctions, saying a Fifth Circuit decision that prohibited it from selling its products "creates a dangerous precedent."

  • December 01, 2023

    Magema Denied New Trial In Patent Spat With Phillips 66

    A Texas federal judge has shot down Magema Technology's bid for a new trial after a jury ruled in July that Phillips 66 did not infringe its oil refinery patents, finding that enough evidence was presented for the jury to make a reasonable judgment.

  • December 01, 2023

    ITC Launches Probe After Samsung Alleges Display IP Theft

    The U.S. International Trade Commission has said it will investigate a complaint from Korean-based Samsung Display Company Ltd. alleging that various competitors stole trade secrets to make components for brightening device screens that are being imported into the U.S.

  • December 01, 2023

    4 Decisions For Which Justice O'Connor Will Be Remembered

    Many of the hotly divided cases at the U.S. Supreme Court came down to Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, a central force on the bench whose savviness at striking compromises and taking a pragmatic approach to resolve disputes is on full display in four opinions.

  • December 01, 2023

    Justice O'Connor Shattered Barriers, Built Bridges

    A Southwestern cowgirl who will always be known as the first woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor inspired those around her with an indomitable work ethic, a deep affection for public service and an innate ability to drive consensus among her colleagues.

  • December 01, 2023

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen Lenovo Group and LM Ericsson embroiled in a patent dispute, Jaguar Land Rover face legal action from a number of employees over contract breaches, and Dexia Credit file another swaps claim with property administrator Patrimonio del Trentino. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • December 01, 2023

    Sandra Day O'Connor, First Woman On Supreme Court, Dies

    Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the court's first female member, died Friday at 93, according to the court. Justice O'Connor's position at the ideological center of the court gave her outsized influence in controversial cases during her 25-year tenure.

  • November 30, 2023

    IP Forecast: Beauty And The Copyright-Protected Beast

    A federal courthouse in Oakland will be center stage next week for a jury trial over allegations that Disney owes profits from the billion-dollar Emma Watson blockbuster "Beauty and the Beast" remake to ex-Microsoft executive Steve Perlman's digital effects company for infringing copyright-protected software to make the movie's live-action beast. Here's a look at that case — plus all the other major intellectual property matters on deck in the coming week.

  • November 30, 2023

    Premera Launches Fresh Takeda Antitrust Suit Over IBS Drug

    A Blue Cross affiliate has once again lodged a proposed class action against Takeda Pharmaceuticals over an alleged conspiracy to keep generic versions of the drug Amitiza off the market, filing a tweaked version of its suit just weeks after a Massachusetts federal judge threw out its initial attempt.

Expert Analysis

  • Managing ANDA Venue Issues As Del. And NJ Filings Rise

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    Delaware and New Jersey have prevailed as the primary forum for pharmaceutical litigation as more generic companies file abbreviated new drug applications, but this venue scheme presents traps for the unwary, and legislation may still be necessary to ensure fairness and predictability, say Timothy Cook and Kevin Yurkerwich at WilmerHale.

  • Series

    Writing Thriller Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Authoring several thriller novels has enriched my work by providing a fresh perspective on my privacy practice, expanding my knowledge, and keeping me alert to the next wave of issues in an increasingly complex space — a reminder to all lawyers that extracurricular activities can help sharpen professional instincts, says Reece Hirsch at Morgan Lewis.

  • What Lawyers Must Know About Calif. State Bar's AI Guidance

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    Initial recommendations from the State Bar of California regarding use of generative artificial intelligence by lawyers have the potential to become a useful set of guidelines in the industry, covering confidentiality, supervision and training, communications, discrimination and more, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Industry Must Elevate Native American Women Attys' Stories

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    The American Bar Association's recent research study into Native American women attorneys' experiences in the legal industry reveals the glacial pace of progress, and should inform efforts to amplify Native voices in the field, says Mary Smith, president of the ABA.

  • The Fed. Circ. In Nov.: Factual Support And Appellate Standing

    The Federal Circuit's recent Allgenesis Biotherapeutics v. Cloud Break Therapeutics decision shows that appellate standing requires specific factual support, underscoring the necessary requirements for a patent challenger in an appeal from an inter partes review at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, say Jeremiah Helm and Sean Murray at Knobbe Martens.

  • How Color Psychology Can Help Tell Your Trial Narrative

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    Research shows that color is a powerful sensory input that affects memory and perception, so attorneys should understand how, when and why to use certain shades in trial graphics to enhance their narrative and draw jurors’ focus, says Adam Bloomberg at IMS Consulting.

  • A Comparison Of Patent Dispute Resolution In US And China

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    As the U.S. and China are the two most significant arenas for patent disputes, multinational corporations must be able to navigate their patent dispute systems, which differ in speed, cost and potential damage awards, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Understanding Discovery Obligations In Era Of Generative AI

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Attorneys and businesses must adapt to the unique discovery challenges presented by generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbot content and prompts, while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and compliance with legal obligations in federal civil litigation, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • New Legal Frameworks Are Instrumental For AI In Music

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    As artificial intelligence encroaches — or complements — the deeply human art of music making, creating harmony between law and technology will require all stakeholders in the music industry to provide input on intellectual property and ethical concerns, say Ariela Benchlouch and Gai Sher at Greenspoon Marder.

  • IP Suits Over Brand Owner Font Use Offer Cautionary Tales

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    Dyan Finguerra-DuCharme and Mallory Chandler at Pryor Cashman consider the history of fonts and point to recent court decisions that show how brand owners can avoid legal typeface troubles.

  • Copyright Ruling A Victory For Innovation In Publishing Sector

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    The D.C. Circuit’s recent ruling in Valancourt v. Garland shows that demanding book copies without paying for them is arguably property theft, proving that the practice stifles innovation in the publishing industry by disincentivizing small printing companies from entering the market due to a fear of high costs and outdated government regulations, says Zvi Rosen at Southern Illinois University School of Law.

  • 3 Rulings Illustrate Infringement Hurdles For Hip-Hop Plaintiffs

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    Three district court decisions dismissing hip-hop copyright claims recently came down in quick succession, indicating that plaintiffs face significant hurdles when they premise claims on the use of words, phrases and themes that are common in the genre, say Benjamin Halperin and Shiara Robinson at Cowan DeBaets.

  • Rethinking Tech Contract Terms For Governance Of AI Use

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    Traditional considerations in technology deals are often inadequate for governing artificial intelligence use, which means lawyers should revisit and reimagine existing terms across the full spectrum of relevant contracts, ranging from procurement agreements and data licenses to customer agreements, say Marina Aronchik and Samuel Hartman at Mayer Brown.

  • Deploying Analogies To Explore AI Copyright Questions

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    Xin Shao at F. Chau & Associates translates two representative artificial intelligence copyright cases into more traditional copyright law scenarios to facilitate the direct application of legal theories to undisputed technological facts.

  • The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms

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    In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.

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