Litigation

It is a staple in virtually every patent case for defendants to assert defenses of non-infringement, invalidity, and inequitable conduct. While patent litigators appropriately focus on these traditional defenses, there are also nontraditional defenses — including lack of ownership of the patent-in-suit, judicial estoppel, and unclean hands — that may be incredibly beneficial to patent defendants.

Due to its so-called "rocket docket," many patent litigants select the Eastern District of Texas when filing a lawsuit or a declaratory action. However, the Federal Circuit's recent decision in In re TS Tech may substantially curtail this practice.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted summary judgment for a law firm sued for legal malpractice over the handling of a license to provide in-store radio broadcasts at U.S. military commissaries. The district court found fault with the broadcast client's expert witnesses in the malpractice case.

A recent United States court decision highlights the opportunities and pitfalls associated with the potential use of U.S.-style discovery to obtain materials for use in international arbitrations.

An in-depth analysis of recent rulings.

As the financial crisis has deepened, the pressure for prosecutions from politicians, the media and the public has grown. In turn, federal and state law enforcement and regulatory agencies have devoted vast resources to investigating the crisis.

QVC to Pay $7.5 Million to Settle Charges That It Aired Deceptive Claims
Credit Repair Companies Charged with Deceiving Consumers

There are several often-overlooked strategies for defending against trade-misappropriation claims. The first I call the Trade Secret Per Se Doctrine. The second pertains to open-source software. Both of these strategies need to be fully considered in appropriate trade-secret misappropriation cases, to which e-commerce counsel are no strangers.