Mealey's Intellectual Property
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March 18, 2025
AI Search Engine Sufficiently Targets New York, Dow Jones Says
NEW YORK — Artificial intelligence company Perplexity AI markets its highly interactive website nationwide and is registered to do business in New York and transacts business in the state, providing a sufficient anchor to the jurisdiction, Dow Jones & Co. Inc. and a related affiliate tell a federal judge in opposing dismissal or transfer.
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March 17, 2025
ISP To High Court: 5th Circuit Wrong To Find Liability In Piracy Fight
WASHINGTON, D.C. — An internet service provider (ISP) tells the U.S. Supreme Court that the question of whether ISPs can be held to be vicariously liable for copyright infringement based on the behavior of internet customers is a “major question” that could have far-reaching impact on ISP companies; according to the ISP, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals was wrong to find in favor of plaintiff-appellee music labels that it was liable for failure to prevent instances of infringement.
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March 14, 2025
Federal Circuit Affirms Judge’s Acceptance Of Patent Reissuance For Medication
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on March 13 held that a biopharmaceutical patent holder was entitled to a patent term extension (PTE) for a reissued patent, disagreeing with arguments from generic drug manufacturers about how the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) calculated the date for patent reissuance.
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March 14, 2025
2nd Circuit Affirms Fair Use Finding, Fee Rejection In Professors’ Copyright Fight
NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a New York federal judge’s finding that a faculty member at a City University of New York (CUNY) community college did not infringe on the work of another CUNY faculty member during a presentation, agreeing with the judge that the defendant faculty member’s use of the copyrighted material constituted fair use.
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March 13, 2025
AI Plaintiffs Say Meta’s Torrenting Is Clear Copyright Violation
SAN FRANCISCO — Meta Platforms Inc.’s torrenting of protected works to secure material to train its artificial intelligence constitutes a copyright violation and is not protected by fair use, plaintiffs tell a federal judge in California.
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March 13, 2025
Federal Judge Tosses Trademark Claims Between Activists, Rejects Recusal
DALLAS — A federal judge in Texas dismissed with prejudice trademark claims and counterclaims in a dispute between two similarly named entities focused on the advancement of African Americans in the technology profession and denied a former litigant’s request for sanctions against one of the parties’ attorneys and recusal of the judge; the former litigant filed an immediate notice of appeal to the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
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March 13, 2025
Federal Circuit Rejects Rehearing Bid In E-Cig Patent Dispute
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected requests for rehearing from electronic cigarette entity R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. (RJR), leaving in place a partially split panel’s affirmation of a jury’s award of more than $95 million against the company for infringing on another company’s pod-based tobacco vapor technology.
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March 13, 2025
Federal Circuit: PTAB Didn’t Consider All Evidence In Metal Flake Patent Dispute
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held that the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) failed to consider the full evidence on the record during postgrant review proceedings in a dispute related to a type of metal flakes used in manufacturing; the panel vacated the board’s finding that the appellant failed to show that any of the challenged patent claims were unpatentable.
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March 13, 2025
Federal Circuit: No Error In TTAB’s Fireball Mark Genericness Analysis
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a dispute over the trademarks related to fiery brands of whiskey, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on March 12 affirmed findings from the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) that Sazerac Brands LLC’s “Fireball” trademarks are not generic and that there was no likelihood of confusion between the mark and those for which another liquor maker applied.
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March 12, 2025
Federal Circuit Affirms Invalidity Of Wearable Tech Patents, Moots ITC Proceedings
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel rejected a wearable technology patent holder’s argument that the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) violated its discovery obligations before holding that all challenged claims in the company’s patents were invalid during inter partes review (IPR) proceedings brought by Apple Inc., affirming the invalidity finding.
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March 11, 2025
10th Circuit Agrees: No Immunity For School Head Who Threatened Trademark Suits
DENVER — A superintendent of a New Mexico school district “violated clearly established law” when attempting to use a trademark associated with the name of the district as a basis for cease-and-desist letters sent to the people behind a parent-run Facebook page, a 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held March 10, affirming a New Mexico federal judge’s denial of the superintendent’s motion for summary judgment.
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March 11, 2025
Judge Allows Case Alleging Violations Of Diet Drugs’ Trademarks To Move Forward
SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge agreed that state law claims filed against medical centers and two physicians who prescribe patients compounded versions of tirzepatide, an FDA-approved drug for diabetes and weight loss, are preempted by federal law but otherwise denied a motion to dismiss.
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March 11, 2025
Supreme Court Rejects Another Copyright Attorney Fee Petition Involving Photos
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on March 10 rejected a real estate company’s request to consider whether the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals wrongly upheld a rejection of its request for attorney fees in a copyright infringement case brought against it, and then voluntarily dismissed, by a plaintiff photography company; it’s one of multiple recent denials of certiorari petitions in copyright cases involving the photography company.
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March 11, 2025
Supreme Court: No Rehearing In Copyright Attorney Fee Fight
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on March 10 denied a copyright defendant’s petition for rehearing, again leaving in place a finding from the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that he was not the “prevailing party” under federal copyright law in the face of the copyright owner’s voluntary dismissal of the case.
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March 10, 2025
Supreme Court Won’t Consider If Copyrights Affected By Contract Ruling
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on March 10 decided that it would not hear a software company’s argument that 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) would lead to ripple effects regarding the use of copyrighted software.
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March 07, 2025
Federal Circuit OKs Rejection Of ImmunoGen’s Cancer Patent Application
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on March 6 affirmed a Virginia federal judge’s finding that a pharmaceutical company’s patent application for a treatment for ovarian and other cancers contains “‘fatally indefinite and obvious’” claims, nearly three years after the Federal Circuit vacated the judge’s grant of summary judgment against the company.
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March 07, 2025
Federal Circuit: Patent Applicant’s Constitutional Argument Comes Too Late
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 6 affirmed a Virginia federal judge’s grant of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) motion to dismiss a tech company’s complaint seeking review of the rejection of its patent application, holding that the company forfeited its arguments based on the appointments clause of the U.S. Constitution.
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March 07, 2025
Photo Uploading Patent Holder Tells High Court Recusal Necessary
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel was wrong to uphold a federal judge’s denial of a patent owner’s recusal motion in an infringement dispute with Fitbit LLC and multiple other entities, the patent owner tells the U.S. Supreme Court in a petition for certiorari; the patent owner argues that the judge and her spouse’s alleged economic connections to Google LLC, a party to the suit, make recusal necessary.
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March 07, 2025
Federal Circuit Rules Again On IPR Proceedings Between USAA, PNC
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Once again, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed findings from the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) that all claims of a patent owned by the United Services Automobile Association (USAA) related to remote depositing of checks were unpatentable as obvious.
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March 06, 2025
Federal Circuit Vacates Part Of ITC Ruling On False Lash Infringement
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on March 5 agreed with a beauty company that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) incorrectly applied a test from the Tariff Act when considering whether artificial eyelash products imported into the country infringed on the company’s patents; the panel vacated the ITC’s denial of the company’s requested relief.
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March 06, 2025
Federal Circuit Affirms Another Injunction In Biosimilar Patent Fight
WASHINGTON, D.C. — For the third time this year, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 5 affirmed a West Virginia federal judge’s decision to grant a preliminary injunction against a biosimilar manufacturer that barred it from marketing products that were biosimilars to an eye medication patented by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.
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March 06, 2025
Dismissal Granted In Patent Infringement Case Absent Web-Based Jurisdiction
CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge on March 5 granted a defendant’s dismissal motion in a patent infringement case regarding a patent for a retractable water bottle, finding that the patent holder failed to establish personal jurisdiction over the defendant because the defendant’s maintaining an online marketplace that Illinois consumers can access does not suffice to establish jurisdiction.
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March 05, 2025
Federal Circuit Affirms Mixed IPR Findings On Gesture-Related Tech Patent
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In two opinions, a panel in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 4 affirmed findings from the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), which held that most challenged claims in a company’s patent related to gesture-related inputs from users are invalid as obvious.
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March 05, 2025
Federal Circuit: No Rehearing After Inhaler Patent Delisting Affirmation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected a rehearing petition from Teva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R&D Inc. and related entities, leaving in place a panel’s December opinion affirming a New Jersey federal judge’s order granting delisting counterclaims in a patent dispute stemming from a new drug application (NDA) for ProAir HFA (albuterol sulfate) Inhalation Aerosol.
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March 05, 2025
Stem Cell Company Failed To Show Patent Invalid, Federal Circuit Agrees
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on March 4 affirmed a decision from the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), agreeing that an appellant stem cell research company failed to show that a respondent competitor’s patent was invalid as obvious or anticipated by prior art references; the panel held that the PTAB did not err in its construction of multiple claim phrases.