Mealey's Intellectual Property : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Intellectual Property

April 12, 2024
Federal Circuit Upholds Outcome Of Bench Trial In Antibiotic Patent Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A final judgment by a federal judge in Delaware directing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to delay approval of generic rifaximin until three patents covering the antibiotic Xifaxan expire was affirmed April 11 by a three-judge panel of the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
April 12, 2024
Board Win For Netflix Preserved After Panel Agreed Patent Is Obvious

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A final written decision (FWD) by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that canceled various claims of a patented method for switching network connections during the receipt of digital media content will not be disturbed, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled April 12.
April 12, 2024
Activision Must Face ‘Warzone’ Trademark Counterclaim In California

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California on April 11 lifted a previously entered stay of discovery in litigation over “Call of Duty: Warzone” and the “WARZONE” trademark, which Activision Inc. stands accused of infringing by a counterclaimant, in denying the videogame maker’s motion for judgment on the pleadings.
April 11, 2024
Organization, Former President Argue In 11th Circuit Over Trademark Settlement

ATLANTA — An Alabama federal court had jurisdiction to issue an order memorializing the settlement terms accompanying a voluntary dismissal of trademark infringement and cybersquatting claims against its former president, a servicemembers’ families organization argues in a brief to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, calling the ousted president’s appeal meritless.
April 11, 2024
Sanctions Discovery Order In Trademark Row Between ICEE, Slush Puppie Stands

CINCINNATI — A federal judge in Ohio on April 10 said he won’t reconsider his August bench ruling that granted discovery on a defendant’s request for sanctions against opposing counsel, in a contractual dispute involving a fabricated trademark license that was presented as valid for more than two years of litigation.
April 11, 2024
No Disparagement Alleged, No Advertising Injury Coverage Triggered, Panel Affirms

NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that an underlying class action lawsuit brought against the manufacturer of Wipe Out! wipes and sprays failed to allege disparagement and, therefore, its general liability insurance policy’s personal and advertising injury coverage was not triggered, affirming a federal court’s dismissal of the insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage for underlying allegations that it made false and misleading claims on the labels of three of its products.
April 11, 2024
Architect To 5th Circuit: Promo Materials Without Notice Infringed Copyright

NEW ORLEANS — A license agreement with a developer specified that any publication of its copyrighted works must include its copyright management information (CMI), an architectural firm tells the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in its reply brief, insisting that this applied to promotional materials created by third parties at the developer’s behest.
April 10, 2024
Pharma Companies Seek High Court Review Of Ruling Reversing FCA Suit Dismissal

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pharmaceutical companies accused of violating the False Claims Act (FCA) by artificially inflating drug prices filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking review of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ reversal of a district court’s dismissal of a qui tam suit against them, arguing, in part, that the panel “created a circuit split by holding that a relator can avoid the public disclosure bar by ‘stitching together’ public disclosures.”
April 10, 2024
Siding With Google, Board Says Ad Insertion Method, System Patent Is Obvious

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In an April 9 final written decision (FWD), the Patent Trial and Appeal Board declared 13 claims of a patented method and system for inserting advertisements into broadcast content across platforms and devices obvious to a person of skill in the art (POSITA).
April 10, 2024
Popular Instagram User Wins Leave To Amend Copyright Claims Against Travel Company

WASHINGTON, D.C. — An Icelandic woman with more than 1 million Instagram followers defeated a travel marketing company’s motion to dismiss copyright infringement claims on April 9, with a District of Columbia federal judge instead granting the plaintiff leave to file a third amended complaint.
April 10, 2024
Judge Won’t Reconsider Ruling That OpenAI Is Mark’s Owner

SAN FRANCISCO — A company and its owner have not shown that a finding that OpenAI Inc. is the only bona fide user of a trademark requires reconsideration or was reached in error, and the defendants cannot simply change attorneys and seek “a re-do” of the resulting preliminary injunction ruling, a federal judge in California said.
April 10, 2024
Court Erred On Timing, Logic In OpenAI Trademark Dispute, Party Says

SAN FRANCISCO — No evidence supports the conclusion that the OpenAI mark acquired secondary meaning by September 2022, and the court’s holding otherwise ignores that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied it that status as late as April 2023, a competitor for the mark says in a motion for reconsideration.
April 09, 2024
Contract Claims Partly Preempted By Copyright, N.Y. Federal Judge Finds

NEW YORK — A plaintiff embroiled in litigation with talk radio host John Batchelor over podcast distribution rights lost its bid to return the dispute to New York state court on April 8, with a federal judge concluding that because portions of the case are preempted by federal copyright law, “policing the line between the preempted and non-preempted portions of these claims will be an ongoing task that will continue through trial,” thereby warranting the exercise of supplemental jurisdiction.
April 09, 2024
Patent Owner: Retractable Arrowhead Blades Not Found In Prior Art

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A patent owner in a preliminary response filed April 8 with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board accuses a petitioner for inter partes review (IPR) of an arrowhead patent of failing “to understand the structural differences” between a blade member and a barb.
April 09, 2024
In Patent Row Over Motorized Dumbbell, Fitness Equipment Company Weighs In

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Assertions of novelty by the owner of motorized dumbbell technology declared ineligible for patenting by a Utah federal judge are “contradicted by the claims and specification” of the patent itself, iFIT Inc. says in an April 8 appellee brief filed with the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
April 08, 2024
Federal Circuit Summarily Affirms Patent Board In Win For Intel Corp.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A per curiam panel of the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 8 upheld cancellation by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of various claims of a VLSI Technology LLC patent directed to power reduction.
April 08, 2024
Verdict, Award In Favor Of Sprint On Trademark, ACPA Claims Upheld

ATLANTA — Efforts by sellers of counterfeit mobile phones to undo an award of $4.5 million in statutory damages in favor of Sprint Communications LLC have failed, with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals deeming a jury verdict of cybersquatting, infringement and counterfeiting supported by ample evidence.
April 08, 2024
Walmart Beats Patent Challenge By BJ’s In Inter Partes Review

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has rejected allegations by BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. that a Walmart Apollo LLC patent is taught by the combined teachings of three prior art references.
April 08, 2024
Cancellation Of Patented Dosing Regimen Vacated, Appeal Declared Moot

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 5 said an appeal of a final written decision (FWD) by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that declared obvious a patented lurasidone dosing regimen is mooted by the expiration of the patent and representations by counsel that an appellant no longer has an interest in exercising its right to exclude, including by seeking damages for pre-expiration infringement.
April 05, 2024
Estate Settles Suit Over Artificial Intelligence George Carlin Comedy Video

LOS ANGELES — George Carlin’s representatives settled copyright and privacy claims against the entities responsible for creating an artificial intelligence presentation featuring his voice and likeness, with the defendants agreeing to stipulated consent judgment enjoining the creation of or otherwise using the comedian’s image, voice or likeness.
April 05, 2024
Panel: System, Method For Viewing Large Medical Images Is Patent-Ineligible

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a blow to the creators of a platform that allows medical personnel to view magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and other large-data medical images on computers and devices with low bandwidth, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 4 agreed with a federal judge in Delaware that the claimed technology is not eligible for patenting.
April 04, 2024
Judge: California Plaintiffs Can’t Intervene In New York OpenAI Copyright Suits

NEW YORK — California plaintiffs lack sufficient interest in New York copyright infringement cases involving similar but different defendants and claims arising from the training of artificial intelligence, a federal judge in New York said in denying a motion to intervene.
April 04, 2024
Appeals Court Weighs In On Software Copyright Case For 3rd Time

CINCINNATI — A summary judgment in favor of infringement defendants by a federal judge in Michigan was upheld April 3 by the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, in its third ruling in a longstanding dispute over copyright protection for computer code.
April 04, 2024
California Federal Judge Offers Glimpse At Hurdles In TikTok IP Row

SAN FRANCISCO — In advance of a planned April 5 hearing on a motion to dismiss copyright infringement and false advertising claims leveled against TikTok Inc. and others, a federal judge in California has directed the video sharing app to be prepared to defend its position that the registration requirement in federal copyright law extends to copyrights registered abroad.
April 04, 2024
Board Violated APA When Canceling Claims, Patent Owner Tells Federal Circuit

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals should set aside a final written decision (FWD) by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that canceled all challenged claims of an electric power grid management patent because the board relied on a theory of invalidity not explicitly raised by Unified Patents LLC’s petition for inter partes review (IPR), a patent owner says.