Matthew McConaughey secured eight federal trademark registrations covering his voice and iconic catchphrases in a novel legal strategy aimed at combating AI’s unauthorized use of his voice and likeness. The move signals an important evolution in the power dynamics between talent/brands and the companies providing generative AI tools.
Standing is the issue that determines whether a plaintiff is the right party to bring a case. Although it is a fundamental requirement for all cases, it poses unique challenges in the patent context, particularly for life sciences companies. This two-part article provides guiding principles and potential pitfalls for plaintiffs and defendants alike. In this first article, we lay out the Federal Circuit’s framework for analyzing standing in patent cases and explain what rights a patent owner must have in order to sue for patent infringement.
The legal view of artificial intelligence (AI) transactions is evolving. However, such development does not change the fact that AI transaction legal assessment is best commenced by applying the fact that AI is software to the evaluation. Doing so is likely to make such analysis faster, more accurate and more robust.
OSS delivers flexibility, scalability, and speed that few proprietary stacks can match. But the benefits outweigh the risks only if the risks are actively managed. The core lesson is structural. OSS copyright compliance is indispensable but incomplete. Patent exposure can attach even where distribution is lawful and good faith is undisputed, and contributor-based patent grants, even when well drafted, do not eliminate third-party assertion risk.
Federal Circuit: Issue Preclusion Precludes the Board from Reaching the Opposite Conclusion on PatentabilityFederal Circuit: Result-Oriented Claims that Fail to Disclose How the Alleged Goal is Achieve are Unpatentable
Artificial intelligence tools powered by large language models have become valuable resources in the trademark process. Despite incredible progress in natural-language reasoning, AI tools still face fundamental limitations when it comes to performing even basic trademark searches. Here are five important reasons why.
This article discusses the current landscape for trade secrets as they relate to autonomous vehicles, and examines the competing objectives of requiring disclosure of internal information for public safety demands versus vehicle companies protecting their confidential information as trade secrets.
When Duracell filed suit against Energizer alleging that Energizer falsely claimed its “Energizer MAX lasts 10% longer than Duracell Power Boost,” the case seemed like just another round in the long-running rivalry between the Copper Top and the Energizer Bunny. But the lawsuit demonstrates that even the strongest brands in parity categories struggle to remain meaningfully different when the underlying technology is essentially the same.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently acknowledged criticisms of the “total concept and feel” test for substantial similarity in copyright infringement.
Federal Circuit: “Complete Identity of Inventive Entity” Required to Remove Prior Art as Not By “Another” Under Pre-AIA LawFederal Circuit: No Trade Secret Misappropriation By Goodyear nor Correction of Inventorship Warranted Because of Coda’s Failure to Show Specificity, Secrecy, or Evidence of Use
