The Trademark Trial and Appeals Board’s recent ruling in In re Productos Verde Valle, S.A. de C.V. upholding a trademark examiner’s refusal to register the mark SONIA for “sauces; chili sauce; hot sauce” holds a lesson for those of us that regularly advise clients on the registrability (and usability) of trademarks. Assuming Verde Valle conducted… Continue Reading
Category Archives: IP
Subscribe to IP RSS FeedIP Challenges Again Take the Stage at the U.S. Supreme Court
Posted in IP, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The NewsIntellectual property disputes will again take their place on stage at the U.S. Supreme Court this term when the court addresses at least two IP questions. 1. Can the government challenge patents under the America Invents Act (“AIA”)? 2. Do trademark licenses survive Chapter 11 bankruptcy? These questions are presented in two cases in which… Continue Reading
Trademark Registration and the Presumption of Secondary Meaning
Posted in IP, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, Trademark LawThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was recently tasked with reviewing determinations made by the International Trade Commission (“ITC”) relating to trade infringement claims brought by Converse, Inc. with regard to a number of imported shoes that it alleged infringed on one of its trademarks. Although Converse sneakers have had largely the… Continue Reading
Ordering Pizza is Not Patentable!
Posted in IP, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, Patent LawSome things are not patentable: laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas. The Supreme Court has long held that inventions falling within these categories are not patentable; they are patent-ineligible subject matter. In 2014, the Supreme Court relied on this principle in deciding Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International, 134 S. Ct…. Continue Reading
District Court Grants Motion For More Definitive Statement Because Patent Infringement Claim Involved Complicated Technology
Posted in IP, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, Patent LawIn Lexington Luminance LLC v. Service Lighting and Electrical Supplies, Inc. d/b/a 1000bulbs.com, 3-18-cv-01074, the District Court for the Northern District of Texas denied defendant’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, but granted its motion for a more definite statement because of the complexity of the patents-in-suit. In the case, the Defendant… Continue Reading
SCOTUS Will Decide What the Copyright Act Means by “Registered.”
Posted in Copyright Law, IP, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The NewsAny work that is entitled to copyright protection automatically receives protection when it is fixed in a tangible medium of expression. However, in order to benefit from the Copyright Act, the owner must “register” his or her work with the United States Copyright Office. Put another way, in order to protect against copyright infringement, the… Continue Reading
The Supreme Court: Cases to Watch and Missed Opportunities
Posted in IP, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The NewsIn recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court has considered a number of intellectual property and related cases, but many issues remain unresolved. Therefore, it is important to look both at the cases currently before the U.S. Supreme Court as well as those the Court chooses to let stand without further review. First, consider a few… Continue Reading
THE ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF THE SHORT FORM COPYRIGHT ASSIGNMENT
Posted in Copyright Law, IP, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The NewsRecently, a client asked why we included a short form option agreement and a short form assignment agreement as an exhibit to a long form literary option agreement. I am sure that many a corporate transactional attorney has similarly wondered why a short form copyright assignment agreement is included within the package of numerous M&A… Continue Reading
Michael Jackson, Commercial Speech and Anti-SLAPP Motions
Posted in IP, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The NewsA California appellate court recently dealt a blow to fans of Michael Jackson who brought a class action alleging unfair competition and violations of the Consumers Legal Remedies Act (“CLRA”) in connection with the sale of an album titled simply “Michael” following the singer’s death. The appellate court found that statements on the album cover… Continue Reading
Court Finds Prior Finding of No Literal Infringement Bars Later Claim for Infringement Under the Doctrine of Equivalents
Posted in IP, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, Patent LawIn Galderma Laboratories, LP et al v. Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC et al, 1-16-cv-00207 (DED August 31, 2018, Order) (Stark, USDJ), Judge Stark of the District of Delaware recently found that a plaintiff was collaterally estopped from pursuing claims for patent infringement of two drug patents under a doctrine of equivalents theory based on a finding… Continue Reading
Accused Patent Infringers – Don’t Wait to File an Inter Partes Review!
Posted in IP, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, Patent LawAn inter partes review (IPR) is one of the ways a party can challenge a patent in the Patent and Trademark Office. This procedure was added by the America Invents Act, which established a panel of judges called the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to decide IPRs and conduct other procedures used to challenge… Continue Reading
Procter & Gamble Seeks to Register Text Message Lingo Such as LOL and WTF
Posted in IP, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, Trademark LawProcter & Gamble, the international consumer packaged goods conglomerate, recently filed a slew of trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, seeking to register WTF, LOL, FML, and NBD for use in conjunction with certain consumer goods. Now, I suspect most of you are familiar with these acronyms, but if you aren’t,… Continue Reading
NAVIGATING USERNAME JACKING
Posted in IP, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The NewsHave you ever had the experience of attempting to register a social media account in the name of your business only to find that your preferred name is taken? Often, it’s just the case of another business with the same name having registered that account first. Other times, it’s evidence of what’s come to be… Continue Reading
Patent Litigation Venues: Is a Computer Server Room Really a Place of Business?
Posted in IP, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The NewsThe U.S. Supreme Court’s in TC Heartland v. Kraft Food, and subsequently the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in In re Cray Inc., addressed where patent litigation can be filed under the patent venue statute, 28 U.S.C. §1400(b). Specifically, the patent venue statute provides that “[a]ny civil action for patent infringement may be… Continue Reading
“Honey Badger Don’t Care”: The Rogers test and Trademark Infringement
Posted in IP, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, Trademark LawChristopher Gordon is a comedian who created a viral video about the honey badger with the notable catch phrase, “Honey Badger Don’t Care,” among others. He later trademarked that phrase and sued greeting card companies for trademark infringement for using that phrase, or a variation thereof, without his permission. As a result, the Ninth Circuit… Continue Reading
Federal Circuit Limits Patent Infringement Damages
Posted in IP, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, Patent LawThe Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has taken aim at sky-high patent infringement damages. In Power Integrations, Inc. v. Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 18177 (July 3, 2018), the court limited the use of the rule that allowed patent owners to recover damages based on the total sales of the infringing product,… Continue Reading
Conor McGregor Returns to Combat in the Intellectual Property Arena
Posted in IP, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The NewsConor McGregor doesn’t back down to anyone. He knocked out the once unbeatable Jose Aldo in 13 seconds. He was the first UFC fighter to simultaneously hold titles in two different weight divisions. He crossed over to boxing to fight the greatest boxer of all time, Floyd “Money” Mayweather. You get the point: Conor McGregor… Continue Reading
Recovery of Lost Foreign Profits for Infringement of a U.S. Patent
Posted in IP, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, Patent LawWhile a U.S. patent provides the patent owner with a monopoly to prevent others from “making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the United States,” there are significant limits to the extraterritorial application of U.S. Patent law. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, just found that damages for one form of patent infringement… Continue Reading
Right of Publicity Risks For Producers Still Uncertain
Posted in Entertainment Law, IP, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The NewsOften writers base characters on complete fiction, drawing from their imagination to build a character’s various facets. However, on certain occasions a writer may base a character on a living person. Sometimes such a portrayal is factual and other times it may be a combination of fact and fiction. Such was the case, claimed legendary… Continue Reading
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