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Mealey's Intellectual Property

February 28, 2024
6th Circuit Finds No Abuse Of Discretion In Award Of Disgorged Profits

CINCINNATI — A copyright dispute between two providers of loyalty certificates issued to car buyers was properly resolved in favor of the plaintiff, and an Ohio federal judge’s subsequent decision to order a defendant to disgorge $441,239 in profits attributed to the use of the infringing certificate will not be disturbed, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled.
February 28, 2024
Circuit Company Says USB Connection Patent Would Have Been Obvious

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In a Feb. 27 petition for inter partes review (IPR), a maker of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and flash integrated circuits seeks cancellation of dozens of claims of a patented method of connecting an upstream and downstream universal serial bus (USB).
February 27, 2024
Microsoft: Material Differences In California, New York AI Copyright Suits

NEW YORK — Plaintiffs seeking to intervene in or dismissal of New York artificial intelligence copyright suits are simply jockeying for position, and material differences in the suits warrant ignoring the first-to-file rule and denying the motion, Microsoft Corp. tells a federal judge in New York in a Feb. 26 opposition.
February 27, 2024
Patent Owner: Prior Art Relied On By Instacart In Inter Partes Review Fails

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Two references cited by Maplebear Inc., doing business as Instacart, in a recently instituted inter partes review (IPR) do not qualify as prior art because they became publicly accessible after the priority date to which the patent is entitled, the patent owner tells the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in a Feb. 26 response.
February 27, 2024
Clear, Convincing Evidence Of Inequitable Conduct Lacking In Patent Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. — While a jury verdict that Amazon.com did not infringe a voice processing patent was upheld Feb. 26 by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the panel joined a Texas federal judge in finding that the patent in suit was not proven unenforceable.
February 27, 2024
Defense Motion Denied By Illinois Federal Judge In ‘Tribe’ Trademark Case

CHICAGO — In a Feb. 26 opinion, a federal judge in Illinois declined to decide whether, as asserted by two infringement defendants, the term “tribe” cannot be trademarked.
February 26, 2024
NBC Must Face Claims ‘Time Machine’ Car Infringes DeLorean Mark

LOS ANGELES — Although agreeing with NBCUniversal Media LLC (NBCU) that allegations of breach of contract leveled by DeLorean Motor Co. (DMCT) over royalties associated with the use of a modified DeLorean DMC-12 “Time Machine” car in the “Back to the Future” film franchise fail for lack of standing, a federal judge in California said disputes of material fact preclude summary judgment on DMCT’s related trademark infringement claims.
February 26, 2024
Philips Defeats Patent Challenge Again When Panel Rejects Intel Appeal

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Findings by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that Intel Corp. failed to establish obviousness of a patented method of authenticating distance measurements have been affirmed by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which ruled, among other things, that the board adequately addressed the grounds presented for inter partes review (IPR).
February 23, 2024
Amici Tell High Court Jury Should Decide Likelihood Of Confusion

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Filing a brief in favor of neither party in a dispute over the “Home Chef” trademark, amici curiae comprising “law school faculty and students” urge the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve a circuit split over the proper way to determine when there is a likelihood of confusion between two marks, stressing the importance of having a single national standard on this matter and contending that it should be a deference standard in which juries make such decisions.
February 23, 2024
Board, In Instituting IPR, Says Task Group Submission Was Publicly Accessible

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A patent directed to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) network will face scrutiny from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, which instituted inter partes review (IPR) in response to a petition by Intel Corp.
February 21, 2024
Discovery Rule In Copyright Cases ‘Pretty Solidified,’ Government Tells High Court

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Counsel for two music industry titans faced tough questions Feb. 21 at the U.S. Supreme Court, with some justices suggesting the case be dismissed as improvidently granted (DIG) and others voicing frustration with perceived over-reach by the petitioners regarding the reformulated question presented.
February 21, 2024
Anthropic Opposes ‘Untimely’ Music Industry Amicus Brief In AI Copyright Fight

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Music industry groups looking to file an amicus curiae brief argue that a case seeking to enjoin an artificial intelligence company doesn’t threaten the AI industry but that continued copyright violations do harm the industry. But in a Feb. 20 opposition brief, AI company Anthropic PBC calls the brief untimely and says it simply rehashes arguments already raised by the plaintiffs.
February 21, 2024
RICO Claim Dismissed From Clothing Retailer’s AI Design Copyright Theft Case

LOS ANGELES — Allegations that an online clothing retailer’s artificial intelligence rips off copyrighted fashion designs can form the basis of a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) claim, but the designers must dress the claim with additional allegations, a federal judge in California said in dismissing the claim without prejudice.
February 21, 2024
4th Circuit Finds ISP Willful In File-Sharing Suit, Reverses $1 Billion Judgment

RICHMOND, Va. — Although a Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a jury’s finding that internet service provider (ISP) Cox Communications Inc. was liable for contributory infringement related to its subscribers’ unauthorized online sharing of copyrighted musical works, the panel on Feb. 20 concluded that the plaintiff record labels did not establish the necessary direct financial benefit to establish vicarious infringement, leading it to vacate that part of a trial court’s judgment and accompanying $1 billion award to the plaintiffs, remanding for a new trial on damages.
February 21, 2024
Ohio Federal Judge Denies Dueling Motions To Exclude Experts In Patent Dispute

TOLEDO, Ohio — An Ohio federal judge denied two motions to exclude opposing expert witnesses testifying on how a person of ordinary skill in the art would view the patent infringement dispute involving the design of metal doors.
February 21, 2024
Method For Learning Sex, Health Of Chick Would Be Obvious, Petitioner Says

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A patent issued in 2020 that teaches an imaging technique for determining the sex and health of a recently hatched chick should be canceled, petitioners tell the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in a Feb. 20 request for inter partes review (IPR).
February 21, 2024
Trademark, Copyright Owner Denied Summary Judgment By Illinois Federal Judge

CHICAGO — Citing a plaintiff’s “trend of under-developing arguments” in trademark and copyright litigation over its continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) filters, a federal judge in Illinois denied summary judgment, finding — among other things — that there is “no case law supporting the proposition that a product itself . . . can constitute a spurious mark for the purposes of establishing a counterfeit.”
February 20, 2024
Google Says UCL, Other Claims In AI Training Lawsuit Fail

SAN FRANCISCO — Vague allegations and hypothetical damages involving the scraping of websites and other sources for data used in the training of artificial intelligence cannot form the basis of California unfair competition law (UCL) and other claims because the potential usage was adequately disclosed and individuals lack a privacy interest in information they themselves publicly disclosed, Google LLC tells a federal judge in California in seeking dismissal.
February 20, 2024
Inventor’s Challenge To Patent Board Reliance On Non-Expert Testimony Fails

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 20 revealed in its order list that it will not take up a petition for a writ of certiorari by the inventor of a patented method and apparatus for controlling a ventilator that was deemed invalid by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
February 20, 2024
In Post-Grant Review Halliburton Defends Fracking Technology As Patent-Eligible

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A petition for post-grant review (PGR) of a purportedly improved hydraulic fracturing process engages in oversimplification of the claims in making the case for a finding of patent ineligibility, Halliburton Energy Services Inc. contends in a Feb. 16 filing with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
February 20, 2024
Interlocutory Appeal Of Relief In Trade Dress, Patent Case Succeeds

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Texas abused his discretion in preliminarily enjoining a patent and trade dress infringement defendant from operating its trampoline park, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Feb. 16.
February 16, 2024
In IP Row With Former Firm, Accused Engineer Defends Summary Judgment

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Utah correctly rejected on summary judgment a patent and copyright owner’s case in full against a former employee and his new, competing company, the employee and company tell the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in an appellee brief.
February 16, 2024
Federal Circuit Admonishes Patent Counsel Caught Skirting Word Limit Rules

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a Feb. 16 sua sponte per curiam order it said it “hoped not to have to write,” a panel of the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals clarified that exceeding word limits through an incorporation by reference is a sanctionable offense under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 28; although the court stopped short of sanctioning counsel for Comcast Cable Communications LLC for engaging in such conduct, in an opinion released in a companion case the same day, it reinstated infringement allegations against his client.
February 16, 2024
Patent Owner Says Outcome Of IPRs Not Preclusive In District Court Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Wisconsin wrongly concluded that final written decisions (FWDs) by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that declared certain independent patent claims obvious eliminated the need for a defendant in a subsequent infringement action to establish that its cited prior art satisfies the limitations of dependent claims of the same patents, the patent owner tells the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
February 16, 2024
Meta Handed A Setback When Panel Reinstates Infringement Litigation

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A finding on the eve of a planned November 2022 trial that Meta Platforms Inc. does not infringe four patents directed to query results was erroneous, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Feb. 15, reversing and remanding a summary judgment order by a California federal judge.