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

Mealey's Intellectual Property

November 22, 2024
Judge Won’t Toss Copyright Claims Regarding Photo Of Alvin Bragg

NEW YORK — In a copyright infringement dispute between a photographer and a New York City law firm, a New York federal judge agreed to dismiss claims of contributory and vicarious infringement, holding that the photographer cannot simultaneously allege that the law firm is directly and vicariously responsible for infringement by allegedly posting a photograph she took on an account on a Chinese-language promotional website site she claims the firm controls.
November 22, 2024
No Infringement Of Patent By Pet Camera Maker, Federal Circuit Agrees

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 21 found that a federal judge in Washington correctly granted summary judgment in a patent dispute over devices that allow pet owners to remotely give treats to their furry friends, agreeing with the judge that there was no genuine dispute of material fact.
November 22, 2024
TikTok Not Entitled To Attorney Fees In Digital Media Patent Infringement Suit

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Despite TikTok Inc. being the prevailing party and being granted judgment on the pleadings in a patent infringement suit over video clip storytelling, a California federal magistrate judge found that the case was not exceptional, leading her to deny the social media company’s motion for attorney fees of almost $5 million.
November 22, 2024
Judge Dismisses ‘Summer House’ Trademark Dispute After Parties’ Stipulation

AUSTIN, Texas — Months after the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a Texas federal judge misapplied the summary judgment standard in a trademark dispute between two hospitality companies over the phrase “Summer House,” the judge dismissed the case, citing the parties’ stipulation of dismissal.
November 21, 2024
Singer Settles ‘Electric Avenue’ Copyright Claims With Trump, Campaign

NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York on Nov. 20 discontinued with prejudice a copyright dispute between singer Edmond “Eddy” Grant and President-elect Donald J. Trump and his re-election campaign over the campaign’s usage of Grant’s song “Electric Avenue” in his unsuccessful 2020 re-election bid; it is the second such case brought by a musical artist against the Trump campaign to have reached a conclusion in the days after Trump’s electoral success.
November 21, 2024
Federal Circuit Agrees Patent Holder Didn’t Show Injuries From Twitter

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel granted a motion for summary affirmance from the company formerly known as Twitter Inc., agreeing with a Texas federal judge that a patent holder that inherited patents regarding online videos from a predecessor company failed to show how it as the current patent holder was harmed by Twitter; the finding doomed the patent holder’s request for a preliminary injunction that was filed nearly eight years after the suit was initially brought.
November 21, 2024
Parties Can’t Dismiss Patent Appeal After Opinion Was Issued, Federal Circuit Says

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Despite the parties indicating that they had agreed to a settlement after the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued an opinion vacating an order from the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in a patent infringement dispute over network security features, the Federal Circuit denied the parties’ voluntary motions to dismiss, saying that granting them at the current stage would require the modification or total vacatur of the opinion.
November 20, 2024
Journalism Plaintiff Defends ‘Abridgement’ Claims In AI Copyright Suit

NEW YORK — Artificial intelligence companies may not simply remove copyright management information from news stories, distribute the material among themselves and then create chatbots producing abridged and competing versions of the stories, the nonprofit publisher of Mother Jones told a federal judge in New York in opposing a motion to dismiss.
November 20, 2024
MosaicML AI Model Defendants Seek Consolidation Of Authors’ Lawsuits

SAN FRANCISCO — An artificial intelligence company asked a federal judge in California to consolidate three authors’ copyright class action lawsuit involving the training of large language models with a second suit also involving authors.
November 20, 2024
Judge: Singer’s Estate Tried Too Late To Toss Labels’ Contract Counterclaims

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied a motion from the plaintiff estate of a late singer to dismiss a breach of contract counterclaim from defendant record labels in a dispute stemming from copyrights and trademarks associated with the singer’s work and likeness, holding that the motion was untimely brought.
November 19, 2024
Judge Tosses Patent Suit Against Google Over Ineligible HVAC Claims

OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal judge in California on Nov. 18 granted Google LLC’s motion to dismiss a patent infringement suit brought against it by a technology company over smart thermostat technology, holding that the company’s patent is directed at unpatentable abstract ideas.
November 19, 2024
Fair Use, Copyright At Issue In AI Legal Research Summary Judgment Briefing

WILMINGTON, Del. — Whether it was unlawful to train an artificial intelligence on a “vanishingly small” amount of protected legal research material and whether a copyright can even protect legal research product when the underlying materials were all in the public domain come before a federal judge in Delaware on briefing for motions for summary judgment. Redacted versions of the reply briefs were filed Nov. 18.
November 19, 2024
1st Circuit Affirms Injunction Denial In Lizzie Borden Trademark Fight

BOSTON — A First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel said a Massachusetts federal judge was correct to deny a motion for a preliminary injunction in a trademark dispute brought by a paranormal tour company that owns the location of two grisly 1800s murders against a nearby coffee shop and its owner for allegedly infringing marks associated with the murder, agreeing with the judge that the company failed to prove a likelihood of success.
November 19, 2024
Federal Circuit: No Transfer Between Districts Of Smartwatch Patent Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel rejected a defendant company’s petition for a writ of mandamus to force a Texas federal judge to transfer a patent infringement case involving smartwatches to a California federal court.
November 18, 2024
Supreme Court Won’t Take 2nd Pass At Patent Dispute With Government Over Mail

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Denying a patent holding company’s petition for a writ of certiorari on Nov. 18, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that it would not again hear a dispute between the company and the U.S. government over the government’s alleged infringement of the company’s patent on a technology system for more easily sorting return mail.
November 18, 2024
Judge Tosses ‘Tipsy’ Trademark Tiff For Lack Of Personal Jurisdiction

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California granted a New York wine store’s motion to dismiss a California beverage store’s complaint alleging infringement of a trademark on the word “tipsy,” holding that the plaintiff company failed to show that the New York company could have foreseen any harm in California.
November 04, 2024
COMMENTARY: Lady Justice May Be Blind, But Her Courts Aren’t: Gender Bias And Barriers To Representation For Female Plaintiffs

By Sophie Zavaglia
November 15, 2024
Split Judgment Issued On Infringement, Invalidity Of Wastewater Treatment Patent

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Ruling on both parties’ summary judgment motions in a four-year-old patent infringement suit, a Connecticut federal judge found that the plaintiff established infringement of its patent related to wastewater treatment, but mixed findings on invalidity based on anticipation and obviousness related to prior art led to partial judgment denials for both parties.
November 15, 2024
Magistrate Suggests Limited Injunction In Trademark Row Between Grocery Companies

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal magistrate judge in Ohio recommended that a discount grocery company’s petition for a preliminary injunction in a trademark infringement suit it brought against a grocery chain operator selling its products should be granted in part, holding that some, but not all, of the products bearing the plaintiff company’s trademarks should not be sold in the story while proceedings continue.
November 15, 2024
Judge: No Injunction, Dismissal For False Endorsement Complaint

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A federal judge in Minnesota denied a plaintiff online influencer’s petition for a preliminary injunction against a defendant media company’s use of his image to allegedly falsely imply an endorsement, but the judge also denied the company’s request to dismiss a punitive damages claim and strike certain allegations from the complaint.
November 14, 2024
Judge Issues Preliminary Injunction Targeting Online Patent Infringers

MIAMI — A company that owns a collection of health and beauty patents saw a Florida federal judge shut down the websites and freeze the assets of parties selling counterfeit, infringing products online as the judge granted the plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction.
November 14, 2024
Federal Circuit Affirms Denial Of Transfer Of Patent Fight From Texas To New York

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 13 denied a defendant electronics company’s petition for a writ of mandamus directing a federal judge in Texas to transfer a patent infringement suit to a New York federal court; the panel agreed with the Texas judge that practical considerations favor keeping the case there.
November 14, 2024
Divided 9th Circuit Affirms OpenAI Trademark Ruling

SAN FRANCISCO — The conclusion that OpenAI Inc.’s mark acquired a secondary meaning prior to the release of its ChatGPT and DALL-E 2 and prior to being used by a different company is not “clearly erroneous,” a majority of a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel said Nov. 13 in affirming an injunction for OpenAI, with the dissent writing that confusion evident in the ruling requires remand.
November 14, 2024
6th Circuit: Man’s Reverse Domain-Hijacking Claims Against FedEx Fail

CINCINNATI — A federal judge in Tennessee committed no error when dismissing a Bulgarian citizen’s trademark infringement action against Federal Express Corp. (FedEx), saying that the man failed to plead facts necessary to support his “reverse domain-name hijacking claim,” the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held, saying that the man’s arguments fail because one of his “gripe” websites critical of FedEx was never taken down.
November 14, 2024
9th Circuit: Counterclaim In Trademark Row Filed Too Late

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge did not err when granting summary judgment in a trademark infringement dispute between two companies over their use of the marks XTREME and INFINITY in connection with audio speakers, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held, agreeing with the judge that the concept of laches applied.