According to a complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California by California law firm LegalForce RAPC Worldwide, LegalZoom engages in the unauthorized practice of law when its non-attorneys instruct customers on how to register trademarks. The lawsuit names various other defendants, including the Patent and Trademark Office and several bar associations, as alleged conspirators in LegalZoom’s attempt to restrain trade.

 

According to the Complaint, LegalZoom has helped filed over 250,000 trademark applications for its customers. Accordingly, LegalForce took it upon itself to register two trademarks through LegalZoom’s website. During the process, LegalZoom’s “trademark document specialists” assisted LegalForce in preparing the application, including selecting the international classification and preparing the goods and services description. According to the Complaint, LegalZoom also advised LegalForce about how potentially conflicting marks could reduce the chances of obtaining federal registration, which, according to LegalForce, constituted legal advice provided by non-attorneys.

 

Compounding the problem, the advice given by the trademark specialists was allegedly incorrect. Specifically, the specialists allegedly advised LegalForce that only similar marks in the same international class could prevent registration despite the fact that marks outside of the same international class can, in fact, prevent registration.

 

In addition to alleging that LegalZoom engages in the unauthorized practice of law, LegalForce alleges that LegalZoom is unfairly competing because it is not required to run conflict checks, maintain malpractice insurance, or employ U.S. licensed attorneys “to review and sign off on trademark matters filed before the USPTO like similarly situated law firms are required to do. Accordingly, LegalZoom has allegedly gained an unfair competitive advantage because it does not have to pay to follow federal and state laws regarding the practice of law. And although “LegalZoom represents on its website that it does not practice law, this representation is false and/or misleading,” according to the complaint.

 

LegalForce also claims that LegalZoom is using Google and related search engines to compete with law firms, and spends more than $100,000 each month to do so. According to LegalForce, LegalZoom is outspending its competitors for certain keywords used by consumers, such as “trademark lawyer,” further exacerbating the unfair competition. Perhaps more concerning, LegalForce alleges that LegalZoom has used search terms such as LegalForce and Trademarkia to misdirect customers to its own ads, despite those terms being directly related to LegalForce.

 

According to LegalForce, LegalZoom’s conduct demonstrates an “intentional, willful and malicious intent to deceive consumers and unfairly compete with plaintiffs.” It will be interesting to see the outcome of this litigation. On the one hand, competition is competition, but on the other hand, unlicensed individuals cannot be permitted to practice law, and therefore should not be allowed to compete.

“Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play

 

 And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake

Shake it off / Shake it off

 

Heartbreakers gonna break, break, break, break, break

 

And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake

Baby I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake

Shake it off / Shake it off.”

-Taylor Swift

 

In the early 2000’s, an all girl band called 3LW performed a song called Playas Gon’ Play,  which was written by Sean Hall and Nathan Butler.  Playas Gon’ Play was initially released in May, 2001 and rose to number 81 on the Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.  The album on which Playas Gon’ Play appeared sold over One Million copies and 3LW performed the song numerous times on national television.  The chorus of Playas Gon’ Play consists of the following lyrics:

 

Playas, they  gonna play
And haters, they gonna hate
Ballers, they gonna ball

Shot callers, they gonna call

That ain’t got nothin’ to do

With me and you

That’s the way it is

That’s the way it is.

 

Hall and Butler sued Swift, her co-authors on Shake It Off, as well as various other parties related to Shake It Off and the album on which it was included.  Hall and Butler alleged a single claim of copyright infringement premised upon the lyrical similarities between Playas Gon’ Play and Shake It Off. 

 

On Swift’s motion to dismiss, the sole issue before the court was whether any elements of Shake It Off are substantially similar to protectable elements of Playas Gon’ Play.  All federal courts falling under the 9th Circuit employ the extrinsic vs intrinsic test in determining likelihood of confusion.  The “extrinsic test” is an objective comparison of specific expressive elements. The “intrinsic test” is a subjective comparison that focuses on whether the ordinary, reasonable audience would find the works substantially similar in the total concept and feel of the works.  The 9th Circuit has not established a set of factors to consider when analyzing musical compositions under the extrinsic test.  So long as the plaintiff can demonstrate that one or more musical elements such as the rhythm, pitch, cadence, melody, tempo, harmony or lyrics are similar to protected elements of the copyrighted work and that such similarity was “substantial”, the extrinsic test is satisfied.

 

Unlike most music cases, here the court was not called upon to consider the relevant songs’ sound.  Here the court was to focus on similarities between portions of the songs’ lyrics.  The court noted that the only obvious similarities between the two works is that Playas Gon’ Play contains the lyrics “Playas, they gonna play / And haters, they gonna hate,” and Shake It Off contains the lyrics “Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play / And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.” Before considering whether this satisfied substantial similarity, the court considered whether the allegedly infringed elements of Hall and Butler’s song – the lyrics “Playas, they gonna play / And haters, they gonna hate” are eligible for protection under the Copyright Act.

 

The Copyright Act protects “original” works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression. The court noted that songs or a portion of a song “must be sufficiently original and creative to warrant copyright protection.”  Originality signifies “that the work originates in the author rather than having been copied from past sources” and creativity signifies “that the work has a spark that goes beyond the banal or trivial.”

 

Swift and the other defendants argued that the phrase “Playas, they gonna play/And haters, they gonna hate” is not entitled to copyright protection because it is merely a short phrase and short phrases are not afforded protection under the Copyright Act.  However, on occasion courts have recognized that there may be exceptions to the general rule that short phrases are not protectable where a short phrase is sufficiently creative.  For example, in the 1979 Federal district case, Brilliant v. W.B. Productions, Inc., in finding the two phrases, “I may not be totally perfect, but parts of me are excellent” and “I have abandoned my search for truth and am now looking for a good fantasy” protectable under copyright, the court noted these phrases were concise, clever and culturally relevant, thereby satisfying the “creative” component of originality.   Hall and Butler argued that their short phrase – “Playas, they gonna play/And haters, they gonna hate” – is sufficiently creative to warrant protection.

 

In an effort to show that the phrase in question was not sufficiently creative to warrant protection under the Copyright Act, Swift introduced evidence showing the use of the words “Player” and “Hater” in numerous songs and other creative works.  This evidence, the court said, established that in 2001, American culture “was heavily steeped in the concept of players, haters and player haters.”  As for Hall and Butler’s argument that they “originated the linguistic combination of [players playing and haters hating]” the court said that the concept of people behaving in accordance with their essential nature is not at all creative.
The court found the allegedly infringed phrases to be “too brief, unoriginal and uncreative to warrant protection under the Copyright Act” and provided Hall and Butler leave to amend their complaint “just in case there are more similarities between Playas Gon’ Play and Shake It Off than [Hall and Butler] have alleged thus far.”

The U.S. Supreme Court’s May 22, 2017 ruling in TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods held that personal jurisdiction alone does not convey venue for patent cases under the patent venue statute. Previously, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the United States district courts had interpreted the patent venue statute, 28 U.S.C. §1400(b), to allow plaintiffs to bring a patent infringement case against a domestic corporation in any district court where there is personal jurisdiction over that corporate defendant. Specifically, the patent venue statute provides that “[a]ny civil action for patent infringement may be brought in either 1) the judicial district where the defendant resides” or 2) “where the defendant has committed acts of infringement and has a regular and established place of business.” But, TC Heartland, held that a domestic corporation resides only in its state of incorporation for purposes of the patent venue statute, and not just anywhere it is subject to personal jurisdiction as had previously been the case. 

However, TC Heartland did not address the second prong of § 1400(b), which makes venue proper in any judicial district where: (1) the defendant has a regular and established place of business, and (2) has committed acts of infringement. Post TC Heartland, a number of district courts and the Federal Circuit have weighed in on what constitutes a regular and established place of business under the second prong of § 1400(b). But, few courts have considered what is required to satisfy the second requirement, namely committing acts of infringement sufficient to establish venue.

Thus, it is notable that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, in Snyders Heart Valve LLC v. St. Jude Medical SC, Inc. et al, 4-16-cv-00812 (TXED March 7, 2018, Order), recently had to determine whether, under the second prong of § 1400(b), sufficient infringement occurred in the District to establish venue. The specific issue in the case turned on whether all sales of the accused products in the District were subject to the safe harbor provided in 35 USC § 271(e)(1). The safe harbor provided by § 271(e)(1) extends to all uses of patented inventions that are reasonably related to the development and submission of any information under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938. In other words, if all of Defendants’ challenged activities in the District are covered by the safe harbor, there can be no acts of infringement in the District, and venue is thus improper.

The Plaintiff argued that the safe harbor under § 271(e)(1) is irrelevant for purposes of determining whether venue is proper, and that its allegations of infringing activity in the District—as required under §1400(b)—are sufficient. Plaintiff also argued that because the clinical trial safe harbor is all or nothing, Defendants’ commercial activity outside this District effectively revokes the safe harbor protection for activities inside the District.

The District Court first considered Plaintiff’s argument that the safe harbor defense is irrelevant to venue under § 1400(b). Plaintiff argued its mere allegation of infringing acts in the District make venue proper under § 1400(b). The Court rejected this argument, reasoning both the venue statute and the safe harbor statute speak of “acts of infringement,” not acts of “alleged” infringement. The Court continued, “if Plaintiff were right, any venue limitation could be overcome by simply making infringement accusations in the forum of the plaintiff’s choice, regardless of the defendant’s actual activities in that particular forum. This is contrary to law. Once the defendant comes forward with evidence that venue is improper, the plaintiff cannot rely on mere venue allegations in its complaint to maintain its chosen venue.” The Court then found the Plaintiff has not alleged any facts showing activities in this District other than those statutorily exempted from infringement by safe harbor under § 271(e)(1).

Next, the Plaintiff argued the safe harbor defense is “all or nothing” and to the extent Defendants make and sell accused products elsewhere in the United States for commercial purposes, such uses are not “solely for uses reasonably related” to seeking FDA approval and Defendants are not entitled to any exemption at all under § 271(e)(1). The Court also rejected this argument, reasoning the Federal Circuit has made clear that for purposes of the safe harbor, each accused activity must be analyzed separately. The Court noted a two-part test under the safe-harbor analysis: “(1) whether the activity at issue is a potentially infringing one; and (2) whether the exemption applies to that activity.” Therefore, some of the accused products could fall within the safe harbor, while some of could not, even though the accused products were all of the same group. Thus, the Court found all acts of infringement in the Eastern District of Texas are solely clinical, and therefore, the § 271(e)(1) safe harbor applies despite purported nonexempt activity in Minnesota. The Court concluded that since there are no material factual questions on challenged activities remaining, summary judgment on the safe harbor issue is proper, and this renders venue in the District deficient.

Although this case concerned a specific statutory exemption to infringement, namely the safe harbor under § 271(e)(1), its reasoning could have broader implications in the on-going evolution of venue in patent litigation cases post TC Heartland. In addition to challenging whether it has a regular and established place of business in the District, defendants may also begin challenging a plaintiff’s bare-bones allegations that the defendant has committed acts of infringement in the District. And, District Courts may begin to require plaintiffs to show actual acts of infringement in the District by Defendant in order to maintain venue.

There is some confusion about what constitutes an “on-sale bar” in patent law. The on-sale bar, set forth in 35 U.S.C §102, prohibits a patent if the invention sought to be patented was offered for sale or sold more than one year before the patent application was filed. In other words, there is a one-year grace period after an offer for sale or sale in which a patent application may be filed. The earliest date of an offer of sale or sale is the critical date, often referred to as the “statutory bar date.” The reason for the on-sale bar is that once an invention is offered for sale, it is in the public domain, and no one should be able to patent something in the public domain. 

If a patent issues and it is later found that there was an offer for sale or sale of the invention more than one year before the patent application was filed, the patent can be invalidated. The on-sale bar can be raised as a defense in patent infringement litigation to challenge the validity of the patent and it can be raised in a separate challenge to a patent’s validity.

Both the 2013 America Invents ACT (AIA) and the pre-AIA law include the on-sale bar in §102. Under pre-AIA §102(b), a patent is barred if the invention was on sale in the United States more than one year before the filing date of the patent application. The statutory bar applies regardless of whether the sale was public or secret. Under AIA §102(a)(1), the language of the statutory bar is different; a patent is barred if the invention was on-sale “or otherwise available to the public…” more than one year before the filing date of the patent application. Thus, the AIA broadened the scope of the on-sale bar to cover offers for sale and sales anywhere in the world, rather than just in the United States. However, the phrase “or otherwise available to the public…” created an ambiguity by implying that the on-sale bar only applies to public sales.

In Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. (Fed. Cir. 2017), the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals considered the on-sale bar, but did not resolve the ambiguity. Helsinn owned four patents covering a drug used to prevent nausea in patients undergoing chemotherapy. In 2001, Helsinn entered into a supply and purchase agreement with a pharmaceutical company, MGI. The parties announced the agreement in a press release and MGI filed a redacted copy of the agreement (excluding the price and the dosage terms) with the SEC. At the time the agreement was entered into, the drug was undergoing clinical trials and had not yet been approved by the FDA. In 2003, Helsinn filed a provisional patent application for the drug. In 2005 and 2006, Helsinn filed three utility applications claiming priority to the provisional, and, in 2013 filed one utility application claiming priority to the provisional. In 2011, Teva, a competitor of Helsinn, filed a new drug application in the FDA seeking approval of a generic version of Helsinn’s drug.

Helsinn sued Teva for patent infringement. Teva argued that all four patents were invalid based on the on-sale bar because Helsinn had entered into the supply and purchase agreement with MGI in 2001, over one year before the provisional application’s filing date in 2003. The trail court ruled in favor of Helsinn, holding that the on-sale bar did not apply. Teva appealed to the Federal Circuit.

The Federal Circuit explained that there is a two-part test for whether the on-sale bar applies. First, there must be a commercial offer for sale or a sale of the invention sought to be patented. Second, the invention must be “ready for patenting.” Pfaff v. Wells Electronics, Inc., 525 U.S. 55 (1998).

The court analyzed whether the Pfaff on-sale bar test was met. Three of the patents were governed by pre-AIA §102(b); one patent was governed by AIA §102(a)(1).

The court addressed whether the first part of the Pfaff test was met: whether there was a commercial offer for sale or sale more than one year before the patent application was filed. As for the three patents governed by pre-AIA §102(b), the court found that there was an offer for sale to MGI and that Helsinn had also marketed its drug to others. The court rejected Helsinn’s argument that there was no sale because FDA approval was a condition precedent to the actual sale, and there was no FDA approval at the time of the agreement with MGI. The court held that the need for regulatory approval or the existence of other conditions precedent do not mean that there is no contract for sale.

As to the one patent governed by the AIA, the court acknowledged that in enacting AIA §102(a)(1), members of Congress stated that the new §102 on-sale bar would apply only to sales in which the invention was made public, not to confidential sales as does pre-AIA §102. However, the court found that MGI’s filing of the supply and purchase agreement with the SEC was a public sale. The court held that it was irrelevant that certain specific terms of the agreement were not publicly disclosed.

The court did not address the key question of whether a confidential offer for sale or sale is an on-sale bar. Because most of the terms of Helsinn’s supply and purchase agreement were publicly disclosed, the court did not have to reach that question.

Next, the court addressed the second requirement of the Pfaff test: whether the invention was ready for patenting more than one year before the patent application was filed. This requirement is met if the invention has been reduced to practice (i.e., actually made and shown to work for its intended purpose) or if the invention has been described in writing in such detail that a person skilled in the art could make the invention.

Helsinn argued that its drug was not reduced to practice more than one year before it filed its patent application because it had not yet obtained FDA approval. The court stated the standard to obtain FDA approval is higher than the standard to show that a drug works for its intended purpose under patent law. The fact that more testing is required for an invention does not mean that the invention has not been reduced to practice. The court held that Helsinn knew that its drug worked for its intended purpose and therefore had reduced its invention to practice more than one year before it filed its patent application.

Because the Pfaff test was met for all four patents, the court held that the four patents were invalid based on the on-sale bar, reversing the district court.

After this decision, Helsinn filed a petition with the Federal Circuit seeking an en banc rehearing of the case. The Federal Circuit denied Helsinn’s petition. Helsinn has just filed a petition to the United States Supreme Court for writ of certiorari, asking the Court to answer the question of whether confidential sales fall within the on-sale bar. If the Court grants the petition, it will then have to decide whether Congressional intent was clear enough to change the approach of longstanding patent law.

In Exmark Manufacturing Company v. Briggs & Stratton Power Products, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 783 (Fed. Cir. 2018), the Federal Court of Appeals addressed patent infringement damages based on a reasonable royalty. Exmark Manufacturing Company owned a patent for a lawn mower with an improved flow control baffle (the part that controls the flow of air and cut grass underneath the mower). Exmark sued Briggs & Stratton Power Products for patent infringement. The jury returned a verdict of infringement against Briggs and found the infringement willful. The jury awarded Exmark $24 million in damages. The district court doubled the amount of damages for willfulness. 

Briggs appealled to the Federal Circuit on multiple grounds, including the district court’s denial of Briggs’ motion for a new trial on damages.

Damages for patent infringement can be determined in several ways. At a minimum, a successful plaintiff is entitled to a reasonable royalty for the defendant’s sale of the invention. The royalty is calculated by multiplying a royalty rate by the royalty base (the defendant’s sales of the infringing invention). However, if the patent only covers a component of the product that the defendant has sold, the plaintiff must apportion damages between the patented component and the whole product. The plaintiff is only entitled to a reasonable royalty on the patented component, not on the whole product.

On appeal, Briggs contended that Exmark’s expert should have determined damages by apportioning the royalty base, not the royalty rate. The appellate court rejected Briggs’ argument and held that damages can be apportioned by apportioning the royalty rate, apportioning the royalty base, or a combination of the two.
The court stated, at *29:

“So long as Exmark adequately and reliably apportions between the improved in conventional features of the accused mower, using the accused mower as a royalty base and apportioning through the royalty rate is an acceptable methodology….The essential requirement is that the ultimate reasonable royalty award must be based on the incremental value that the patented invention adds to the end product.”

The court explained that apportioning damages using the sales revenue from the lawn mower was proper for two reasons. First, Exmark’s patent included claims to the mower as a whole, not just the component baffle. Second, parties who negotiate licenses often use sales revenue for the whole product as the royalty base for a patented component. Id. at *29-31.

Briggs also argued on appeal that Exmark’s damage number was not admissible because its expert did not connect the royalty rate to the facts of the case. The Federal Circuit agreed with Briggs and held the district court’s denial of Briggs’ motion for a new trial on damages was an abuse of discretion. Id. at *31.

The court found that Exmark’s expert’s use of 5% as the royalty rate was not connected to the evidence in the case. Under Georgia-Pacific Corp. v. U.S. Plywood Corp., 318 F. Supp. 1116 (S.D.N.Y. 1970), several specific factors may be considered in determining damages for patent infringement based on a reasonable royalty. These factors are referred to as the “Georgia-Pacific factors.” Exmark’s expert had analyzed certain of the Georgia-Pacific factors (including the advantages of the patented baffle to customers) and had determined that, in a hypothetical licensing negotiation, the parties would have agreed to a 5% royalty rate on the sales of the lawn mower. The expert did not tie the Georgia-Pacific factors to the 5% rate. Because the court held that Exmark’s expert had not connected the 5% rate to the Georgia-Pacific factors or the facts of the case, the expert’s opinion was inadmissible. The court remanded the case for a new trial on damages.

Some commentators believe that the Exmark court’s decision may increase plaintiffs’ ability to argue that a reasonable royalty should be based on the sales revenue from the whole product, not just the patented component. The court clearly held that apportioning damages between the whole product and the patented component can be accomplished by using the sales revenue for the whole product and apportioning the royalty rate. However, because the court rejected Exmark’s 5% royalty rate as not connected to the facts of the case, the court’s decision is also a warning that if a plaintiff chooses to use the sales revenue from the whole product and apportion with the royalty rate, they must clearly tie the royalty rate to the facts of the case.

Given this decision, it is likely that in the future, plaintiffs will use the sales revenue from the whole product, as it will be a larger amount than the sales revenue from the patented component, and apportion with the royalty rate.