'Would You Like Fries with That?'
July 27, 2010
Recent court decisions addressing the classification of "goods" versus "services" have shed some light on the proper definition of "goods" in the context of whether a particular claim is for "goods" under ' 503(b)(9). However, these decisions have left open some key questions.
IP News
June 28, 2010
Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.
Pay-for-Delay May Require a New Prescription
June 28, 2010
Part One of this series discussed common IP settlement terms that may give rise to antitrust liability and how the analysis of whether a settlement agreement violates the antitrust laws depends upon many factors that are specific to the underlying facts. This second installment addresses recent challenges by the government and private plaintiffs to settlements between brand name and generic drug manufacturers, and how these challenges have further refined the antitrust framework for analyzing patent litigation settlement agreements in the pharmaceutical industry.
The 'Hot News' Doctrine in the Digital Age
June 28, 2010
Last year, the Southern District of New York reignited the 90-year-old hot news doctrine and applied it in the Internet context. Since that decision, a number of entities have attempted to use the hot news doctrine to prevent the unauthorized use of time-sensitive content, including most recently, financial firms and media outlets attempting to prevent news-oriented Web sites from publishing their well-researched content.
A Roll of the Dice for International Trademark Owners
June 28, 2010
As international businesses seek to expand across borders, including by availing themselves of legal tools (such as the Madrid Protocol) to register in the United States trademarks developed abroad, there is surprisingly little guidance as to what enforceable rights under U.S. law actually result from this process. However, as shown by the recent decision, In re Casino de Monaco Trademark Litigation, even well-established foreign companies can encounter difficulties enforcing rights not grounded in traditional U.S. trademark law principles of use in commerce.
IP News
May 27, 2010
Highlights of the latest intellectual property cases from around the country.
The Art of the IP Infringement Demand Letter
May 27, 2010
Often the response to a demand letter alleging trademark, copyright or patent infringement is the filing of a lawsuit by the alleged infringer for declaratory judgment of non-infringement. This article offers practical advice on language that can be included in a demand letter that may avoid giving rise to DJ jurisdiction. The article also discusses Federal Circuit precedent that creates a different standard in patent infringement actions.
Text Messaging Heard By the Supreme Court
April 29, 2010
The U.S. Supreme Court on April 19 wrestled with the privacy expectations of public employees in a case involving workplace monitoring of text messages. By the end of arguments in <i>City of Ontario, Calif. v. Quon</i>, some justices, unfamiliar at first with the ins and outs of text technology, appeared better informed, but Jeffrey Quon's expectation of victory appeared to decline.
