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IP News
Federal Circuit Resolves Circuit Split, Finds That Venue Is Not Waived Under Rule 12(h)(1)(A) for Cases Brought before <i>TC HeartLand</i><br>Federal Circuit Reverses Award of Lost Profits Because Product Sold to a Single Customer Was an Available Non- Infringing Alternative
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How Defendant's Prior Conduct Can Impact Copyright Cases
In the context of a copyright case, a defendant's prior bad acts and prior conduct are more useful to a plaintiff than is typical in civil litigation. In many instances, copyright infringement lawsuits are brought against defendants who have been sued before for infringement, or related misconduct, or who have been the subject of allegations or informal complaints, or who simply have experience in copyright matters.
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The New Patent Venue Regime
Venue in patent cases lies "in the judicial district where the defendant resides, or where the defendant has committed acts of infringement and has a regular and established place of business." Since 1990, the Federal Circuit interpreted the term "resides" coextensively with the general venue statute such that patent venue lay where the defendant was subject to personal jurisdiction. But this year, the Supreme Court greatly narrowed that definition in <i>TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods</i>. The Federal Circuit, in turn, interpreted the newly-relevant alternative phrase. After two decades of relaxed patent venue rules, these decisions work a seismic shift in patent litigation.
Features

At High Court, Just One IP Case That Matters
<b><i>After Several IP-Heavy Seasons, the 2017 Term At the U.S. Supreme Court Looks to Be a Quiet One for Intellectual Property — with One Big Exception</b></i><p>The 2017 term at the U.S. Supreme Court looks to be a quiet one for intellectual property. But with one potential bang in the middle.
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Update on Protecting IP In China
For most global entertainment and media companies, the need to think about how to protect intellectual property in China is an inevitable reality. For a few years, there have been indications that China is willing to be more protective of IP owners' rights. But recent events signal there's still work to be done. These developments highlight that, despite small gains, protecting intellectual property in China can still be a major headache for companies and in-house attorneys.
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EU Push to Filter 'Illegal' Content Raises Alarms in Silicon Valley
The European Commission (EU) is ramping up pressure on tech companies to more aggressively use automated filtering to scrub "illegal" content from the Internet, a move that is drawing criticism from some lawyers and free speech activists in Silicon Valley.
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Retail Restructuring
Various debt-burdened retailers are looking to their intellectual property assets as a source of untapped value for refinancing transactions. While it remains to be seen which strategies will be most successful, IP assets will play a key role in future retail restructurings.
Columns & Departments
IP News
Federal Circuit: Collateral Estoppel Can Apply to Patents With Claims Similar To Those in Previously Litigated<br>Federal Circuit Uses 'Rule of Reason' To Determine Patent Owner Had an Early Reduction to Practice
Features

Protecting Product Packaging and Product Configuration
Registering and protecting product designs is challenging. Preliminarily, trade dress cannot be registered or protected as a trademark if it is functional — if it is “essential to the use or purpose of the article or it affects the cost or quality of the article.”
Features

Procedures for Protecting Entertainment Domain Names Against Cybersquatters
Because there are so many new digital channels for possible intellectual property infringement, knowledge of the various mechanisms available to combat the issue is vital to enabling entertainment industry owners to protect their brand.
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