LinkedIn 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
Category Archives: IP
Subscribe to IP RSS FeedLandlords – 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
Although the Battle of King’s Landing is Over and the Game of Thrones has Ended, the War to Protect HBO’s Intellectual Property Rages on
Posted in IP, Trademark LawIf your heart is beating and your lungs are taking in oxygen, you know that Game of Thrones recently reached its epic conclusion. It’s sad, but true. After eight glorious seasons, the most watched television series in history has ended. Even as I put the words to paper, or rather, this Word document, it doesn’t… Continue Reading
If You Can’t Describe It, You Can’t Patent It!
Posted in IP, Patent LawOne of the requirements for obtaining a patent is the written description requirement – the specification must include a written description of the invention. 35 U.S.C §112(a). This requirement means that the specification must fully disclose what the invention is. The purpose of the written description requirement is to demonstrate to persons skilled in the… Continue Reading
U.S. Supreme Court Allows App Store Anti-Trust Class Action to Proceed Against Apple
Posted in IP, Web/TechIn APPLE INC. v. PEPPER ET AL., case number 17-204, the United States Supreme Court considered a case alleging Apple has monopolized the retail market for the sale of apps and has unlawfully used its monopolistic power to charge consumers higher-than competitive prices. As an early defense in the case, Apple asserted that the consumer… Continue Reading
Allegiant Airlines Tips its Hand Regarding Las Vegas Stadium Rights
Posted in IP, Trademark LawIf you’re a fan of branding and sports, you may have wondered who will affix their name to the Raiders’ new stadium in Las Vegas. The construction is underway, but the team has yet to announce whose name the stadium will bear. However, we may have discovered a clue based upon a recent filing with… Continue Reading
Hidden Trademark Landmines in Comparative and Compatibility Advertisements
Posted in Intellectual Property Litigation, IPNespresso has filed a lawsuit against Jones Brothers Coffee Distribution Company alleging trademark and trade dress infringement. In support of its trademark infringement claim, Nespresso alleges that Jones Brothers’ use of the words “Nespresso Compatible” in connection with its coffee capsules will cause consumers to believe that the Jones Brothers product is endorsed and/or sponsored… Continue Reading
Some at the PTAB Think Textbooks Are Not Printed Publications
Posted in Intellectual Property Litigation, IPShockingly, some at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) think textbook publishers who include dated copyright notices don’t actually publish the textbooks that year! Further, would you have imagined an argument that textbooks aren’t printed publications? Given the amount we paid for textbooks in college and the number stored in my garage that seems… Continue Reading
Do You Know Where The Photos For Your Website Come From?
Posted in Intellectual Property Litigation, IPMany businesses rely on their websites to promote their company and drum up business. Having a “professional” looking web page is considered a must and companies spend a lot of money in creating and maintaining their web presence. However, a recent case out of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals demonstrates that care must be… Continue Reading
Are Rules for Playing a Game Patentable?
Posted in Intellectual Property Litigation, IP, Patent LawA lot of things are patentable. Under 35 U.S.C. §101, machines, articles of manufacture, processes, and compositions of matter (including new chemical compounds) are patentable. But some things are not: the exceptions are laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has many times had to decide what these… Continue Reading
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