Mealey's Intellectual Property
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March 29, 2024
Panel Reinstates ‘Tiger King’ Copyright Case On 1 Of 8 Videos
DENVER — Findings by a federal judge in Oklahoma that seven videos featured in “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” are non-actionable works-made-for-hire will stand, but Netflix Inc. and the producer of the documentary series must face copyright infringement allegations with regard to an eighth video, which was wrongly declared a fair use, the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled.
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March 29, 2024
Panel Orders New Patent Validity Trial, Says Jurors Wrongly Instructed
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has reinstated a dispute over the validity of patented tamper-resistant containers, agreeing with a patent owner that a Massachusetts federal judge gave an erroneous jury instruction on the objective indicia of nonobviousness.
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March 29, 2024
In Dispute Over Patented Medical Device, Panel Upholds Denial Of Relief
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Findings by a federal judge in California that substantial questions surround the validity of a patented heart valve testing device at the center of an infringement action will not be disturbed, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled March 28.
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March 29, 2024
Blockchain Technology Correctly Declared Patent-Ineligible, Panel Says
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld a New York federal judge’s determination that a patented “framework” for determining and recording the unique pattern of imperfections on a gemstone to a blockchain recites the abstract idea of gathering and storing data.
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March 28, 2024
Federal Circuit: WesternGeco Framework Controls In Cases With Foreign Damages
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Illinois did not abuse her discretion in denying a patent owner a new damages trial, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled March 27, rejecting an appellant’s claim that it was entitled to recover hundreds of millions of dollars, not the $6,610,985 it was awarded, but that its efforts to be awarded a higher amount were thwarted when a defendant refused to elaborate on how it was counting infringements.
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March 27, 2024
Panel: Evidence Supports Finding That Copyright Action Was Retaliatory
NEW YORK — A decision by a federal judge in New York to award the author of a novella upon which “Mafietta” was based $44,496.05 in attorney fees was upheld March 26 by the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which said there was “a sufficient basis in the record to support” findings that a copyright infringement lawsuit by the producers of the film “was frivolous and retaliatory.”
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March 27, 2024
Patented Static Seizure Treatment Is Obvious, Petitioner Tells Board
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A patent owner maintains in a March 26 petition for inter partes review (IPR) that it was the first to disclose, via inherency, a daily dose of ganaxolone for the treatment of status eliepticus (SE), or static seizure, and not a competitor.
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March 26, 2024
AI Prompts Are Merely ‘Copyright-Laundering Facility,’ Artists Claim
SAN FRANCISCO — Artificial intelligence prompts used to create images are a “copyright-laundering facility designed to produce low-cost knockoffs of copyrighted images,” the plaintiffs argue in four wide-ranging oppositions to motions to dismiss filed in California federal court.
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March 26, 2024
Modelo Loses Appeal; 2nd Circuit Affirms ‘Beer’ In Contract Is Ambiguous
NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said March 25 it will not disturb a summary judgment ruling by a federal judge in New York that a trademark license to make and sell “beer” in the United States under the “Modelo” and “Corona” trademarks was not shown to be violated by a sublicensee’s use of the marks in connection with fermented sugar-based hard seltzer drinks.
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March 26, 2024
UCL, Declaratory Judgment Counterclaims Tossed In Dispute Over Marks, Logo
HARTFORD, Conn. — Trademark infringement and false advertising plaintiffs secured dismissal on March 25 of allegations that they violated the California unfair competition law (UCL), with a federal judge in Connecticut ruling that complained-of securities transactions took place overseas.
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March 26, 2024
Deficiencies Cured By Amended Complaint In ‘Wicked Fish’ Mark Row
TRENTON, N.J. — A federal judge in New Jersey on March 25 denied dismissal of trademark infringement, false designation of origin and unfair competition claims leveled in a dispute between the owner of the “Wicked Fish” trademark and its former licensee, nearly one year after dismissing the case with leave to amend.
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March 26, 2024
Rapper To 7th Circuit: Evidence Shows His Song Was Sampled, Infringed
CHICAGO — Hip-hop artist Eddie Lee Richardson, known professionally as Hotwire, tells the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in his opening appellant brief that a trial court erred in finding that he did not establish that French Montana’s hit 2012 song “Ain’t Worried About Nothin’” (AWAN) directly sampled and, therefore, infringed the copyright in his song “Hood Pushin Weight” (HPW).
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March 25, 2024
In Dispute Over DNA Sequencing ‘Tag’ Technology, Appellants Seek Extension
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A molecular diagnostics company and its subsidiaries deemed liable by a jury for willfully infringing a patented method of preparing nucleic acids say they need more time to reply to a recent cross-appellant brief, in which the patent owners say there is “no support in the record” for the appellants’ “entire argument on appeal” that “a sequencing primer can only be a primer used to read out a sequence.”
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March 25, 2024
Patent Owner Tells Board Fintiv Factors All Support Denying Petition
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Citing the stage of its Texas federal infringement litigation against a petitioner for inter partes review, the owner of an anti-pestware patent on March 22 urged the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to pass on a newly filed invalidity challenge.
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March 25, 2024
Safe Harbor Ruling In Patent Row Affirmed On Appeal To Federal Circuit
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A divided Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on March 25 upheld findings by a California federal judge that an India-based medical device company is immunized from patent infringement liability for its importation of two transcatheter heart valve systems.
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March 25, 2024
Publishers Ask 2nd Circuit To Find Internet Archive’s EBook Lending Infringing
NEW YORK — The “wholly manufactured” practice of “controlled digital lending” in which Internet Archive (IA) digitizes books and lends them online “is radical and unlawful,” book publishers tell the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in their appellee brief, seeking affirmance of a trial court’s finding that the practice infringed their copyrights.
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March 22, 2024
On Remand From Federal Circuit, Board Reverses Course, Sides With Netflix
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Patent Trial and Appeal Board on March 21 issued a new final written decision (FWD) that canceled eight claims of a patented method of decoding encrypted content, nearly one year after the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals sent the case back to the agency.
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March 22, 2024
Panel: ‘Skill-Based’ Game Technology Correctly Deemed Patent-Ineligible
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A patent claim directed to an electronic game that is intended to lessen the likelihood of winning by chance and increase the likelihood of winning by skill was correctly deemed ineligible for patenting by a federal judge in Pennsylvania, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled March 21.
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March 22, 2024
Copyright Defendants Again Awarded Fees, This Time By 7th Circuit Panel
CHICAGO — A little over two months after their successful defense on appeal of a $1.5 million attorney fee award from an Illinois federal judge, an investment banking company and its managing director won $260,219.25 in fees and costs incurred in the appeal, despite the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals finding that the factors for such an award are in “equipoise.”
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March 22, 2024
New York Times: Copyright Violations, Not Hacking, At Heart Of ChatGPT Case
NEW YORK — OpenAI Inc. knew that ChatGPT would produce material protected by copyright, not only because of well-publicized incidents where artificial intelligences output protected works but because it was told as much and discussed the issue internally, the New York Times Co. (NYT) says in opposing a motion to dismiss.
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March 21, 2024
Board ‘Stripped,’ ‘Ignored’ Key Limitation In Patent Claims, Owner Says
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A pharmaceutical company is disputing findings by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or board) that its patented form of polymorphic fingolimod hydrochloride is anticipated by prior art, telling the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that along the way, the board “ignored” a key limitation which is “indisputably absent from the prior art.”
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March 21, 2024
Panel Preserves Win For Teleflex, Joins Board In Rejecting Patent Challenge
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Patent Trial and Appeal Board committed no error in confirming as patentable various claims of a method for “using a coaxial guide catheter in interventional cardiology procedures” owned by Teleflex Life Sciences Ltd., the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled March 21.
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March 21, 2024
Accrediting Group Certifies 1st Large Language Model Trained On ‘Clean’ Data
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nonprofit Fairly Trained on March 20 announced certification of the first large language model (LLM) trained with a consent-based approach to data, saying the step proves that artificial intelligence (AI) can be trained while treating creators fairly and ethically.
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March 21, 2024
Decision To Set Aside Jury Award Of Royalties Upheld By Federal Circuit
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in California correctly determined that a patent owner failed to establish the amount of a reasonable royalty, requiring vacatur of a jury’s damages award, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said March 20; however, in the same ruling, the panel said the judge must revisit the question of permanent injunctive relief.
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March 20, 2024
Panel Affirms: Confusion Unlikely Between ‘Jackpot,’ ‘Jackpocket’ Trademarks
NEW YORK — Findings by a federal judge in New York at the conclusion of a bench trial that consumers are unlikely to be confused by “Jackpot.com” and a lottery courier services company operating as “Jackpocket” have been upheld by the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.