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IP News Image

IP News

Jeff Ginsberg & Collin Y. Hong

Federal Circuit: Board Erred in Finding No Likelihood of Confusion Between KIST and SUNKIST MarksFederal Circuit: No Jurisdiction Where Petitioner Offers a Non-Patent Law Related Ground for Relief

Features

AI Against Counterfeits: How Smart Technology Is Reshaping Brand Protection and Platform Accountability Image

AI Against Counterfeits: How Smart Technology Is Reshaping Brand Protection and Platform Accountability

Allyson Madrid

As AI becomes more sophisticated at detecting fakes, it is not just changing how brands protect themselves — it has the potential to change the legal framework for determining when platforms themselves might be held responsible for the counterfeits sold on their sites.

Features

Post-SCOTUS District Court Ruling In Jack Daniel’s v. VIP Products Reshapes Trademark Dilution Jurisprudence Image

Post-SCOTUS District Court Ruling In Jack Daniel’s v. VIP Products Reshapes Trademark Dilution Jurisprudence

Benjamin West Janke & Edward Lanquist

For companies developing novelty products, advertising campaigns, or brand-related parodies, this case underscores the importance of reviewing both confusion and reputational risks. For rights holders, it affirms that parody is not a license to defame a brand.

Features

When Patent Prosecution Becomes Something More Image

When Patent Prosecution Becomes Something More

Ryan Ward

Most days, preparing and prosecuting patent applications follows a familiar rhythm. Talk with the inventors. Draft the application. Wait for the Patent Office. Argue a few times. Secure the patent. Repeat. But every so often, a case reminds us that our work can mean much more — especially when something has gone wrong, and someone needs an advocate to make it right.

District Judge Has Had Enough of Schedule A Infringement Litigation Tactic Image

District Judge Has Had Enough of Schedule A Infringement Litigation Tactic

Alex Anteau

After putting a months-long pause on all of his active Schedule A cases, Judge John Kness in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued a scathing opinion calling out the practice and urging his fellow jurists to reassess their approach to the litigation strategy.

Features

AI and the Fair Use Defense: Lessons from Two Recent Summary Judgment Rulings Image

AI and the Fair Use Defense: Lessons from Two Recent Summary Judgment Rulings

Alex Reese & Thomas J. Pardini

Two judges in the Northern District of California recently issued groundbreaking summary judgment rulings regarding whether an artificial intelligence company’s scraping and ingestion of copyrighted works to train its LLMs qualified as fair use. Both decisions carry potentially seismic importance for AI companies and intellectual property litigators.

Features

OpenAI Gets Summary Judgment In Trademark Battle With Open Artificial Intelligence Image

OpenAI Gets Summary Judgment In Trademark Battle With Open Artificial Intelligence

Michelle Morgante

A trademark battle that pitted technology giant OpenAI against a company known as Open AI (note the space between the terms) has resulted in a summary judgment that has ordered the smaller enterprise to cease use of the name and its prized internet real estate, open.ai.

Features

Recent Decisions from CA and NY On AI Training and Copyright Image

Recent Decisions from CA and NY On AI Training and Copyright

Stephen M. Kramarsky

In late July, two important decisions came down from courts in the Northern District of California regarding the unauthorized use of copyrighted material for the training of large language models. No real consensus has emerged as to the effect they will have on the broader AI litigation landscape.

Features

Successful and Enforceable Brands Connect with the Consumer: Lessons from a Recent 10th Circuit Decision Image

Successful and Enforceable Brands Connect with the Consumer: Lessons from a Recent 10th Circuit Decision

Aaron Bradford & Allen Adamson

Protectable rights are created the same way a successful brand is established — linking your Mark and your company’s offering in the minds of the consumer is a must. The good news? Regardless of your company’s size or marketing budget, this necessary connection can be achieved.

Features

Insights from Acting Director Stewart’s Decisions on Discretionary Denial under the New Interim Processes for PTAB Workload Management Image

Insights from Acting Director Stewart’s Decisions on Discretionary Denial under the New Interim Processes for PTAB Workload Management

Lea Speed & Dominic Rota

Just three months ago, Acting Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Coke Morgan Stewart rescinded existing guidelines governing the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) discretion to deny petitions for inter partes review (IPR) and post-grant review (PGR) when parallel litigation is already pending in federal district court or the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). Acting Director Stewart replaced those guidelines with new interim processes that rely on the Director to issue decisions on patent owners’ requests for discretionary denials.

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