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

Mealey's Intellectual Property

December 04, 2024
Federal Circuit Upholds PTAB Invalidity Finding In Telecommunications Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) was correct to hold that a telecommunications company’s patent on a system that manages telecommunication networks is anticipated by prior art and is thus invalid, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held, despite a defendant entity settling with the plaintiff company while the case was before the appellate panel.
December 04, 2024
Deal In Progress Reported In Coverage Row Over Loss Of Patent Litigation Counsel

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Without providing details, the parties in a coverage dispute over loss of patent litigation counsel filed a notice in Tennessee federal court “that they have reached a settlement in principle of all matters in dispute.”
December 03, 2024
2nd Circuit: Judge Right To Toss Funk Music Infringement Counterclaims

NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Dec. 2 affirmed a New York federal judge’s decision to dismiss a counterclaim from a defendant record company and associated entities seeking a declaratory judgment of noninfringement in a dispute over the ownership of songs by an influential funk musician, agreeing with the judge that the counterclaim was time-barred because a studio head was aware of alleged infringement in the 1970s.
December 03, 2024
Mixed Results On Dueling Summary Judgment Motions In LED Patent Suit

PHOENIX — A federal judge in Arizona granted and denied aspects of dueling motions for summary judgment in a patent infringement dispute involving heat management technologies for LED lighting systems, handing a mixed result to the plaintiff and defendant companies.
December 02, 2024
9th Circuit Tosses Appeal Over ‘MARS’ Word Mark After Dismissal Stipulation

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 29 dismissed an appeal of a California federal judge’s order that defendant advertising firms begin winding down their use of the word mark “MARS,” after the defendant firms stipulated with a plaintiff advertising firm to the voluntary dismissal of the appeal.
December 02, 2024
Judge: Designer Willfully Defaulted In Copyright Dispute With Photographer

NEW YORK — A web designer and his company are not entitled to the vacating of an entry of default judgment in a copyright suit brought against them by a photographer, a federal judge in New York held, saying that there is “overwhelming” evidence of willfulness in support of the default judgment entered nearly five years ago.
December 02, 2024
Trademark, Copyright Claims Survive In Boat-Mooring Product Dispute

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — In a trademark and copyright infringement dispute between two competing companies that make boat mooring products, a Connecticut federal judge denied the defendant company’s motion to dismiss the case, holding that the plaintiff company adequately substantiated its claims to survive the motion.
November 27, 2024
OpenAI Disputes Claim It Ruined News Plaintiffs AI Search Results

NEW YORK — OpenAI Inc. and various news entities that accuse it of using their copyrighted works to train artificial intelligence briefed a federal judge in New York over whether discovery evidence was deleted or merely reformatted allowing the plaintiffs to rerun searches of the training material.
November 27, 2024
Judge Dismisses ‘Tourism Academy’ Trademark Row After Settlement Agreement

PHOENIX — After a magistrate judge overseeing a settlement conference between parties in a trademark dispute involving the use of the phrase “tourism academy” indicated in a minute entry that they had reached a settlement agreement, an Arizona federal judge ordered the case be dismissed within 45 days unless the parties issue a stipulation of dismissal at an earlier date.
November 27, 2024
Judge Enters Recommended Injunction Against Alleged Louis Vuitton Counterfeiters

MIAMI — A federal judge in Florida adopted in full a federal magistrate judge’s report and recommendation and granted the injunction requested by a designer handbag company against three online retailers, barring the companies from further sales of the allegedly counterfeited products.
November 27, 2024
Judge: Some Claims In DNA Patent Dispute Based On Unpatentable Natural Laws

BOSTON — A federal judge in Massachusetts dismissed some aspects of a patent infringement suit involving technologies that detect changes in genetics, agreeing with a defendant biopharmaceutical company that some of the asserted claims in the plaintiff companies’ patents were patent ineligible because they were directed at a naturally occurring process.
November 27, 2024
Judge Finds Generic Drug Maker Infringed 2 Infection Treatment Patents

CHICAGO — In a lengthy and thorough ruling, an Illinois judge ruled that an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for a generic version of a bacterial infection treatment infringed two patents owned by a New Jersey biopharmaceutical firm directly and contributorily.
November 26, 2024
Petitioner Tells High Court 5th Circuit Contract Ruling Could Affect Copyrights

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Days after a plaintiff software company filed a petition for certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ reversal of a $1.6 billion award in a contract dispute with International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), IBM on Nov. 25 waived its right to respond to the petition.
November 26, 2024
Judge: Patent Claims In Immunotherapy Row Survive Summary Judgment

WILMINGTON, Del. — A federal judge in Delaware almost entirely denied a summary judgment motion filed by a defendant biopharmaceutical company, holding that a reasonable jury could find that the company had infringed upon the plaintiff company’s patented immunotherapy regimen used in treating cancer.
November 26, 2024
Judge: Company’s Patent On File Backup System Too Abstract To Hold Up

BOSTON — Finding that the central claims of the relevant patent are directed at an unpatentable abstract idea, a Massachusetts federal judge granted a defendant software company’s motion to dismiss a patent infringement complaint brought against it by a patent holder that claimed the company copied its invention of a digital file backup process.
November 26, 2024
Vaginal Remodeling Device Patent Dispute Transferred To Massachusetts

LOS ANGELES — Because the defendant in a patent infringement dispute is based in Massachusetts, a California federal judge determined that the other state would be a better venue to resolve the suit centering on vaginal remodeling devices because, among other things, it is where most of the pertinent business records, evidence and witnesses are located.
November 25, 2024
High Court Invites Solicitor General’s Input In Copyright Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a Nov. 25 docket order, the U.S. Supreme Court invited the U.S. solicitor general to file a brief expressing the views of the U.S. government in a dispute involving dueling petitions for writs of certiorari in which a group of record labels and music publishers say the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals wrongly vacated a $1 billion award for vicarious copyright infringement by an internet service provider (ISP), while the ISP argues that the Fourth Circuit erred in finding that it is liable for contributory infringement.
November 25, 2024
Federal Circuit Agrees: Electronic Pipe Patent Anticipated By Prior Art

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 22 affirmed a finding from the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in an inter partes review (IPR) brought by tobacco company Philip Morris Products SA and its American subsidiary, agreeing with the PTAB’s holding that multiple claims in a patent on an electronic smoking pipe product were patent ineligible for being anticipated by prior art.
November 25, 2024
Contempt Finding In Dispute Over ‘JUST’ Mark For Food Affirmed By 9th Circuit

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge was correct to find a defendant food company in contempt and impose sanctions against it after it repeatedly failed to adhere to the terms of a settlement agreement in a trademark dispute involving its use of the capitalized word “JUST” in connection with multiple products, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held.
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.