The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a denial of a jury trial demand in a trademark infringement lawsuit where only a claim of disgorgement of profits was at issue. JL Beverage Company, LLC v. Jim Beam...more
Addressing issues of design patent infringement, copyright infringement, trade dress infringement and unfair competition, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgment...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the US Court of Federal Claims attorneys’ fees award for patent infringement by the United States solely based on its actions during litigation. Hitkansut LLC,...more
Addressing whether attorneys’ fees may be awarded in a patent infringement lawsuit where an accused infringer successfully invalidates claims in an inter partes review (IPR) proceeding, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal...more
Addressing issues related to the disgorgement of profits and attorneys’ fees in a trademark infringement lawsuit, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed a denial of such fees and profits. Safeway Transit LLC...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court’s decision to dismiss a first-filed declaratory judgment complaint, finding that equitable considerations warranted departure from the first-to-file...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed that patented articles must be marked in order for the patentee to recover pre-notification or pre-complaint damages. Arctic Cat Inc. v. Bombardier Recreational...more
3/16/2020
/ Appeals ,
Calculation of Damages ,
IP License ,
Notice Requirements ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Marking ,
Patents ,
Remand ,
Vacated ,
Willful Infringement
In many ways, copyright jurisprudence in 2019 was a study in contrasts. While certain cases represented a “back to basics” approach, answering fundamental questions such as “When can a copyright owner sue for copyright...more
2/26/2020
/ Amended Complaints ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Office ,
Copyright Registration ,
Damages ,
Fair Use ,
Fee Awards ,
First Sale Doctrine ,
Google ,
Legal Costs ,
Music Industry ,
Oracle ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
The Copyright Act
Addressing an issue of software subject matter eligibility, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the district court’s judgment on the pleadings under 35 USC § 101, finding claims related to error checking...more
12/23/2019
/ Abstract Ideas ,
Appeals ,
Computer-Related Inventions ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Judgment on the Pleadings ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Reversal ,
Section 101 ,
Software
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated the district court’s dismissal of trademark and false advertising claims and grant of summary judgment on a copyright claim. Evoqua Water Technologies, LLC v. M.W....more
12/6/2019
/ Appeals ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Ownership ,
Dismissals ,
False Advertising ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Know-How Directive ,
Proprietary Information ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks ,
Vacated
Addressing an issue of damages, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated the district court’s grant of punitive damages in favor of the plaintiff, finding “passion and prejudice” mitigated finding of “malice”....more
11/12/2019
/ Ability-to-Repay ,
Breach of Contract ,
Compensatory Damages ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Evidence ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Prejudice ,
Punitive Damages ,
Slander of Title ,
Summary Judgment ,
Tortious Interference
Addressing an issue of whether a letter exchange qualifies as a work for hire agreement under US copyright laws, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed and remanded the district court grant of summary...more
Addressing patent eligibility under 35 USC § 101, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded a district court’s decision for failure to address the parties’ claim construction dispute before ruling...more
Addressing the issue of the functional requirements of design patents, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit refused to invalidate design patents on truck parts on the basis of aesthetic functionality. Automotive...more
9/12/2019
/ Appeals ,
Auto Parts ,
Automotive Industry ,
Design Patent ,
Dismissals ,
Ford Motor ,
Functionality ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Summary Judgment
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court decision invalidating a copyright registration because the registration contained knowingly inaccurate information. Gold Value Int’l Textile v. Sanctuary...more
Addressing the issue of standing in a patent infringement case, combined with the requirements of joinder under Fed. R. Civ. P. 19, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated a dismissal based on lack of standing...more
7/3/2019
/ Appeals ,
Dismissals ,
FRCP 19 ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Joinder ,
License Agreements ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Remand ,
Standing ,
Vacated
Addressing whether the fair use defense applies to the use of stock photographs under the Copyright Act, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit concluded that a company’s commercial use of an unlicensed photograph...more
Addressing the use of third-party photographs on a real estate listing website, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found no direct copyright infringement, notwithstanding the display of thousands of copyrighted...more
5/6/2019
/ Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Damages ,
Fair Use ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Photographs ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Summary Judgment ,
Transformative Use ,
Zillow
In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the term “full costs” in 17 USC § 505 of the Copyright Act has no special, expansive meaning, but is limited to the costs...more
4/10/2019
/ Appeals ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Expert Fees ,
Judicial Discretion ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Prevailing Party ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Rimini Street Inc v Oracle USA Inc ,
SCOTUS ,
The Copyright Act
On March 4, 2019, the US Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision authored by Justice Kavanaugh in Rimini Street, Inc. v. Oracle USA, Inc., finding that the term “full costs” in 17 USC § 505 of the Copyright Act has no...more
3/7/2019
/ Appeals ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Expert Fees ,
Judicial Discretion ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Prevailing Party ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Rimini Street Inc v Oracle USA Inc ,
SCOTUS
The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed denial of a licensee’s motion for a new trial, finding that there was no error in awarding damages to the plaintiff/licensor for the licensee’s failure to pay royalties...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) decision that the SCHLAFLY mark had acquired secondary meaning and met the requirements for registration. Bruce S. Schlafly...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied a petition for a rehearing en banc, refusing to reconsider its decision that digitally remastered pre-1972 sound recordings are not new copyrighted songs. ABS...more
The US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit vacated a district court’s judgment for a second time, finding that the lower court misinterpreted its instructions on remand and failed to give each excerpt of the copyrighted...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in reversing a grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants, found that digitally remastered pre-1972 sound recordings were not entitled to protection under federal law as...more