Virginia Vallejo, a well known Colombian journalist and media personality, authored the memoir “Loving Pablo, Hating Escobar”. The book is a factual account of her romantic relationship with Pablo Escobar and a chronicle of the rise of the Colombian drug cartel. Vallejo claimed that certain scenes in the television series Narcos infringed the copyright in… Continue Reading
Category Archives: IP
Subscribe to IP RSS FeedFederal Circuit Holds Administrative Patent Judges Appointments Unconstitutional
Posted in IP, Patent LawIn Arthrex Inc. v. Smith & Nephew Inc. et al., case number 18-2140, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently considered whether the appointment of the Board’s Administrative Patent Judges (“APJs”) by the Secretary of Commerce, as currently set forth in Title 35, violates the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The… Continue Reading
What Happens When the Intellectual Property Laws Clash with the Antitrust Laws?
Posted in Copyright Law, IP, Patent Law, Trademark LawShould a company be required to license its patents to a competitor? That’s one question that arises when intellectual property law and antitrust law intersect. The Sherman Act, section 1, prohibits concerted action (agreements, combinations, or conspiracies) that restrain trade. Four types of conduct are per se unlawful; i.e., illegal regardless of the reason. They… Continue Reading
When Does A Patent Expire? Ask the Federal Circuit!
Posted in IP, Patent LawBefore 1995, the term of a U.S. utility patent was 17 years from the day the patent issued. In 1994, the federal statutes were changed to make the patent term 20 years from the effective filing date of the patent application. This change was part of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act and was intended to… Continue Reading
PTAB Invalidates Data Privacy Risk Assessment Patent
Posted in IP, Patent Law, PrivacyMany resources are being devoted to preventing data breaches and protecting privacy. In fact, patents have issued on various approaches. But are those approaches really patentable? In a recent challenge to OneTrust’s patent, which is related to data privacy risk, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) found the subject matter patent ineligible. OneTrust’s patent,… Continue Reading
Counterculturalist Banksy to Defend His Intellectual Property in a European Cancellation Proceeding
Posted in Copyright Law, IP, Trademark LawIf you’re familiar with Banksy, you know he’s the epitome of counterculturalism. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Banksy, he is an anonymous England-based street artist, vandal, political activist, and film director who has been active since the 1990s. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine graffiti and dark, sometimes morbid, humor…. Continue Reading
Compliance Deadline for California’s New Privacy Act Coming Up Fast; Are You Ready?
Posted in Cyberspace Law, IP, Privacy, Web/TechThe deadline for business to implement compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act is just around the corner and chances are most businesses are not ready. On June 28, 2018, Governor Brown signed into law the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018. The Act applies to any business which does business in California, and i)… Continue Reading
Federal Circuit Holds That Claim Language Can Limit the Scope of a Design Patent
Posted in IP, Patent LawIn Curver Luxembourg SARL v. Home Expressions Inc., case number 18-2214, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently held that the claim language of a design patent can limit its scope where the claim language supplies the only instance of an article of manufacture that appears nowhere in the figures. Plaintiff Curver… Continue Reading
LinkedIn Profiles and the Applicability of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Posted in Cyberspace Law, IP, Privacy, Web/TechLinkedIn is a popular professional networking website with more than half a billion members. Many of its users, in an effort to enhance their networking capabilities, make their profile public and available to anyone to review their personal details such as their employment, education, skill sets and other personal information. Although LinkedIn disclaims any ownership… Continue Reading
Landlords – Watch out for Trademark-Infringing Tenants!
Posted in IP, Trademark LawLandlords whose tenants sell counterfeit goods can be liable for trademark infringement if they have knowledge of the infringing acts or are willfully blind to the infringement. In Luxottica Group v. Airport Mini Mall, LLC, 932 F.3d 1303 (11th Cir. August 2019), Oakley, Inc. and its parent Luxottica sued the owners of a shopping mall… Continue Reading
Federal Circuit Invalidates Garage Door Opener Patent Because It Is an Abstract Idea
Posted in IP, Patent LawHave you ever driven away from your home and then had that irritating doubt in your mind as to whether you remembered to close your garage door? I know I have. No matter how hard I try to search my brain’s archives, I really don’t remember whether I closed the garage door even though I… Continue Reading
The USPTO Denies Tom Brady’s Application to Register TOM TERRIFIC
Posted in IP, Trademark LawThe USPTO recently refused legendary quarterback Tom Brady’s application to register the mark TOM TERRIFIC. If you’re like me, you’re wondering why Tom Brady would want to register such a trademark. Well, according to Brady, he wanted to obtain the rights to the mark to prevent people from referring to him by that nickname. But… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Ruling In Pirate Ship Copyright Case Could Sink State Immunity
Posted in Copyright Law, IPThe Supreme Court is set to hear the case of Allen v. Cooper which addresses the constitutionality of the Copyright Remedy Clarification Act (“CRCA”). The purpose of the CRCA is to abrogate sovereign immunity enjoyed by States and State actors under the Eleventh Amendment for claims of copyright infringement. The CRCA provides as follows:
Federal Circuit Holds IPR Proceedings on Pre-AIA Patents is Not an Unconstitutional Taking Under the Fifth Amendment
Posted in IP, Patent LawIn CELGENE CORPORATION v. PETER, the Federal Circuit recently affirmed the PTAB’s decisions finding appealed claims obvious. However, more importantly, the Federal Circuit also held that the retroactive application of IPR proceedings to pre-AIA patents is not an unconstitutional taking under the Fifth Amendment. Regarding the constitutional issue of whether the retroactive application of IPRs… Continue Reading
Ninth Circuit Inquiry on Non-Competes Could Have Huge Implications
Posted in IPThe Ninth Circuit recently asked the California Supreme Court to provide it with guidance concerning certain types of non-compete provisions that could have huge ramifications for California’s business environment. In essence, the Ninth Circuit asked the California Supreme Court whether section 16600 of the California Business and Professions Code bars agreements between businesses that place… Continue Reading
Do Your Homework Before Suing for Patent Infringement!
Posted in IP, Patent LawThe federal patent laws provide for an award of attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party in exceptional patent infringement cases. 35 U.S.C. §285. An exceptional case is determined based on the totality of the circumstances. A case can be exceptional due to a substantive legal position taken by a party or a party’s unreasonable litigation… Continue Reading
Rule Change Requires U.S. Counsel for Foreign-Domiciled Trademark Applicants
Posted in IP, Trademark LawThe United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “USPTO”) explains that “A trademark is a brand name. A trademark or service mark includes any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination, used or intended to be used to identify and distinguish the goods/services of one seller or provider from those of others, and to indicate… Continue Reading
Goodbye Majestic Yosemite Hotel, Welcome Back Ahwahnee Hotel
Posted in Intellectual Property Litigation, IPA few years ago, when the concessionaire for Yosemite National Park (the “Park”), Delaware North, was informed that the Park planned to consider other concessionaires, such as Aramark, Delaware North responded in shocking fashion. Delaware North responded that if it was going to be replaced as the concessionaire, it intended to take the Park’s intellectual… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Decision Will Have Huge Economic Impact on Trademark Infringement Damages
Posted in Intellectual Property Litigation, IP, Trademark LawThe Supreme Court has agreed to resolve a circuit split over when a court can order the payment of an infringer’s profits to a successful plaintiff as a measure of damages. The matter comes to the Supreme Court as an appeal from the Second Circuit decision in Romag Fasteners Inc. v. Fossil Inc. et al. … Continue Reading
Federal Circuit Sets Higher Standard for Early Alice Motions
Posted in Intellectual Property Litigation, IP, Web/TechIn Cellspin Soft, Inc. v. Fitbit, Inc. et. al., the Federal Circuit recently held that a lower court wrongly invalidated four patents under Alice because they contain an inventive concept. The four patents at issue share the same specification and generally relate to connecting a data capture device, e.g., a digital camera, to a mobile… Continue Reading
Web Domains and The Forgotten Tort of Trespass to Chattels
Posted in Intellectual Property Litigation, IP, Web/TechCalifornia case law over the last few years is replete with instances where a new and/or small business has one of their employees take responsibility for various IT activities such as setting up the company website and/or email domains. Disputes arise when that employee leaves for other employment and refuses to give the former employer… Continue Reading
When is an Invention Obvious?
Posted in IP, Patent LawTo be patentable, an invention must satisfy two key requirements, as determined by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). First, the invention must be novel. This means that the same invention cannot have been disclosed in a single prior art reference. The prior art is all of the publicly available information that existed before… Continue Reading
Supreme Court: Federal Government Cannot Challenge Patents in PTAB
Posted in Intellectual Property Litigation, IP, Patent LawThe validity of a patent can be challenged in four different types of proceedings: ex parte reexamination, inter partes review, post grant review, and covered business method review. An ex parte reexamination is initiated by any person or by the PTO’s director to request that the PTO internally reexamine the claims of the patent based… Continue Reading
Potential Copyright Owners Beware: Make Sure Your Copyright Registrations Are Accurate!
Posted in Copyright Law, IPNormally, a copyright registration certificate constitutes “prima facie evidence of the validity of a copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate.” 17 U.S.C. §410(c). But what happens if that certificate contains knowingly inaccurate information? The purported copyright owner could face not only invalidation of the copyright, but the inability to pursue copyright infringement… Continue Reading
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