Mealey's Intellectual Property
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February 11, 2021
Indiana Federal Magistrate Judge Transfers Copyright Case To Oregon Court
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — In a Feb. 8 holding, a federal magistrate judge in Indiana agreed with a copyright infringement defendant that a forum-selection clause in a previous settlement between it and a copyright owner compels transfer of the action to the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon for further review.
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February 11, 2021
11th Circuit Affirms Fee Award In Copyright, Trademark Case
ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 10 found no abuse of discretion in a Florida federal judge’s determination that a copyright and trademark dispute over billboard artwork and wording rises to the level of “exceptional,” thereby triggering an award of attorney fees and expert witness costs.
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February 11, 2021
Federal Circuit Grants Panel Rehearing In Label Carve-Out Row
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a two-page order issued Feb. 10, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals announced that it will revisit its October 2020 finding that Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. induced infringement of a reissue patent directed to the treatment of chronic heart failure.
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February 11, 2021
Golf Club Patent Claim Is Indefinite, Federal Circuit Affirms
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a Feb. 10 holding, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said it found no error in an Illinois federal judge’s determination that a single claim of a patented golf club shape is invalid as indefinite, in a win for Nike Inc.
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February 11, 2021
Appellant Tells Federal Circuit Invention Wrongly Declared Patent-Ineligible
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a Jan. 11 appellant brief, a patent owner tells the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that its dispute with an alleged infringer presents “novel and critical” issues relating to the application of the enablement and definiteness requirements of one provision of federal patent law to a provision pertaining to patent eligibility.
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February 11, 2021
Appellant: Google, Waze Erroneously Won Judgment Of Patent Ineligibility
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a Jan. 8 appellant brief filed with the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the owner of a patent directed to a real time vehicle guidance system maintains that a federal judge in Delaware erred when deeming the disputed technology ineligible for patenting.
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February 10, 2021
University Of Rhode Island Enjoined In California Copyright Row
SAN FRANCISCO — In a Feb. 4 holding, a federal judge in California deemed a plaintiff likely to succeed on the merits of its claim that the University of Rhode Island (URI) circumvented various technological measures “to gain unauthorized access” to copyrighted design automation software.
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February 10, 2021
Copyright, Trademark Claims Survive Dismissal Request In New York
NEW YORK — In a Feb. 9 holding, a federal judge in New York granted dismissal of allegations by a plaintiff that its former employee was unjustly enriched by his formation of a competing company but allowed other allegations to proceed, including causes of action for copyright and trademark infringement.
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February 09, 2021
D.C. Circuit Upholds Dismissal Of Copyright Claims On Access Grounds
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in the District of Columbia did not err in dismissing allegations of copyright infringement leveled against Sony Music Entertainment Inc. and NBC Universal Pictures, the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Feb. 5 in a dispute in which a pro se plaintiff sought “$1 Quadrillion” in damages.
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February 09, 2021
In Appeal Of CBM Review, Panel Rejects Substitute Patent Claims
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Findings by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that various proposed substitute claims in a patent reciting a system and method for permitting a customer in a loyalty program to redeem loyalty points are patent-eligible were rejected Feb. 8 by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
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February 09, 2021
Artificial Eyelash Patent Subject Of New Post-Grant Review Request
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In a Feb. 5 petition filed with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, a beauty products company maintains that the board erred when it recently approved a continuation patent directed to eyelash extensions.
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February 08, 2021
6th Circuit: License Of Works No Violation Of Copyright Act
CINCINNATI — A decision by a nonprofit trade association to license and potentially transfer its intellectual property to a web standards organization does not violate the copyrights of its independent contributors, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Feb. 5.
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February 08, 2021
Panel: Application To Patent Fraud Detection Method Rightly Rejected
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a Feb. 5 holding, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found no error in a determination by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) that a claimed method for countering credit card fraud recites ineligible subject matter.
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February 08, 2021
4th Circuit Says Nike’s Abandonment Of Slogan Moots Appeal
RICHMOND, Va. — In a Jan. 26 holding, the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found “no good reason” to vacate a preliminary injunction entered against Nike Inc., while also dismissing Nike’s appeal of the relief as moot in light of the footwear maker’s decision to cease use of the slogan “Sport Changes Everything.”
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February 05, 2021
Princeton, Facebook Seek 3rd Dismissal Of Virtual Reality Items Copyright Claims
SAN FRANCISCO — Princeton University and Facebook Inc. on Feb. 2 filed a motion to dismiss copyright infringement claims brought by a Lithuanian company over a collection of its three-dimensional scenes and objects, telling a California federal court that the twice-dismissed claims merit yet another dismissal because the plaintiff has not yet registered his works with the U.S. Copyright Office.
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February 05, 2021
Panel: Request For Attorney Fees Properly Denied In Patent Dispute
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Washington did not abuse her discretion in denying a patent infringement defendant’s request for $630,318.91 in attorney fees, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals concluded Feb. 4.
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February 05, 2021
Federal Circuit Affirms Patent Board Ruling Against John Deere
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a Feb. 4 ruling, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that various claims of a patented apparatus that detects and controls the distance from the ground at which an agricultural machine operates would not have been obvious to a person of skill in the art.
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February 04, 2021
Post-Grant Review Of Swine Virus Immunogenic Granted By Patent Board
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Allegations that a porcine circovirus type 3 (PCV3) immunogenic composition represents an unpatentable law of nature will be heard by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, which on Feb. 3 instituted post-grant review.
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February 04, 2021
Apple Defenses In Patent Row Partly Stricken By Texas Federal Magistrate
MARSHALL, Texas — Assertions by Apple Inc. that a patent owner is barred by estoppel from asserting that its encryption technology was infringed by the “Fair Play” digital rights management program were stricken Feb. 3 by a federal magistrate judge in Texas.
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February 03, 2021
R.J. Reynolds Says Tobacco Storage Patent Should Be Canceled
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In a Feb. 2 petition for inter partes review filed with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. maintains that a container for storing tobacco that features a lid and gasket for forming a non-hermetic seal “was well known in the art.”