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Mealey's Intellectual Property

  • December 04, 2023

    Federal Circuit Grants Stipulated Dismissal In Endoscope Patent Row

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — On the heels of a joint request filed one day earlier, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 4 agreed to dismiss with prejudice a patent case that hinged on the “permissible repair” defense.

  • December 04, 2023

    New York Federal Judge Rejects ‘Sweeping Attack’ On Jury’s Patent Verdict

    LONG ISLAND, N.Y. — A federal judge in New York on Dec. 1 denied a bid to enhance a September $1.85 million jury award in a dispute over the validity, inventorship and infringement of a design patent associated with the “Wallet Ninja” but in the same ruling awarded the patent owner $1,536,644 in attorney fees and costs.

  • December 04, 2023

    Apple Request For Fees As Sanction In Patent Case Denied In California

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two months after a patent owner voluntarily dismissed allegations of patent infringement against Apple Inc. in connection with a feature that alerts Apple users to potential COVID-19 exposure, a federal judge in California on Dec. 1 denied the tech titan’s request for attorney fees.

  • December 01, 2023

    In California Patent Row, Defendant Can Amend Invalidity Contentions  

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — An infringement dispute over a patented telepole will include an allegation of obviousness-type double patenting (ODP) in view of a recent change in the law, a federal magistrate judge in California has ruled.

  • December 01, 2023

    Law Firm Tells 9th Circuit Rival’s Use Of Mark In Keyword Ad Was Infringing

    SAN FRANCISCO — Asking the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse a lower court’s summary judgment finding that a competitor’s use of its trademark in a Google keyword advertisement did not infringe, an Arizona law firm in its appellant brief expressed its concern that if the judgment is permitted to stand, it will “severely erode the ability of trademark holders to protect against the misuse of their marks online.”

  • December 01, 2023

    AI Music Copyright Defendant Says Tennessee Jurisdiction Strikes Wrong Beat

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In a motion to dismiss, artificial intelligence company Anthropic PBC told a federal court in Tennessee that a copyright suit was a “negotiating tactic disguised as a federal court complaint” with no connection to the jurisdiction and that at the very least, the action should be transferred to California, where almost all of the parties reside.

  • November 30, 2023

    In California Copyright Case, Decision To Strike Expert Testimony Revisited

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in California on Nov. 29 said his recent decision to strike the expert testimony of a copyright damages expert witness was error, in a blow to infringement defendants that include The Walt Disney Co.

  • November 30, 2023

    In GitHub AI Copyright Suit, Parties Told To Meet, Confer Not Move To Compel

    SAN FRANCISCO — While a California federal court mulls a second round of motions from OpenAI Inc., GitHub Inc. and Microsoft Corp. seeking dismissal of claims under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) related to allegations of improper attribution in the development of an artificial intelligence tool, a magistrate judge denied the plaintiffs’ motion to compel discovery responses in favor of a directive for the parties to meet and confer about discovery disputes.

  • November 30, 2023

    No Coverage Owed For Breach Of Franchise Agreement, Trademark Infringement Claims

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling in favor of insurers in an insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for an underlying action alleging that it breached a franchise agreement and infringed on trademarks, finding that some of the underlying claims “clearly fell outside the policy's coverage” and that the policy’s intellectual property (IP) exclusion also barred coverage.

  • November 29, 2023

    Panel Upholds Denial Of Fees For Jaegermeister In Dispute Over ‘Kühl’ Mark

    DENVER — Less than three months after affirming a grant of summary judgment in favor of Mast-Jaegermeister US Inc. (MJUS) on allegations that the spirits maker infringed the “kühl” trademark, the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 28 also upheld a decision that the case does not qualify as exceptional, rendering MJUS not entitled to an award of attorney fees.

  • November 29, 2023

    Cross-Appellant: Dispute Centers On Contract, Not Patent Misuse

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A cross-appellant urges the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to transfer a contractual dispute involving Honeywell International Inc. and others to the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, asserting that an allegation of patent misuse before a district court is not enough to vest the Federal Circuit with exclusive jurisdiction over the appeal.

  • November 29, 2023

    California Federal Judge: Signal Decoding Tech Ineligible For Patenting

    SAN FRANCISCO — A challenge by a developer of gaming peripherals to the eligibility of a patent it is accused of infringing was persuasive to a federal judge in California, who dismissed the case.

  • November 28, 2023

    Music Publisher, Licensor Ask High Court To Reject Discovery Rule In Copyright Suits

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Section 507(b) of the Copyright Act does not provide for application of the discovery rule to permit claims for retrospective relief for copyright infringement that occurred more than three years prior to filing suit, a music publishing firm and a licensing company tell the U.S. Supreme Court in their Nov. 27 opening merits brief, asking the high court to overturn an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling allowing use of the discovery rule.

  • November 28, 2023

    Biotech Company Can’t Shake Copyright Claim Over Dodo Bird Drawing

    AUSTIN, Texas — A federal magistrate judge in Texas on Nov. 27 recommended that a company that has raised more than $150 million in its effort to bring the dodo back from extinction face allegations that it infringed an artist’s copyrighted rendering of the legendary flightless bird.

  • November 28, 2023

    New York Federal Judge Tosses Trademark Claims In ‘Surf Lodge’ Spat

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Although a second amended complaint (SAC) by the owners and operators of “The Surf Lodge” in Montauk, N.Y., adequately state a claim for false designation of origin against a former business associate, their allegations of trademark infringement and dilution must be dismissed, a federal judge in New York concluded Nov. 27.

  • November 27, 2023

    Genomic Sequencing Of Tumor Sample Not Patentable, Petitioner Says

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A cancer diagnostics company accused in Colorado federal court of infringing a method of screening for cancer recurrence maintains in a Nov. 22 filing with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that the patent asserted against it should be canceled as anticipated and obvious.

  • November 27, 2023

    Hawaii Federal Judge: Accused Use Of ‘Skydive Hawaii’ Mark Is Fair

    HONOLULU — Although ordering additional briefing on a claim for breach of settlement agreement, a federal judge in Hawaii on Nov. 22 granted a defense motion to dismiss allegations of trademark infringement leveled over the use of “Skydive Hawaii” in connection with a Hawaii-based skydiving business.

  • November 27, 2023

    Panel:  Trademark Board Ruling Departed From Established Waiver Practice

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court Appeals on Nov. 22 rejected a joint motion by two parties to vacate a decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board that sustained opposition to the “Get Ordained” trademark in two classes of services in light of their subsequent settlement of parallel district court litigation.

  • November 27, 2023

    Lloyd’s And U.S. Subsidiary File Trademark Infringement, Defamation Lawsuit

    HOUSTON — Two entities connected with “an insurance and reinsurance market that is the most famous brand in the insurance underwriting field” have filed a suit in Texas federal court asserting claims including defamation and trademark infringement against an individual and a corporation and LLC they say he registered in Texas and California.

  • November 22, 2023

    Arthrex Prevails Before Board In Challenge To Surgical Implant Patent

    ALEXANDRIA, Va.— In a final written decision (FWD) issued Nov. 21, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board agreed with Arthrex Inc. that all claims of a patented instrument and method for guiding and positioning surgical implants within the body are anticipated or rendered obvious by prior art.

  • November 22, 2023

    In Florida Trademark Row, Federal Infringement Claim Survives Bid To Dismiss

    MIAMI — A federal judge in Florida said that because a counterclaimant has not received a state trademark registration, its allegation of common-law infringement would be dismissed; in the same ruling, the judge denied dismissal as it relates to federal trademark infringement.

  • November 22, 2023

    Federal Circuit:  Missed Deadline By Patent Board No Jurisdictional Bar

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A challenge by a drugmaker to a determination of unpatentability by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that was issued after the statutory deadline to do so was rejected Nov. 21 by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, in what it deemed a matter of first impression.

  • November 21, 2023

    California Trademark Row Won’t Be Stayed During Cancellation Proceedings

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal magistrate judge in California has denied a bid to stay a declaratory judgment action over the “Karmapoint” trademark while the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board considers a pending request for cancellation.

  • November 21, 2023

    Music Publishers Seek To Enjoin ‘Blatant’ AI Copyright Violations

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Anthropic PBC built its artificial intelligence model and billion-dollar business on “blatant and widespread copyright infringement,” leading music publishers claim in a motion filed in a federal court in Tennessee seeking a preliminary injunction hoping to prevent “incalculable harm.”

  • November 21, 2023

    Judge Dismisses ‘Nonsensical’ Copyright Claims For Meta’s Use Of Books To Train AI

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Nov. 20 granted a motion to dismiss the bulk of claims brought by authors in two related putative class actions against Meta Platforms Inc. for copyright infringement based on its use of their written works to train its artificial intelligence software, calling the plaintiffs’ “derivative works” argument “nonsensical.”