Lexis Legal News : Mealey's Intellectual Property : Lawsuit Filings, Litigation, Settlements, Verdicts and Court News

Mealey's Intellectual Property

October 30, 2019
9th Circuit Reinstates Copyright Claims Over ‘Shake It Off’

SAN FRANCISCO — A decision by a federal judge in California to dismiss allegations of copyright infringement against Taylor Swift and others was reversed and remanded Oct. 28 by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (Sean Hall and Nathan Butler v. Taylor Swift, et al., No. 18-55426, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 32272).
October 29, 2019
In Texas, Wells Fargo Challenge To Patent Eligibility Fails

MARSHALL, Texas — A motion by Wells Fargo Bank N.A. for summary judgment of patent ineligibility was denied Oct. 28 by a federal judge in Texas, who instead found that the digital capture technology at issue does not run afoul of Section 101 of the Patent Act (United Services Automobile Association v. Wells Fargo Bank N.A., No. 18-245, E.D. Texas, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 186441).
October 29, 2019
In Texas, Wells Fargo Challenge To Patent Eligibility Fails

MARSHALL, Texas — A motion by Wells Fargo Bank N.A. for summary judgment of patent ineligibility was denied Oct. 28 by a federal judge in Texas, who instead found that the digital capture technology at issue does not run afoul of Section 101 of the Patent Act (United Services Automobile Association v. Wells Fargo Bank N.A., No. 18-245, E.D. Texas, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 186441).
October 29, 2019
Copyright Claims Against REI, Chalk Bag Maker Transferred To Idaho

SEATTLE — A federal judge in Washington on Oct. 25 ordered copyright infringement claims against Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) and a co-defendant transferred to federal court in Idaho but denied outright dismissal of the action out of “deference to the transferee court” (Tony Hong v. Recreational Equipment Inc., et al., No. 19-951, W.D. Wash., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 185371).
October 28, 2019
In New Jersey, Patent Defendants’ Bid For Attorney Fees Denied

TRENTON, N.J. — Efforts by several generic drug makers to recoup the attorney fees they incurred in successfully defending allegations of patent infringement failed Oct. 25, when a federal judge in New Jersey declined to find the case exceptional, in what she deemed a “close call” (Reckitt Benckiser LLC v. Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC, et al., No. 15-2155, D. N.J., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 184628).
October 28, 2019
In Rhode Island Patent Dispute, Leave To Amend Denied

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Efforts by the maker of an accused bathtub for newborns to add a claim of bad faith assertion of patent infringement in view of a recently enacted state law were denied Oct. 25 by a Rhode Island federal magistrate judge (Summer Infant USA Inc. v. TOMY International Inc., No. 17-549, D. R.I., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 184765).
October 28, 2019
Merck Disputes Patent Board Findings In Federal Circuit Appeal

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an Oct. 24 appellant brief, Merck, Sharp & Dohme Corp. maintains that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board erred in confirming as patentable various claims of three patents relating to an implantable medical device (Merck, Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Microspherix LLC, Nos. 19-2197, -2200, -2208, Fed. Cir.).
October 28, 2019
Judge Dismisses All Claims Accrued Outside Of Relevant Statute Of Limitations

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California on Oct. 23 granted a recording company’s motion to dismiss all California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other claims accrued outside the relevant statute of limitations in a copyright infringement dispute but denied the motion as to all other claims (Syl Johnson, et al. v. UMG Recordings Inc., No. 19-02364, C.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 184455).
October 25, 2019
Boston Scientific Fires Back At Petitioner For Inter Partes Review

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In an Oct. 24 brief filed with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corp. defends as “novel” its patented implantable medical device for alerting patients to the need to recharge a battery (Nevro Corp. v. Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corp., No. IPR2019-01216, PTAB).
October 25, 2019
In Massachusetts, Copyright Plaintiff Denied Injunction

BOSTON — In an Oct. 24 ruling, a federal judge in Massachusetts found that a copyright infringement plaintiff is not entitled to a preliminary injunction because she is unable to demonstrate a risk of irreparable harm if relief is not issued (Leah Bassett v. Monic Jensen, et al., No. 18-10576, D. Mass., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 183888).
October 25, 2019
Supplier To Fracking Operations Says Its Design For Potable Water Rigs Was Copied

SAN ANTONIO — A water filtering company that provides services to hydraulic fracturing companies on Oct. 4 filed a lawsuit in Texas federal court against two companies, seeking injunctive and monetary relief for trade secret misappropriation and trademark infringement (WaterFleet LLC v. TanMar Rentals LLC, et al., No. 19-1190, W.D. Texas).
October 24, 2019
Cisco, Apple Defend Federal Circuit’s 1-Word Affirmance Of Patent Ruling,

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In briefs filed Oct. 17 and 18, respectively, Cisco Systems Inc. and Apple Inc. encourage the U.S. Supreme Court to deny a patentee’s petition for certiorari, arguing that a one-word summary ruling in their favor by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals is supported by federal law and did not violate the patent holder’s rights under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (SPIP Litigation Group LLC v. Apple Inc., No. 19-253, U.S. Sup.).
October 24, 2019
Ford Petitions Board For Review Of Cruise Control Patent

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In an Oct. 23 petition for inter partes review, Ford Motor Co. tells the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that various claims of a patented, speed-reducing, object-detecting adaptive cruise control (ACC) system would have been obvious to a person of skill in the art (Ford Motor Company v. Carrum Technologies LLC, No. IPR2020-00057, PTAB).
October 24, 2019
Panel Upholds Board Conclusions In Patent Interference Proceeding

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A finding by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that various claims of a patented method of using gas-permeable devices to culture animal cells was anticipated by prior art was affirmed Oct. 21 by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (John R. Wilson v. Gregory Roger Martin, et al., No. 18-1980, Fed. Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 31188).
October 24, 2019
Federal Circuit Upholds Patent Board In Blow To Google

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A final written decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that confirmed as patentable nine claims of a signal splitting patent was affirmed Oct. 23 by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (Google Inc. v. Koninklijke Philips N.V., No. 18-2213, Fed. Cir.).
October 23, 2019
New York Oneidas Lose 2nd Circuit Challenge To Wisconsin Oneidas’ Name Change

NEW YORK — The Oneida Indian Nation of New York lacks constitutional standing to sue the Department of the Interior (DOI) over the agency’s decision to allow the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin to change its name to the Oneida Nation, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed Oct. 21 (Oneida Indian Nation v. U.S. Department of the Interior, No. 18-2607, 2nd Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 31501).
October 23, 2019
North Carolina Federal Judge: Trademark Applicant Waived Challenge

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In what he said “appears to be a matter of first impression in this Circuit and perhaps nationally,” a North Carolina federal judge on Oct. 21 found that a dissatisfied trademark applicant who appeals an adverse ruling by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) to the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals waives the right to also seek review in federal district court of subsequently issued TTAB decisions involving the same application (Vanguard LLC, et al. v. Frito-Lay North America Inc., No. 17-652, W.D. N.C., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 182242).
October 23, 2019
Copyright Counterclaim Survives Motion To Dismiss In Vermont

BURLINGTON, Vt. — A federal judge in Vermont on Oct. 19 allowed a plaintiff to voluntarily dismiss a request for a declaratory judgment of no copyright infringement but denied the plaintiff’s motion to also dismiss a compulsory infringement counterclaim, rejecting the plaintiff’s position that the voluntary dismissal deprives the court of jurisdiction (Exist Inc. v. The Vermont Country Store Inc., No. 19-58, D. Vt., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 181409).
October 22, 2019
In California False Advertising Case, Defendant Partly Prevails

SAN DIEGO — A federal judge in California on Oct. 21 found that a plaintiff cannot prove that two laboratories chose to use a defendant’s thyroid assay because it was briefly marketed as thyroid stimulating immunoglobin (TSI) only; the same day, however, the judge denied the defendant’s request for attorney fees (Quidel Corporation v. Siemens Medical Solutions USA Inc., No. 16-3059, S.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 181874).
October 22, 2019
Production Company Dismissed From Alabama Copyright Case

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Allegations that a production company for the HGTV series “Good Bones” committed copyright infringement were dismissed Oct. 21 by a federal judge in Alabama who found that the company’s contacts with the forum are too “random, fortuitous, or attenuated” to support jurisdiction (Melanie Tolbert v. Discovery Inc., et al., No. 18-680, N.D. Ala., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 181528).