Mealey's Intellectual Property
-
January 02, 2024
N.Y. Federal Judge: Dispute Over ‘Air Jordan,’ ‘Dunk’ Trade Dress Will Proceed
NEW YORK — A bid for dismissal has been denied by a federal judge in New York, who said a November 2022 complaint by Nike Inc. adequately identifies not only the trade dress associated with its famed “Air Jordan I” and “Dunk” sneakers but also which elements were allegedly copied by a defendant.
-
January 02, 2024
‘Barcode’ Wrongly Construed By California Federal Judge, Panel Concludes
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A final judgment of noninfringement entered by a federal judge in California in a dispute over barcoded coffee capsule technology was reversed by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on the basis of a misconstrued term that appears in every claim of all three patents in suit.
-
January 02, 2024
In Laser Scanner Contract, Patent Misuse Case, Parties Continue To Spar Over Venue
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Briefing is complete on the question of which venue — the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals or the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals — is the proper place for review of a North Carolina federal judge’s denial of summary judgment on allegations of patent misuse.
-
January 02, 2024
Panel: Right To Bench Trial On Disgorgement Waived In Trademark Case
NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals will not undo a jury’s award of $1.6 million in disgorged profits in a trademark case, agreeing with a New York federal judge that an infringement defendant waived its right to a bench trial.
-
January 02, 2024
Federal Circuit Won’t Direct Texas Court To Disqualify Patent Counsel
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bid for mandamus relief by LG Electronics Inc. and LG Electronics USA Inc. (LGE, collectively) from an order denying a request to disqualify the law firm Mayer Brown LLP from representing a patent owner in a Texas federal infringement action has been rejected by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
-
January 02, 2024
Patent Owner Critiques BMW Theory Of Motivation To Combine
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In a preliminary patent owner response filed with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, the maker of technology intended to hide GPS location data says a petition for inter partes review (IPR) by BMW of North America LLC relies on prior art that fails to “teach or disclose numerous claim limitations.”
-
January 02, 2024
Patent Owner: Board Created ‘New Standard’ When Instituting Review
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A patent owner says the Patent Trial and Appeal Board wrongly instituted inter partes review (IPR) of its memory module technology in response to a petition that relies on the same prior art as another petition for IPR, which the board denied.
-
December 22, 2023
In Delaware, Dispute Over ‘Ugliest House’ Mark Will Continue
WILMINGTON, Del. — A federal judge in Delaware on Dec. 21 adopted the recommendation of a Delaware federal magistrate judge that Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. must face allegations of trademark infringement and trademark dilution leveled in connection with the HGTV show “Ugliest House in America.”
-
December 22, 2023
Florida Federal Judge Tosses Trademark Claims By Hospice Provider
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Several groups devoted to ensuring access to abortion care for women in Texas on Dec. 21 won dismissal of allegations that they infringe a hospice provider’s trademark, with a Florida federal judge concluding that the case fails on jurisdiction grounds.
-
December 22, 2023
Former Governor, Others Sever, Transfer, Dismiss Portions Of AI Copyright Suit
NEW YORK — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and other copyright holders who filed suit over the use of their works to train artificial intelligence told a federal judge in New York that they reached an agreement to dismiss one defendant and sever and transfer their claims against Microsoft Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc. to a federal court in California and said they would not oppose a fourth defendant’s motion to stay discovery while the court resolves pending motions.
-
December 21, 2023
In Copyright, Trademark Row, Judge Allows Fourth Amended Complaint
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California on Dec. 20 ruled that a third amended complaint (TAC) seeking cancellation of two trademarks adequately pleads that the underlying applications contained false and misleading information but failed to provide “sufficient factual context” that the applicants knew or had reason to believe that their registrations were procured by fraud.
-
December 21, 2023
Panel: Consumer-Friendly Method For Completing Purchases Is Patent-Ineligible
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 20 said technology that permits a brick-and-mortar store to offer customers a lower price for the same product than what is currently available online is ineligible for patenting.
-
December 21, 2023
Panel Says Substantial Evidence Supports Board’s Patent Obviousness Ruling
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A patented method of treating pulmonary hypertension was correctly deemed obvious by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Dec. 20 in a blow to the maker of the vasodilator Tyvaso.
-
December 19, 2023
Panel: Appeal Of Patent Board Ruling Mooted By District Court Dismissal
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 19 dismissed an appeal by a petitioner who failed to persuade the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to cancel various claims of a hairbrush patent, citing a dismissal with prejudice of an allegation of infringement of the patent and a failure by the appellant to establish that it is at risk of incurring future infringement liability.
-
December 19, 2023
Panel Won’t Rehear Dispute Over Copyright Deposit Copy Requirement
WASHINGTON, D.C. — An August holding by the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that the mandatory deposit requirement set forth in the Copyright Act is unconstitutional will stand, for now.
-
December 19, 2023
11th Circuit Upholds Denial Of Default Judgment In Copyright Litigation
ATLANTA — A panel of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said a federal judge in Georgia did not err in refusing to grant a copyright infringement plaintiff a default judgment against a musician who never entered an appearance in either court.
-
December 18, 2023
Federal Circuit Finds No Error In Patent Board Claim Construction
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A final written decision (FWD) by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) Patent Trial and Appeal Board that declared a single claim of a wireless local area network (WLAN) patent obvious was affirmed Dec. 15 by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which said the board correctly construed the disputed claim term “storage element.”
-
December 18, 2023
California Jury Delivers Photographer $6.3M Award In Copyright Case
LOS ANGELES — In a verdict lodged with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, a jury said a photographer is entitled to the maximum statutory damages award of $150,000 for each of 42 willfully infringed copyrighted images.
-
December 18, 2023
In Response To Joint Motion, Panel Vacates Patent Board Decision
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 18 agreed to dismiss an appeal of a final written decision (FWD) by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that declared a method of producing nicotinamide riboside (NR) and compositions containing NR patent-ineligible.
-
December 15, 2023
Federal Circuit Panel Upholds Claim Preclusion Findings In Patent Row
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Allegations that a patented book holder assembly was infringed by a laptop mounting device were correctly rejected on res judicata grounds, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled.
-
December 15, 2023
RIAA To High Court: Use Equitable Tolling For ‘Black Box,’ AI-Based Infringement
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In one of eight amicus curiae briefs filed in a dispute over the discovery accrual rule in the context of copyright infringement, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) urges the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify that equitable tolling applies to the Copyright Act’s three-year limitations period when the infringement “is undetectable as a practical matter.”
-
December 15, 2023
Labels Ask 5th Circuit To Affirm $46M Award For ISP’s Contributory Infringement
NEW ORLEANS — An internet service provider’s (ISP) knowledge that its subscribers were engaging in online “mass infringement” of their copyrighted music, coupled with its failure to act on that knowledge, were more than sufficient to support a jury’s finding of contributory infringement and an accompanying damages award of $46 million, record labels argue in their appellee brief in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
-
December 14, 2023
Palo Alto Networks To Federal Circuit: Patent Board Got It Right
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A user guide for the Sourcefire “3D System” discloses “nearly every limitation” of various challenged claims of a threat detection patent that was correctly canceled by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board as obvious, Palo Alto Networks Inc. (PAN) maintains in an appellee brief filed with the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
-
December 14, 2023
Becton, Dickinson Fires Back At Patent Owner, Defends Board Review
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A formulation of sterilized chlorhexidine gluconate solution (CHG) applied via applicator for the purpose of disinfecting skin was correctly deemed anticipated and obvious by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, a medical device manufacturer maintains in a recent brief to the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
-
December 13, 2023
Authors Amend Copyright Claim Against Meta For Using Books To Train AI
SAN FRANCISCO — Three weeks after a California federal judge called their theory of copyright infringement “nonsensical,” 13 authors filed an amended putative class complaint against Meta Platforms Inc. dropping all claims except for a direct copyright infringement claim against Meta for using their copyrighted works to train its AI chatbots.