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

Mealey's Intellectual Property

January 18, 2024
Anthropic Defends Use Of Copyrighted Lyrics, Says Injunction Unnecessary

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Music publishers filed suit in the wrong jurisdiction, but besides that, no evidence suggests that Anthropic PBC’s Claude artificial intelligence will produce copyrighted lyrics going forward absent “special attacks” designed to get it to do so, that the use of those works for training is anything other than fair use or that any use of the copyrighted works caused an injury, the company argues in opposing a preliminary injunction.
January 17, 2024
High Court Told ‘Chaos’ Will Ensue ‘In A World Without Chevron’ Deference

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court was told Jan. 17 that “chaos” will ensue “in a world without Chevron” deference by government attorneys, who urged it to apply stare decisis and uphold Chevron, which is being challenged in two cases arising out of federal fishing regulations.
January 18, 2024
Law Firm To 9th Circuit: ‘Common Practice’ Of Keyword Ads Infringed No Trademarks

SAN FRANCISCO — Asking the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to affirm a trial court’s judgment that its purchasing of a competitor’s trademark in Google keyword ads was not trademark infringement, an Arizona law firm contends in its appellee brief that the purchasing of such online advertisements is a “common practice” that, at best, resulted in de minimis consumer confusion.
January 17, 2024
On Remand, Judge Awards Fees To Copyright, Trademark Defendants

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A federal judge in Michigan on Jan. 16 rejected the “quixotic” positions advanced by a copyright and trademark owner and his company in opposing a request for attorney fees by prevailing infringement defendants, declining what he said was a call to “unwind the entire litigation and revisit almost every substantive ruling that has been rendered to date.”
January 17, 2024
Government Wants To Argue In Supreme Court Copyright Discovery Accrual Suit

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar filed a motion on behalf of the U.S. government in the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to participate in upcoming Feb. 21 oral arguments in a dispute over whether copyright damages can be recovered for infringement that occurred prior to the three-year statute of limitations under the Copyright Act’s discovery accrual rule.
January 17, 2024
9th Circuit Sets Oral Argument In Coverage Dispute Arising From Gold Treasure

SEATTLE — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals set oral argument for March 29 of its review of a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an ocean marine general liability insurer in a declaratory judgment lawsuit disputing coverage for an underlying $7.5 million covenant judgment that resolved claims that the appellant was denied possession and use of the tangible and intangible work product that was created during gold salvage expeditions.
January 16, 2024
Ericsson Seeks Cancellation Of 2 Surviving Patent Claims In New Petition

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A wireless patent that already saw its first 27 claims canceled in an earlier inter partes review (IPR) is under siege yet again in a new IPR petition by Ericsson Inc. filed Jan. 12 with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
January 16, 2024
7th Circuit Upholds Fee Award, Judgment In Favor Of Copyright Defendants

CHICAGO — A determination by a federal judge in Illinois that documents relating to bond offerings do not qualify for copyright protection was affirmed Jan. 12 by the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, finding in the same ruling no abuse of discretion in a subsequent award of more than $1.5 million in attorney fees to two prevailing infringement defendants.
January 16, 2024
Per Jack Daniel’s Ruling, 9th Circuit Reverses In ‘Punchbowl’ Trademark Suit

PASADENA, Calif. — The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc. v. VIP Products LLC “altered the law that governed” when it previously found that an online news service’s use of the “Punchbowl” mark did not dilute a party-planning firm’s trademark, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Jan. 12, leading it to, after rehearing, issue a revised opinion reversing a trial court’s dismissal and remanding for further consideration under the traditional likelihood of confusion test.
January 12, 2024
Appellant: Dismissal Of Patent, Copyright, Lanham Act Claims Was Error

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A patent owner is seeking reinstatement of its lawsuit against a former employee and his new company, asserting in an appellant brief filed with the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that a Utah federal judge wrongly construed “positioned between” and “formed between” in relation to a claimed air gap in the steel core of a buckling-restrained brace (BRB).
January 12, 2024
Parties Continue To Spar Over Patent At Center Of Since-Vacated $1.5B Verdict

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a flurry of filings with the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Intel Corp., VLSI Technology Inc. and Patent Quality Assurance LLC (PQA) dispute how to move forward in an appeal of an inter partes review (IPR) by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that canceled a patent that served as the basis for a $1.5 billion infringement verdict, following a mid-December sanction order by the director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
January 12, 2024
Fintiv Defends Patented Mobile Financial Services System Before Board

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — All three grounds for inter partes review (IPR) of a mobile financial services (mFS) system fail, Fintiv Inc. asserts in a Jan. 11 patent owner response filed with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
January 11, 2024
Apple Fights Off Bid To Undo Patent Board Obviousness Holding

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Findings by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that a single challenged claim of a patented pulse oximetry system is obvious were affirmed Jan. 10 by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a win for inter partes review (IPR) petitioner Apple Inc.
January 11, 2024
Patented Radiofrequency Microneedling Method, Apparatus Challenged

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A new petition for inter partes review (IPR) urges the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to cancel a patent that relates to radiofrequency microneedling, asserting that a prior art patent not considered by a patent examiner discloses “most” of the claims.
January 10, 2024
Failed Bid For Correction Of Patent Inventorship Won’t Result In Fee Award

WILMINGTON, Del. — A federal judge in Delaware has concluded that a lawsuit seeking a correction of patent inventorship that failed on every count alleged was not so meritless as to qualify as “exceptional” for an award of attorney fees.
January 10, 2024
Clothing Retailer Rejects Claims Its AI Systematically Steals

LOS ANGELES — Claims involving a clothing retailer’s use of artificial intelligence implicate ordinary business practices and cannot form the basis of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and copyright claims, Shein Distribution Corp. says in a reply brief rebutting designers’ claims that the company systematically duplicates and steals protected and commercially valuable designs.
January 10, 2024
Copyright Claims Tossed With Leave To Amend In California Software Row

SAN FRANCISCO — Counterclaims of direct and contributory copyright infringement leveled by a software developer against a former licensee were dismissed as “too conclusory” on Jan. 9 by a federal judge in California.
January 10, 2024
Panel Reinstates Unfair Competition Claim, Opens Door To Trade Dress Claim

NEW YORK — A dispute over alleged knock-off coats was revived Jan. 9 by the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which said that although the owners of the fashion label Mackage cannot assert trade dress infringement and dilution by a defendant, their claim of common-law unfair competition was wrongly dismissed by a New York federal judge.
January 10, 2024
All Challenged Claims Of 2 Reissue Patents Are Obvious, Panel Affirms

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two reissue patents relating to a system for improving the integrity of a fastening assembly were correctly deemed obvious by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Jan. 9 in a win for General Motors LLC and others.
January 09, 2024
Early Challenge To Validity Of ‘Beverly Hills Hotel’ Trademark Rebuffed

LOS ANGELES — Allegations made in a motion to dismiss that “Beverly Hills Hotel” is aesthetically functional and thus unprotectable as a trademark have been rejected by a federal judge in California.
January 09, 2024
California Federal Judge: Plaintiff Lacks Standing In Patent Fight With Netflix

SAN FRANCISCO — A co-inventor’s claim that he regained ownership via appropriation of an abandoned patent application under Finnish common law was rejected Jan. 8 by a federal judge in California, who clarified, “Finnish common law does not matter here.”
January 09, 2024
Microsoft, OpenAI Face Journalists’ Suit Over AI Training

NEW YORK — Microsoft Corp. and various OpenAI are no better than any run-of-the-mill thief after they “systematically pilfered” copyrighted works despite enjoying both the means and ability to pay, two journalists allege in a class action filed in federal court in New York.
January 08, 2024
Supreme Court Turns Away Latest Request For Section 101 Review

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bid by a technology company for clarification from the U.S. Supreme Court on the proper standard for determining patent eligibility was turned away Jan. 8 with a denial of a petition for a writ of certiorari.
January 08, 2024
High Court Won’t Weigh In On Trade Dress Row Between Furniture Companies

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Several months after requesting a response from a high-end furniture designer and trade dress owner, the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 8 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari in the case, which posed the question of when intentional copying constitutes evidence of secondary meaning and warrants a finding of infringement.
January 08, 2024
Intel Bid For Certiorari Denied In Patent Dispute Over Fintiv Instructions

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A March 2023 ruling by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals largely rejecting a challenge by tech leaders to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) guidance for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board when deciding whether to institute inter partes review (IPR) will stand, in view of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Jan. 8 denial of a petition for writ of certiorari.