Litigation

Inconsistent Testimony Made Plaintiff Not Typical off Proposed Class
Franchisor Sanctioned For Failing to Prepare Its Representative for Corporate Deposition
Federal Court Enforces Franchisee Post-Termination Obligations

Bona fide intent was given new meaning by the TTAB. Lincoln National Corporation v. Anderson, exemplifies an apparent trend of the TTAB requiring greater proof of an applicant's "intent" as a jurisdictional prerequisite for filing an application or face a finding that the application is void ab initio. This is the paradigm of the "ticking time bomb" trademark nightmare with a very long fuse.

How can organizations eliminate the chaos and risks in preservation for e-discovery? Technology and process can make a big difference, especially when simplifying and streamlining the entire legal hold process, from issuance to release. This article explores some of the key considerations for applying technology to defensibly eliminate the chaos often encountered during preservation.

Oracle Corp. may have won half of its battle with SAP AG at the Ninth Circuit on May 13 as a three-judge panel seemed to agree the company can pursue hypothetical license damages for copyright infringement, even though Oracle has no track record of actually licensing its software to competitors.

The ACA is not the only health care challenge facing employers. Recent medical disease reclassifications are affecting a large portion of America's workforce, and the long-term impact is proving difficult to predict. These changes may result in an increased number of workers' compensation and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) discrimination claims, but hopefully, they will also result in a greater emphasis placed upon prevention and treatment.

In the last decade, the ITC has been an increasingly popular forum for litigating IP rights, largely because it offers a quick and forceful remedy in the form of an exclusion order, which can exclude infringing products from the U.S. market. In recent months, several important decisions have caused some to question the continuing vitality of the ITC as forum.

Federal Circuit: Only Patent Owner May Appeal a PTAB Reexamination Decision
Federal Circuit: Clones Not Patentable Subject Matter
Federal Circuit: PTO's Decision Not to Initiate Inter Partes Review Is Not Appealable

Policing and enforcing trademark rights in social media requires a brand owner to reexamine some of the basic premises about infringement. It is black letter law that trademark maintenance requires a trademark owner to maintain control over the quality of the goods and services associated with its mark. In the infringement context, this has generally been interpreted as an obligation to prevent any uses that are inconsistent with the brand's image. However, social media has altered this fundamental assumption.