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

Mealey's Intellectual Property

September 30, 2024
Judge Denies Alleged ‘Patent Troll’s’ Motion To Dismiss Valve’s Complaint

SEATTLE — A federal judge in Washington said a video game company has shown that it had adequate reason to fear infringement claims would be brought by a man the company deems a “patent troll,” denying a motion from the man and entities he controls to dismiss the company’s complaint seeking a declaration invalidating one of the relevant patents.
September 30, 2024
Advertisers Appeal Order Requiring Wind-Down Of Use Of Marks To 9th Circuit

LOS ANGELES — Defendant advertising firms that were ordered by a California federal judge to begin winding down their use of marks a plaintiff firm says infringe on its word mark “MARS” on Sept. 27 appealed the judge’s entry of a preliminary injunction in the plaintiff firm’s favor.
September 27, 2024
2nd Circuit Affirms $33M In Damages In Diabetic Test Strip Trademark Fight

NEW YORK — A panel of judges in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 26 upheld a New York federal judge’s entry of default judgment and damages against a wholesaler and its principals accused by a manufacturer of diabetic test strips of trademark infringement for selling the strips without permission, holding that the wholesaler’s intentional withholding of discovery information justified the finding.
September 27, 2024
Judge: Rogers Test Precludes Trademark Suit Over F1 Team Leader’s Book

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California dismissed with prejudice a trademark infringement suit brought by a motor vehicle parts company against a member of the Formula 1 team it owns and his publisher, holding that the team member’s use of the company’s logos in photos in his book about his time in F1 are not infringing.
September 27, 2024
Judge: Tattoo Artist Did Not Show How Game Makers’ Infringement Caused Damages

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — An Illinois federal judge held that the developers of wrestling video games are not entitled to judgment as a matter of law after a jury determined that they are liable for copyright infringement of a tattoo artist’s work through their depictions in-game of a tattooed wrestling star, but they are entitled to judgment as a matter of law on damages because the artist presented no evidence at trial to support the award of damages.
September 26, 2024
Company Says 5th Circuit’s Copyright Opinion Contradicts Other Recent Opinion

NEW ORLEANS — A defendant distribution company petitioned the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for en banc rehearing, arguing that a circuit panel’s affirmation of a Louisiana federal judge’s entry of final judgment in favor of the plaintiff company on copyright infringement claims cannot be squared with a recent Fifth Circuit decision in another copyright case.
September 26, 2024
Developers Of Video Game Cheat Again Appeal Copyright Case To 9th Circuit

SEATTLE — Only a month after the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a Washington federal judge did not err in affirming a nearly $4.4 million arbitration award in a copyright infringement case involving video game cheating software, the case is headed back to the Ninth Circuit as the companies who created the software on Sept. 25 notified the district court that they were appealing the court’s decision to deny their motion for a new trial.
September 26, 2024
Federal Circuit Grants Google’s Petition For Rehearing Of Patent Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Sept. 25 that it will reconsider its June opinion leaving in place findings by a jury empaneled in a Texas federal court that Google LLC infringed smart thermostat technology to the tune of $20 million in damages owed to a patent owner, granting Google’s petition for en banc rehearing.
September 25, 2024
Judge: Outlet Can’t Claim Fair Use In Copyright Suit Over Congresswoman’s Photo

NEW YORK — A nonprofit media organization cannot use a fair use defense against a copyright infringement claim brought by a photojournalist who said the media outlet posted a screenshot of a copyrighted video he took of Rep. Alexandira Ocasio-Cortez at a New Yorker’s funeral, a New York federal judge held, denying the outlet’s motion to dismiss the journalist’s suit.
September 25, 2024
Judge: Man Owes Millions For Using American Airlines Marks In Hiring Grift

MIAMI — A man accused by American Airlines Inc. of trademark and copyright infringement for using the company’s intellectual property while allegedly running a scheme to trick job applicants into paying for fake background checks owes the company more than $3 million in damages and attorney fees, a federal judge in Florida held after granting summary judgment to the airline on most of its claims.
September 24, 2024
Qualcomm’s Claims On Voltage Tracking Unpatentable, Federal Circuit Finds

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 23 affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s finding that certain claims in Qualcomm Inc.’s patent relating to power tracking supply voltage are unpatentable as obvious; the panel also dismissed a cross-appeal from Intel Corp. to consider a finding that other claims were not obvious.
September 24, 2024
Federal Circuit: Eye Syringe Claims From Novartis Are Unpatentable

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board was correct to hold that a pharmaceutical company’s claims related to a prefilled syringe for eye diseases were unpatentable, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal panel held Sept. 23, agreeing with the board that the claims are combinations of prior art references.
September 24, 2024
Music Publisher: Judge Must Reconsider Ruling In Copyright Fight Over 1986 Song

NEW YORK — A music publisher says a New York federal judge should reconsider an August holding in which the judge ruled that the publisher must pay royalties to a hip-hop group that created a 1986 hit single despite its concern that the song infringed the theme song of the long-running television show “Dragnet,” arguing that the judge’s order fundamentally and inappropriately changes the relationship between the rappers and the label.
September 23, 2024
Judge Largely Denies Summary Judgment Bids In Penn State Cybersquatting Suit

HARRISBURG, Pa. — In a pair of lengthy orders, a federal judge in Pennsylvania granted summary judgment in favor of the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) on a counterclaim of reverse domain name hijacking brought by a defendant recreational vehicle (RV) company the university said infringed on certain of its trademarks, holding that the RV company failed to show that the university caused the relevant domain name to be suspended.
September 23, 2024
Judge Tosses 1 Count From Comcast’s Contract Suit Stemming From Patent Claims

NEW YORK — In a contractual dispute between Comcast Cable Communications Management LLC and a developer of silicon chips for high-speed internet stemming from another developer’s ability to sue Comcast for patent infringement, a federal judge in New York dismissed one of Comcast’s claims for declaratory judgment, holding that the claim now reflects no potential harm because one of the contracts in question has expired.
September 20, 2024
1st Circuit: Puerto Rican Food Company Abandoned Chicken Mark

BOSTON — A federal judge in Puerto Rico correctly held that a defendant food company abandoned its POLLO PICÚ mark when granting summary judgment in favor of a plaintiff company that sought to use the mark, a panel of judges in the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Sept. 19, saying the defendant company failed to show that it intended to resume its use of the mark.
September 20, 2024
Most Claims In Pesticide Trademark, Copyright Row Survive Motion To Dismiss

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal judge in Ohio largely denied a defendant pesticide manufacturer’s motion to dismiss some trademark and copyright infringement claims brought against it by competitor plaintiff companies who allege that the defendant copied package design, holding that the plaintiff companies plausibly alleged infringement.
September 20, 2024
Judge Tosses Canadian Legal Code Copyright Fight After 5th Circuit’s Reversal

AUSTIN, Texas — After the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued its mandate reversing a Texas federal judge’s grant of summary judgment against a publisher accused by a Canadian developer of legal codes and standards of illegally republishing complete versions of the code because the code is effectively uncopyrightable “law” in Canada, the judge on Sept. 19 filed an order granting summary judgment in the publisher’s favor.
September 19, 2024
5th Circuit Agrees Art Education Company Did Not Infringe On Artist’s Work

NEW ORLEANS — A Texas federal judge rightly held that that a company selling art kits to students during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic did not infringe on an artist’s work by basing elements of the product on a series of dog paintings, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Sept. 18, determining that the fair use defense applied.
September 19, 2024
Judge: Professor Violated Dow Jones Copyrights With Article Distribution Emails

AUSTIN, Texas — In a mixed result for both parties on competing motions for summary judgment, a federal judge in Texas held that a professor infringed on copyrights held by Dow Jones & Co. Inc. by emailing his students, former students and others PDFs of stories from Dow Jones publications and breached the contract formed by his subscription to the publications but that Dow Jones failed to show that the professor violated the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA).
September 19, 2024
Federal Circuit: Judgment In Patent Case Wrongly Based On Points Not Made At Trial

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Delaware abused his discretion by issuing a ruling after a bench trial in a patent dispute between pharmaceutical manufacturers over a drug for overactive bladders by determining that the plaintiff company’s patent was invalid based on an invalidity defense the parties stipulated not to invoke, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Sept. 18, reversing the judge’s June 2023 decision.
September 18, 2024
2nd Circuit: No Jurisdictional Issues In American Girl’s Trademark Suit

NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York was wrong to hold that the court lacked personal jurisdiction over a Chinese company accused by dollmaker American Girl LLC of selling counterfeited products, a panel of judges in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held on Sept. 17; the panel said American Girl adequately showed that the Chinese company sold the alleged counterfeits in New York.
September 18, 2024
Judge Consolidates Suits By Journalists Challenging AI, Denies Motions To Compel

NEW YORK — In a six-page order addressing more than 20 outstanding motions and letter briefs in six artificial intelligence copyright cases, a federal judge in New York consolidated two suits brought by news entities and others, granted motions to set and extend deadlines and otherwise generally denied requests to compel certain evidence, including a request that The New York Times Co. produce evidence demonstrating that its stories were original works.
September 18, 2024
Federal Circuit: Tech Company’s Patent Suit Against Meta Properly Dismissed

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in California was correct to dismiss with prejudice a technology company’s patent infringement suit against Meta Platforms Inc. involving digital tagging technology because the plaintiff company did not claim patent-eligible subject matter in its suit, a panel of the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Sept. 17.
September 17, 2024
Parties To Music Publishers’ AI Suit Brief Injunction, Motion To Dismiss

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Music publishers said an artificial intelligence company’s motion to dismiss is “rife with misdirection” and urged a court to impose a narrow preliminary injunction that would protect their rights while not unduly imposing restrictions on the company. But in its own briefing, Anthropic PBC said there is no evidence that its AI ever produced copyrighted works as portrayed by the plaintiffs and that there is certainly no evidence that its newest models would do so while urging the court to dismiss ancillary claims it says have not fared well in similar cases.