Supreme Court Hits Reset on Patent Venue Law in TC Heartland -
In the recent TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC decision, the Supreme Court reversed nearly thirty years of patent venue law and held that a...more
7/20/2017
/ Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Forum Shopping ,
Free Speech ,
Patent Exhaustion ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Principal Place of Business ,
Right of Publicity ,
SCOTUS ,
State of Incorporation ,
TC Heartland LLC v Kraft Foods ,
The Slants ,
Trademarks ,
Unified Patent Court ,
Venue
The Supreme Court today brought closure to Simon Tam’s seven-year legal journey seeking to obtain a federal trademark registration for his band name, THE SLANTS. The Court held in Matal v. Tam that the Lanham Act’s ban on...more
6/20/2017
/ Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
Music Industry ,
SCOTUS ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
Supreme Court Restricts the Extraterritorial Reach of U.S. Patent Law for Exported Goods -
On February 22, 2017, the Supreme Court in a landmark decision held that the supply of a single component of a multicomponent...more
4/10/2017
/ Cheerleaders ,
Co-Ownership ,
Component Parts Doctrine ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Copyrightable Subject Matter ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Fashion Design ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Germany ,
Grace Period ,
Graphic Designs ,
Laches ,
Life Technologies Corp v Promega Corp ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 101 ,
Star Athletica v Varsity Brands ,
Statutory Damages ,
The Copyright Act ,
Uniforms
On March 22, 2017, the Supreme Court held in Star Athletica, LLC v. Varsity Brands, Inc. that design elements of cheerleading uniforms may be protected under the Copyright Act. The 6-2 decision, written by Justice Thomas,...more
3/28/2017
/ Cheerleaders ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
Graphic Designs ,
SCOTUS ,
Separability ,
Sports Apparel ,
Star Athletica v Varsity Brands ,
The Copyright Act ,
Uniforms ,
Utilitarian Function
Supreme Court Abolished Federal Circuit's Test for Willfulness -
On June 13, 2016, in Halo Electronics, Inc. v. Pulse Electronics, Inc., 579 U.S. ___ (2016), the Supreme Court unanimously abrogated the Federal Circuit’s...more
8/13/2016
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Authorship ,
Books ,
Burden of Proof ,
Collaboration ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Employee Mobility ,
Enhanced Damages ,
EU ,
European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) ,
European Union Trade Mark (EUTM) ,
Fee-Shifting ,
Film Industry ,
Halo v Pulse ,
Harmonization Rules ,
Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons ,
Objective Unreasonableness Standard ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Preponderance of the Evidence ,
Prevailing Party ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Screenplays ,
Seagate ,
Standard of Review ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Unlawful Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers ,
Willful Infringement
In This Issue:
- En Banc Federal Circuit Abandons “Strong” Presumption That a Limitation Is Not Subject to 35 U.S.C. § 112, Paragraph 6
- Supreme Court Rejects Belief of Invalidity Defense for Inducement in...more
7/8/2015
/ Cisco v CommilUSA ,
EU ,
European Patent Convention ,
European Patent Office ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Induced Infringement ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Japan ,
Japan Patent Office ,
Lanham Act ,
Means-Plus-Function ,
Motion to Amend ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Oppositions ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Redskins ,
SCOTUS ,
Unified Patent Court ,
Unitary Patent
Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Hana Financial, Inc. v. Hana Bank, No. 13-1211. The issue presented was whether the judge or the jury should determine whether two trademarks may be “tacked” for purposes of...more