Intellectual Property

  • 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 TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods. 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.

    November 02, 2017Conor Tucker

  • At High Court, Just One IP Case That Matters

    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

    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.

    November 02, 2017Scott Graham

  • 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.

    November 02, 2017Jennifer Williams-Alvarez

  • 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.

    November 02, 2017Ben Hancock

  • 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.

    November 02, 2017Adam C. Rogoff, Erica D. Klein and Marsha Sukach

  • IP News

    Federal Circuit: Collateral Estoppel Can Apply to Patents With Claims Similar To Those in Previously Litigated
    Federal Circuit Uses 'Rule of Reason' To Determine Patent Owner Had an Early Reduction to Practice

    November 02, 2017Jeff Ginsberg and George Soussou

  • 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.”

    November 01, 2017Marcus S. Harris

  • 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.

    October 02, 2017Karen Levin, Ariel Ronneburger and Damias Wilson

  • Patent Lost Profit Damages and Apportionment

    Split Federal Circuit Declined to Reconsider Panel's Decision that Lost Profits Based on the Panduit Factors Are Fully Apportioned

    On Sept. 1, 2017, a split Federal Circuit declined to rehear a panel decision in Mentor Graphics Corp. v. EVE-USA, Inc., a case that could have significant implications for lost profit damages and apportionment.

    October 02, 2017Amy Proctor and Molly Russell