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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Say What? Are PTAB Judges Really ‘Inferior Officers’?
Ben Clark
United States v. Arthrex, Inc.
Proving that even the driest of constitutional issues can have significant practical effect, the U.S. Supreme Court recently heard argument in United States v. Arthrex. Before the Court was whether administrative judges of the PTAB have been appointed unconstitutionally.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Navigating Defamation Litigations Today
Bo Pearl, Avery Johnson and Kiaura Clark
Tensions erupted both on and off the set of a Newsmax TV segment when MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell bolstered his claim of a rigged presidential election with…
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Implications of 'Amgen v. Sanofi' On the State of Enablement Law
Bruce M. Wexler, Aaron P. Selikson, Ashley N. Mays-Williams and Susan S. Hwang
The decision appears to take steps to harmonize the prior cases that appropriately were guided by the Wands factors with the cases discussing the “full scope” of enablement that have engendered some confusion in the law.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Synergizing Patents to Drive Innovation and Growth
Siraj Husain
As intellectual property continues to influence business operations, more companies are considering defensive patent pools as a strategic measure to guard against threats that can stifle innovation and growth for both businesses and industries.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
11th Circuit Rules for Stephen King In Suit Over Dark Tower Series
Michael A. Mora
Vincent Cox of Ballard Spahr in Los Angeles and Scott Ponce of Holland & Knight in Miami prevailed recently in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh…
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Equity In Broad and Flexible Fashion
Kelvin Han
Federal Circuit Wasn’t Chicken to Grant Equitable Intervening Right in Poultry Processing Equipment Case
A dispute between the two titans in the poultry processing equipment market led the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to construe the term “protection of investments” in 35 U.S.C. §252.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
IP News
Howard Shire and Shaleen J. Patel
On March 12, the Federal Circuit granted Janssen Pharmaceutica’s motion to dismiss Mylan Laboratories’ appeal and denied Mylan’s request for mandamus relief, holding that it lacked jurisdiction to hear Mylan’s appeal.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Patent Litigation Growth In 2020 Points to Sustained Activity In 2021
Rob Maier
Despite the recession — or partly as a result of it — 2020 was also a year of growth for patent litigation in the United States. This article provides a look back at patent litigation filing statistics in recent years across district courts in the United States, with an eye toward current trends that in all likelihood will continue deep into 2021.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
New COVID Relief Bill Brings Changes to Trademark and Copyright Practice
Eugene Y. Mar, Nate A. Garhart and Ashleigh Nickerson
The new, more than 5,000-page spending bill, which includes the latest COVID-19 relief, had a few surprises under its cover. Two of those surprises focus directly on intellectual property and amount to sea changes in the trademark and copyright infringement realms.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Copyright and Internet Content
Jonathan Bick
Online publication impacts the duration of copyright protection among other purposes, including optimizing creative and ownership rights and the availability of statutory damages and attorney fees. Thus, it is important to determine when Internet distribution constitutes publication.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
IP News
Jeffrey Ginsberg and Ryan J. Sheehan
Federal Circuit: Texas Court Abused Its Discretion By Delaying On Venue Transfer Motion While Proceeding With the Merits of the Case
Federal Circuit: PTAB Violates the APA When It Sua Sponte Adopts a New Claim Construction to Support New Theory of Invalidity for First Time
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Northern District of California Holds Vanity License Plates Are Not Government Speech
Grace Tuyiringire
California DMV regulations excluding plaintiffs’ personalized plates were like the PTO trademark registration restrictions of SLANTS and FUCT — restrictions struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court for violating the First Amendment.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
The Dark Side of Licensing: How to Prepare for the Audit
David Schnider
The audit clause itself is not something to be feared. It is a necessary means for the licensor to protect its interests and to guard against unscrupulous licensees. But it is a mistake to think that the clause is there solely to prevent malfeasance.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
From the PTO to the FDA: What to Consider When Branding Clinical Trials
Brandon Leahy Susanna Lichter and Eva Yin
The legal implications of branding generally arise initially for companies during the process of selecting a company name and any initial product or service names. For drug development companies, however, careful consideration should also be paid to the implications of branding a clinical trial.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
IP News
Howard Shire and Shaleen J. Patel
PTAB to Follow Nautilus Standard of Definiteness
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Exercising Restraint: Federal Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Declaratory Judgment Action Under Abstention Doctrine
Rudy Kim and James Hancock
The Federal Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a declaratory judgment action based on the “abstention doctrine,” despite the declaratory judgment plaintiff’s insistence that the underlying contract dispute required resolution of patent validity and claim scope that were within the federal courts’ exclusive purview.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Looking Ahead to Avoid Spoliation Sanctions
Daniel J. Melman and Sarah Benowich
A recent Federal Circuit decision denying a petition for a writ of mandamus should serve as a cautionary tale and reminder for corporate entities regarding the critical importance of preserving documentary evidence in a timely and appropriate manner.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
USPTO Sets Precedent on Collective Patent Defense Groups with RPX Ruling
Scott Graham
It took two years and a last-minute substitution of judges for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to rule that RPX Corp. was too close to a dues-paying member to bring a patent validity challenge.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
A Look at the EU’s Latest Proposal for Regulating Online Content
Linda A. Thompson
The DSA is intended to reset the rules around online content moderation and to reframe the responsibility of platforms for illegal content uploaded to their websites.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
IP News
Joshua R. Stein and Jeff Ginsberg
Federal Circuit: Post-Employment Assignment Clause Void Under California Law
Federal Circuit No New Trial for Improper “Pennies on the Dollar” Rhetoric
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Unseating Inelegant Notions of Product Design Functionality
Jonathan E Moskin
In Blumenthal Distributing, Inc. v. Herman Miller, Inc., the 9th Circuit considered whether or not the or not the best-selling piece of furniture ever is functional.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Hot Legal Litigation Topics for Advertisers and Marketers in 2020
Kyle-Beth Hilfer
The COVID-19 pandemic pushed brands headlong into e-commerce. Certain advertising and marketing practices led to litigation in 2020. Brands and their legal counsel should target these hot topics for legal vetting and risk mitigation as we move forward into 2021.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
IP News
Howard Shire and Shaleen J. Patel
NY District Court Adds to Confusion Surrounding Embedding
Federal Circuit Rules Patent Infringement Under Hatch-Waxman Act Occurs Where ANDA Is Filed
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
To Embed, or Not to Embed, that is the Question
Shaleen J. Patel and Mike Hobbs
Would Shakespeare Post Hamlet on Instagram in 2020?
Recent legal and procedural developments associated with the ubiquitous Instagram social media site have created significant practical and legal risks for both copyright owners and account holders.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Marking, Notice and Knowledge: What Patent Licensors Need to Know
Brenda Holmes
A patentee should consider patent marking issues when negotiating a patent license, as well as during the term of the license. Otherwise, the patentee may find that its damages for patent infringement are limited due to its licensee’s failure to mark.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Recently Introduced Bill Would Limit ITC 'Domestic Industry by Subpoena'
Robert Maier
Patent infringement disputes in the United States are not only heard in district courts. The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) also decides high-stakes intellectual property disputes — with the remedy for the IP rights holder not being damages, but rather an exclusion order that can block a competitor’s importation of infringing articles into the U.S. That remedy can be incredibly powerful for companies engaged in stiff competition in the U.S. market.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
IP News
Jeff Ginsberg and George Soussou
Federal Circuit: HP Not Estopped from Challenging Claims Deemed Unchallengeable in IPR That It Had Joined
Federal Circuit: A New Process Does Not Transform an Old Product Into a New One
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Are Rule 12(b)(6) Dismissals In Copyright Infringement Lawsuits In Danger?
Alan Friedman
Until recently, the Second and Ninth Circuits have both been receptive to dismissals under Rule 12(b)(6) if the court determines the plaintiff cannot plausibly state a claim of copyright infringement because the two works are not substantial similar. However, a pair of recent “unpublished” Ninth Circuit reversals involving prominent motion pictures stand in contrast to a recent Second Circuit decision affirming such a dismissal.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Deciphering the USPTO’s Material Alteration Standard for Amending Marks
Chris Bussert
As brands mature over time, their owners often seek to update marks that are subject to a federal registration or registration application. In some cases, the impetus for the amendment may be deliberately to freshen, tweak, or otherwise modernize the subject mark. In other cases, brand owners may recognize after the fact that their current usage of a mark does not match the mark as originally registered or applied for.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Testing for Genericness After USPTO v. Booking.com
Alex Simonson
In the recent U.S. Supreme Court case of USPTO v. Booking.com, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the term Booking.com is not necessarily generic merely because it is composed of two components, each itself generic. In so deciding, Justice Ginsburg averred that there is an appropriate metric to determine if such a term is indeed generic, that of consumer perception.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Methods for Trademark Valuations
Stacey C. Kalamaras and Henry Kaskov
Valuations of trademarks, such as those in the entertainment industry, are most commonly performed in relation to a sale or licensing transaction or for lending and collateral purposes.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Alice and Incongruity In PTAB Appeals
James W. Soong
This article discusses the significant contrast between consideration of issues related to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Alice Corp. v. CLS Int’l in prosecution and their resolution by the PTAB.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
IP News
Howard Shire and Shaleen Patel
Federal Circuit Modifies Facebook IPR Joinder Ruling
District Court: Stipulation of Noninfringement Does Not Preclude Post-Remand Finding of Infringement
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The Bankruptcy Strategist
Bankruptcy and Intellectual Property Executory Contracts
Michael H. Strub Jr.
The economic impact of the pandemic has been catastrophic. For many companies, intellectual property are significant assets, and counsel for these businesses, as well as counsel for their creditors, licensees and licensors, will need to understand these issues that arise to avoid pitfalls and take full advantage of opportunities to exploit the full value of a company’s IP for the benefit of their clients.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
What’s Your Trademark Worth? Determining the Value of Trademarks For Collateral, Sale or Licensing
Stacey C. Kalamaras and Henry Kaskov
This article explores the options available to a client to value its trademarks during a financial crisis, to ensure one of the most valuable assets it owns can continue to work for the company and see it through the lean times.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Damages In Trademark Infringement Litigations
Mark A. Salky and Jessica Johnson Fishfeld
During a time when online marketing, virtual shopping and electronic communication are more widely used than ever, it is critically important for entertainment industry businesses to be highly aware of how they are using trademarks, the scope of a trademark owner’s rights and the consequences of infringing them.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
The Russian Vodka Saga
Jared Looper
Federal Treasury Enterprise Sojuzplodoimport v. Spirits International BV
What do the fall of the Soviet Union, a heist of trademark rights, and Stolichnaya vodka have in common? They are all key components of the Russian Federation’s efforts to reclaim its trademarks in Stolichnaya vodka.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Which Method Is for You? Not All Surveys Are Made the Same
Laura O’Laughlin, Harriet Ho and Duy (Joey) Duong
As survey evidence has become increasingly common in litigation, it is important to remember that not all surveys are made the same. It’s important to be able to identify the right survey methodology for the matter at hand. Third in a series
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
IP News
Jeff Ginsberg and Abhishek Bapna
Federal Circuit: ITC Did Not Err in Denying Non-Respondent’s Petition to Rescind Exclusion Order Based on Invalidity Grounds
Federal Circuit: District Court Did Not Err in Ruling that ‘Half-Liquid’ Is Indefinite
Federal Circuit: District Court Did Not Err In Allowing Jury to Determine Infringement Based on Products’ Compliance with Standard
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
What’s in a Name? Booking.com and Consumer Perception Evidence
David H. Bernstein and Jared I. Kagan
In the first case in U.S. Supreme Court history argued by telephone, the Court ruled 8-1 in favor of Booking.com, holding that it could register as a trademark its eponymous domain name BOOKING.COM.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
States Win Some and Lose Some on Copyright Front at Supreme Court This Term
Jason Bloom
The Supreme Court decided two copyright cases this term, both involving states. This article discusses the cases and their likely impact on copyright law going forward.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Weighing the Benefits: How Much Weight Will Your Survey Have in Court?
Rene Befurt, Marie Warchol and Anthony Nasr
As consumer surveys become increasingly common forms of evidence in matters involving copyright, patent or trademark infringement, so too do Daubert challenges that attempt to disqualify that evidence. However, getting admitted into court is no guarantee of success — you are not over the entire Daubert hurdle just yet. The next step is ensuring that your survey is convincing the fact finders that your survey’s results are dependable and useful.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
IP News
Howard Shire and Shaleen Patel
Federal Circuit: Faulty Claim Construction Does Not End Patentability Determination
Federal Circuit: Notice to Market Bio Product Not Negated By New Applications
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
What You Need to Know About the USPTO’s Proposed Rule Changes to PTAB Trials
Kerry S. Taylor and Nathanael R. Luman
On May 27, 2020 the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) proposed rule changes to govern inter partes review (IPR), post-grant review (PGR), and covered business method (CBM) review proceedings at the PTAB. This article provides a summary of each proposed rule change and its potential impact on PTAB practice.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Statute of Limitations In Copyright Ownership Disputes: Questions from the Everly Brothers Case
J. Alexander Lawrence
Don and Phil Everly’s flawless harmonies that resulted in a string of hits in the 1950s and '60s regrettably ended in acrimony. The Sixth Circuit recently issued a decision in a dispute between Phil’s heirs and Don over copyright ownership of the No. 1 hit “Cathy’s Clown,” in which concurring Judge Eric E. Murphy raised important questions about when the statute of limitations should begin to run in copyright cases and whether courts have been correctly applying the law.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Survey Says: Tips on Getting Over the Daubert Hurdle
Rebecca Kirk Fair, Peter Hess and Vendela Fehrm
Surveys can provide useful evidence in litigation if they are conducted by a qualified expert employing reliable methods that survive a Daubert challenge. In the first of a series of articles drawing on our review of over 300 U.S. court rulings in cases involving surveys, including over 150 Daubert motions, we provide some suggestions for getting survey evidence admitted for consideration in court.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Recent Court Views on “Making Available” Controversy In Copyright Infringement
Stan Soocher
Federal courts have long disagreed over whether the unauthorized “making available” of a plaintiff’s works to the public is sufficient to constitute copyright infringement under the U.S. Copyright Act. Two June District Court decisions demonstrated the differences between the views of the Fourth and Ninth Circuits.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
IP News
Jeff Ginsberg and Zhiqiang Liu
Federal Circuit Finds Preamble Not Limiting and Claims Reciting Means-Plus-Function Limitations Without Disclosure of Corresponding Structures Cannot Be Determined Unpatentable as Indefinite in an IPR Proceeding
Federal Circuit Finds That District Court Correctly Applied the Disclosure-Dedication Doctrine In Granting a Motion for Judgment of Non-Infringement on the Pleadings
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Eliminating Willfulness as a Prerequisite to Recovering an Infringer’s Damages in Dilution Cases
Sarah Benowich
Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil, Inc.
The Supreme Court, settling a circuit split, held that, although highly important, willfulness is not a prerequisite for a trademark infringement plaintiff to obtain a profits award.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
U.S. Supreme Court Rejects ‘Defense Preclusion’ in Trademark Suit
Anthony J. Dreyer
On May 14, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved a circuit split, finding that any preclusion of litigation defenses must comply with traditional res judicata principles, and ruling that Lucky Brand was not precluded from asserting its defenses in its long-standing trademark litigation against Marcel Fashions Group
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