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

Mealey's Intellectual Property

October 22, 2024
Judge Dismisses News Outlet’s Counterclaims From Copyright Row With Photographer

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida dismissed multiple counterclaims brought by an online news outlet against a plaintiff photojournalist who accused the company of using some of his photos without permission, holding that some of the counterclaims hold no useful purpose.
October 21, 2024
Federal Circuit: More Claim Construction Needed In Patent Row Over Utility Lines

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel of the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Oct. 18 that a California federal judge wrongly dismissed a complaint stemming from a dispute over patents related to buried utility lines, holding that the judge must conduct a “fuller claim-construction analysis” to “determine the scope of the dispute claim language” for the plaintiff company’s claim of patent infringement.
October 21, 2024
2nd Circuit Won’t Rethink Finding Of No Exception To Copyright Act Discovery Rule

NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected a design company’s bid for en banc rehearing, leaving in place a panel’s August decision vacating a New York federal judge’s finding that a photography studio’s copyright claims against the company were time-barred, rejecting the company’s arguments that the panel’s finding did not square with U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
October 18, 2024
Federal Circuit Reverses Judge’s Dismissal Of Patent Suit Involving Debit Cards

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Connecticut was wrong to dismiss a patent owner’s complaint that it brought against a health care company for allegedly marketing Mastercard and VISA products that infringe its patent, a panel of judges in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held, saying the judge erred while reviewing “a license agreement and failed to take all of the complaint’s well-pled factual allegations as true.”
October 18, 2024
Judge Approves Stay Of Patent Claims Over Neck Fan While Parties Prep Settlement

CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois granted a joint motion from the holder of patents related to a fan device that hangs around a wearer’s neck and an electronics company it accused of infringing its patents to stay the infringement case while the parties prepare a stipulation for dismissal in the wake of a settlement agreement.
October 18, 2024
Magistrate: Video Game Creator Due More Than $35K In Awards In Copyright Case

NEW YORK — A federal magistrate judge in New York recommended that the creator of popular horror video game franchise be awarded more than $35,000 in statutory damages, attorney fees and costs from a defendant Chinese company that the creator said infringed his copyrights by selling unauthorized clothing items featuring characters he designed, due to the company’s failure to appear and defend itself from the complaint.
October 18, 2024
Google Defendants Want Pair Of AI Copyright Suits Consolidated

SAN FRANCISCO — Two cases challenging the data used to train artificial intelligence share sufficiently similar parties, facts and overlapping classes and should be consolidated, Google LLC and its parent Alphabet Inc. told a federal judge in California.
October 17, 2024
Drone Maker’s 2nd Patent Infringement Suit Barred By Res Judicata

SALT LAKE CITY — Granting a motion to dismiss by a drone technology firm, a Utah federal judge found that a second patent infringement lawsuit brought by a rival drone company was barred as impermissible claim splitting because the plaintiffs’ infringement claim over a third patent could have been brought in its nearly identical suit against the same defendant over the same technology.
October 17, 2024
Federal Circuit Vacates Noninfringement Finding In Semiconductor Patent Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 16 vacated a California federal judge’s finding of noninfringement in a patent dispute over a type of semiconductor light source, holding that the order was based on an improper term construction.
October 17, 2024
1st Circuit Won’t Reconsider Order Of New Trial In Copyright Case

BOSTON — The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 16 rejected a guitar seller’s petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc, leaving in place a First Circuit panel’s July opinion ordering a new trial in a New Hampshire federal court on claims that the company infringed on a guitar manufacturer’s photo of guitar headstocks by uploading the photo to its own website.
October 17, 2024
Judge Says Cuban Company’s Counterclaim In Rum Mark Row Barred By Statute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Washington granted a motion from Bacardi & Co. Ltd. and its American subsidiary to dismiss a Cuban rum company’s counterclaim in a 20-year-old dispute over the mark HAVANA CLUB, agreeing with Bacardi that the Cuban company was barred from bringing the claim because the mark was confiscated from it.
October 17, 2024
Panel Issues Split Ruling In Tire Trade Dress Suit On Discovery, Daubert, Privilege

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a long-running trade dress dispute between two tire companies, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel partly affirmed a trial court ruling, deeming the asserted trade dress functional and, therefore, not protectable and upholding discovery sanctions and expert testimony exclusion, while reversing in part by finding that litigation privilege barred the defendant’s counterclaims.
October 16, 2024
Patent Holder’s Infringement Claims About Microscope Slides Survive Dismissal Bid

WILMINGTON, Del. — A federal judge in Delaware denied a defendant laboratory company’s motion to dismiss a plaintiff patent holder’s infringement complaint against it, finding that the plaintiff company adequately substantiated its claim that the defendant infringed on patents related to the analysis of microscope slides to survive the motion.
October 16, 2024
Federal Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Patent Holder’s Suit Against Amazon

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Maryland was correct to dismiss a patent holder’s suit against Amazon.com Inc. and the home security technology company it owns, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Oct. 15, affirming both the judge’s finding that the patent holder brought his claims in an incorrect venue and that he failed to substantiate his claim of direct infringement.
October 16, 2024
10th Circuit: Judge Wrongly Tested If Amazon Is ‘Found’ In Utah In Copyright Case

DENVER — A federal judge in Utah applied the wrong test in a copyright case to determine whether Amazon’s website “may be found” within the state of Utah when determining whether to enter default judgment against two Chinese companies accused of selling counterfeited baby doll products through Amazon, the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Oct. 15.
October 16, 2024
Pa. Federal Judge Agrees To Trim Counterclaims Filed Against CPAP Equipment Maker

PITTSBURGH — A federal judge in Pennsylvania partially adopted a magistrate judge’s recommendation to deny a motion filed by SoClean Inc., a manufacturer of equipment that uses ozone to clean and disinfect continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) sleep apnea devices and respirators, to dismiss counterclaims filed by Koninklijke Philips N.V., Philips North America LLC and Philips RS North America LLC (collectively, Philips) but agreed to dismiss the Lanham Act trademark dilution counterclaim and found another claim time-barred.
October 15, 2024
Parties In Neck Fan Patent Dispute Request Stay While Settlement Is Finalized

CHICAGO — The holder of patents related to a fan device that hangs around a wearer’s neck and an electronics company it accused of infringing its patents filed a joint motion to stay the infringement case in Illinois federal court, indicating in their Oct. 14 motion that they had reached a settlement agreement.
October 15, 2024
5th Circuit: AI Real Estate Firm Forfeited Arguments On Appeal Of Trademark Suit

NEW ORLEANS — A panel of judges in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 14 dismissed a defendant artificial intelligence-based real estate website’s appeal of a Texas federal judge’s grant of a plaintiff real estate company’s motion to dismiss its trademark claims in the wake of the defendant website’s shuttering; the panel held that the defendant website “forfeited any argument that this court has jurisdiction to hear its appeal.”
October 15, 2024
Federal Judge Dismisses Most Trademark, Patent Claims For Lack Of Jurisdiction

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California dismissed most of the claims brought by a pro se plaintiff who accused a blind manufacturing company of infringing on marks he held, finding that the plaintiff failed to establish personal jurisdiction or that the court was the appropriate venue.
October 15, 2024
Researcher’s Contract Claims Over Penn’s Patent Policy Mostly Survive Dismissal

PHILADELPHIA — A former University of Pennsylvania (Penn) employee’s claims over royalties to which she is purportedly entitled under the university’s patent policy because of her work on a gene therapy patent were largely deemed adequately alleged by a Pennsylvania federal judge, who found that additional information and discovery were necessary to further consider the university's statute of limitations and sufficiency of pleadings arguments.
October 14, 2024
Magistrate: Dental Product Maker Can’t Add Copyright Claim To Trademark Suit

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A plaintiff dental hygiene company cannot amend its trademark infringement complaint to add an allegation that defendant companies that make similar products also infringed on the plaintiff company’s copyright, along with other allegations, a federal magistrate judge in North Carolina held Oct. 11, saying that granting the motion would be prejudicial to the defendant companies.
October 14, 2024
Judge Tosses Much Of Trademark Row Between Queens Ambulance Companies

NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York allowed trademark infringement claims to survive a motion to dismiss in a dispute between a defendant ambulance company serving neighborhoods in the borough of Queens and a plaintiff company that formerly provided similar services, but dismissed false advertising and a series of other claims brought by the plaintiff ambulance company, holding that the company failed to adequately substantiate the claims.
October 14, 2024
U.S. Government Wants To Participate In High Court Argument In Trademark Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. government on Oct. 11 asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow it to participate as an amicus curiae in oral arguments when the high court considers whether courts under the Lanham Act “can include an order for the defendant to disgorge the distinct profits of legally separate non-party corporate affiliates” and whether the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals improperly upheld a $43 million disgorgement award against the defendant.
October 11, 2024
Federal Circuit Vacates Claim Construction, Summary Judgment, Fees In Patent Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Nevada erred in construing the claim “automatically detecting” in a patent dispute between two technology companies, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals said Oct. 10; the panel reversed the entry of summary judgment of noninfringement in the defendant company’s favor and vacated the award of nearly $6.9 million in attorney fees.
October 11, 2024
7th Circuit: New Issues On Appeal Doom Claims For Intellectual Property Royalties

CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed an Indiana federal judge’s dismissal of a breach of contract suit brought by a plaintiff manufacturer who claimed that a defendant manufacturer allegedly failed to pay royalties for a lung-expansion therapy device required by a licensing agreement; the panel noted that the plaintiff company predicated its arguments on appeal on a new theory not raised before the district court.