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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
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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.”
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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.
Features

Patent Lost Profit Damages and Apportionment
<b><i>Split Federal Circuit Declined to Reconsider Panel's Decision that Lost Profits Based on the</i> Panduit <i>Factors Are Fully Apportioned</b></i><p>On Sept. 1, 2017, a split Federal Circuit declined to rehear a panel decision in <i>Mentor Graphics Corp. v. EVE-USA, Inc.</i>, a case that could have significant implications for lost profit damages and apportionment.
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Qualcomm Slammed In Patent Brawl With Apple
Qualcomm Inc. lost two pretrial skirmishes last month in its patent and antitrust battle against Apple Inc. — in just about every way imaginable.
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Tactical Considerations for Patent Owner Responses in IPRs
U.S. Patent Office statistics show that the PTAB has found at least one claim of a challenged patent to be unpatentable in over 80% of IPRs. Given these odds, and the fact that institution of an IPR is not appealable, a patent owner's best shot at preserving its patent rights intact is to defeat institution of the IPR trial in the first instance.
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Trade Secrets Litigation: The No-Longer-Forgotten Part of the Tech IP Arsenal
<b><i>With Massive Jury Rewards and the DTSA Encouraging Federal Litigation, Trade Secrets Litigation Is Seeing a Surge in the Tech Industry</b></i><p>These days, many of the big IP litigation battles involving companies like Facebook, Uber, and Epic, have nothing to do with patents, trademarks or copyrights at all. Instead, it's all about the perhaps forgotten part of IP: trade secrets.
Columns & Departments
IP News
Federal Circuit Throws Out District Court's Test for “Place of Business” for Purposes of Determining Venue in Patent Cases
Features

Entertainment Industry: Take Note Of Surge in Trade Secrets Litigation
Intellectual property battles in technology, including in the entertainment industry, are nothing new, but their nature might be shifting. These days, many of the big IP litigation battles have nothing to do with patents, trademarks or copyrights. Instead, it's all about trade secrets.
Features

Is This Really Patentable?
<b><i>Strategies to Defend Against Patent Claims by Raising Lack of Patentable Subject Matter in District Court Litigation</b></i><p>With the Supreme Court's decision in <i>Alice</i>, parties defending against a claim of patent infringement gained a potential way to find an early resolution to patent litigation.
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