Mealey's Intellectual Property
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September 03, 2024
Federal Judge Orders Patent Attorneys To Show Why They Shouldn’t Be Sanctioned
SAN FRANCISCO — Three patent attorneys who have engaged in potential litigation misconduct were ordered by a California federal judge to show cause why they should not be sanctioned for, among other things, failing to seek pro hac vice status, failing to diligently investigate their clients’ claims before filing complaints and failing to sign court filings.
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August 20, 2024
COMMENTARY: You Can’t Spell Claim Construction Without AI
By Jonah Mitchell and Charlie Rieder
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August 30, 2024
7th Circuit: No Enforceable Contract To Support Company’s Securities Claims
CHICAGO — A panel of the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that an Illinois federal judge was correct to dismiss claims of securities fraud and other claims brought by a company against a software startup, holding that the plaintiff company failed to show that an enforceable agreement regarding an exchange of ownership interest for an investment existed.
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August 29, 2024
9th Circuit Affirms Arbitrator Award In Copyright Fight Over Video Game Cheats
SAN FRANCISCO — A Washington federal judge did not err by approving an arbitrator’s award of nearly $4.4 million against the creator of a video game cheating software on copyright claims brought by the developer of a game, a panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held, finding that the arbitrator committed no errors in litigating the case.
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August 29, 2024
Wisconsin Federal Judge Dismisses Bulk Of Claims In Dispute Over Gardening Tools
MADISON, Wisc. — The owner of two design patents that describe ornamental gardening tools is not entitled to summary judgment on its patent infringement claims because it failed to show that allegedly infringing products made by a competitor were sufficiently similar to its products, a Wisconsin federal judge found in disposing of motions for summary judgment filed by both parties.
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August 29, 2024
6th Circuit Largely Upholds Preliminary Injunction In Libertarians’ Trademark Row
CINCINNATI — A panel of judges in the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 28 largely affirmed a Michigan federal judge’s preliminary injunction barring a group within the Libertarian Party of Michigan from using a party trademark during a succession dispute after party leadership departures, but the panel held that the group can use the mark to solicit donations online where the difference between the warring factions is adequately described.
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August 29, 2024
AI Copyright Suit Should Stay In Delaware, Getty Images Argues
WILMINGTON, Del. — An artificial intelligence image copyright lawsuit lacks any connection to the defendants’ preferred forum of California, and in the event the suit is sent out west, plaintiff Getty Images [US] Inc. would oppose consolidation with pending litigation, rendering any potential efficiencies “illusory,” Getty says in a brief in opposition to a renewed motion to transfer filed in Delaware federal court.
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August 29, 2024
5th Circuit: Judge Erred On Trade Secret Claims, But Not Copyright Claims
NEW ORLEANS — A panel of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a Louisiana federal judge was correct to issue a final judgment in favor of a plaintiff technology security company on copyright infringement claims it brought against a former distribution partner, but the panel also found that the judge was incorrect to issue a judgment in favor of the plaintiff on trade secrets claims.
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August 28, 2024
Dispute Over FCA Public Disclosure Bar Distributed For Conference In Supreme Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Aug. 28 distributed for conference a petition for certiorari filed by pharmaceutical companies seeking review of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling that the public disclosure bar was not triggered in a case where it reversed a district court’s dismissal of a suit accusing the companies of violating the False Claims Act (FCA) by artificially inflating drug prices.
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August 28, 2024
PTAB Panel Affirms Rejection Of Computer Tomography Scanner Application
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A patent examiner did not err in rejecting a patent application that disclosed a particularly configured computer tomography (CT) scanner because the examiner adequately showed that the claims can be produced by combining several components of prior art, a Patent Trial and Appeal Board held in affirming the examiner’s findings on Aug. 27.
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August 28, 2024
Federal Judge: Plaintiff Clothing Brand Unlikely To Prevail In Trademark Fight
CLEVELAND — A federal judge in Ohio granted a defendant clothing designer’s motion for a preliminary injunction in a trademark dispute over a reference to a 2000s comedy film, enjoining a plaintiff clothier from further attempts at contacting social media companies to take down the defendant company’s accounts without the court’s approval; the judge said the defendant company substantiated the likelihood that it would succeed in showing that there was no infringement.
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August 27, 2024
Texas Federal Judge Grants And Denies Motions To Dismiss In Data Patent Dispute
WACO, Texas — In two separate orders filed Aug. 26, a Texas federal judge denied a motion to dismiss a counterclaim for patent invalidity and granted in part a motion to dismiss allegations of willful infringement in a patent infringement case concerning methods, systems and computer program products for processing data.
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August 27, 2024
PTAB Panel Affirms Patent Examiner’s Rejection Of Chewing Gum Patents
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A patent examiner did not err in rejecting an application for patent claims describing a process for reducing the stickiness of a chewing gum core composition because the claims were obvious in light of prior art, a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) panel found in affirming the examiner’s findings.
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August 27, 2024
Majority Affirms Judgment For Insured In Copyright Infringement Coverage Suit
CINCINNATI — A majority of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s $36,923,844.50 judgment in favor of an insured in a coverage dispute over underlying copyright infringement claims brought by record companies, rejecting the insurer’s argument that certain exclusions in the Internet and network security insurance policy barred coverage.
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August 27, 2024
Federal Circuit: Trial Court Wrongly Analyzed Attorney Fees Motion In Patent Row
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal district court erred in analyzing whether several telecommunications companies that prevailed against patent infringement claims were entitled to attorney fees because it erroneously gave weight to several “red flags” that supposedly made the case exceptional, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held in vacating the trial court’s order granting the companies’ motion for attorney fees.
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August 26, 2024
3rd Circuit: No Fees Due In Trade Dress Dispute Over Whiteboards
PHILADELPHIA — A panel of the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 23 upheld a Pennsylvania federal judge’s denial of attorney fees to the defendant company in a trade dress dispute between two school material manufacturers, agreeing that the case did not reach the level of exceptionality required by the Lanham Act for attorney fees to be recoverable.
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August 26, 2024
Federal Judge: Rap Group Owed Royalties In Contract, Copyright Dispute Over Song
NEW YORK — A music publisher must pay royalties to a hip-hop group that created a 1986 hit single despite the label’s concern that the song infringed the theme song of the long-running television show “Dragnet,” a federal judge in New York ruled, granting a motion for summary judgment from the musical group and denying a motion for summary judgment from the label.
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August 26, 2024
Federal Judge: Artist’s Trademark, Copyright Claims Against Amazon Largely Survive
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A federal judge in California partly denied a motion from Amazon.com Inc. to dismiss a complaint brought against it by an artist, holding that the artist adequately established that the defendant infringed upon his trademarks by selling counterfeited works, but noted that the artist conceded that he failed to establish other elements of his claims.
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August 23, 2024
In Exercise Device Patent Row, Federal Circuit Affirms Claim Construction Decision
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal trial court correctly found that a claim within a patent for a personal athletic performance monitor device was indefinite for lack of corresponding structure because the patent’s specification failed to disclose an algorithm for computing athletic performance feedback data, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found in affirming the lower court’s judgment in part.
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August 23, 2024
Magistrate Judge: Office Depot Owed Some Fees In Copyright, Contract Dispute
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A federal magistrate judge in Florida said that Office Depot Inc. should recover just under $1 million in attorney fees from a software development company that accused the retailer of copyright misappropriation through its use of a database created by the developer after a federal judge previously held that a licensing agreement between the two companies allowed Office Depot’s use of the database.
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August 23, 2024
Federal Judge: No Preliminary Injunction In Trademark Row Between Film Fests
NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York denied the second motion for preliminary injunction in a trademark dispute brought by the owner of a South Asian film festival in New York against the owner of another South Asian film festival in both Texas and New York, holding that the plaintiff owner failed to adequately establish a substantial likelihood that he would prevail on his claims.
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August 22, 2024
Record Labels, ISP Both Complain Of 4th Circuit’s Copyright Holding To High Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In dueling petitions for a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, 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 the Fourth Circuit erred in finding it is liable for contributory infringement.
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August 22, 2024
In High Court, PTO Director Says Patent Term Adjustment Does Not Affect Validity
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In her Aug. 21 brief in response to a petition for writ of certiorari filed by a tech firm in the U.S. Supreme Court, the director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) argues that a patent that had its expiration date extended under patent term adjustment (PTA) due to application delays caused by the PTO is still susceptible to findings of obviousness and invalidity.
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August 22, 2024
Mobile User Interface Patent Claim Is Not Indefinite, Federal Circuit Holds
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal trial court erred in finding that the representative claim of a mobile user interface patent was indefinite because the language of the claim and its prosecution history show that the claim can be properly constructed in a way that fits the patent, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found in reversing and remanding the trial court’s judgment.
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August 22, 2024
Illinois Federal Judge Declines To Vacate $525M Jury Award In Tech Patent Dispute
CHICAGO — A jury’s award of $525 million for patent infringement claims involving information storage and retrieval patents was supported by sufficient evidence and should not be vacated, an Illinois federal judge found in denying Amazon’s motion for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) and its motion for a new trial.