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Nichia Sues Seoul Semiconductor Again Over LEDs
Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008
Seoul Semiconductor Ltd. and Nichia Corp., longtime rivals in the field of light-emitting diodes, are heading back to court in a new patent dispute.
Energy Companies Latest To Acquire Katz Patents
Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008
Seventeen energy companies have bought a license for patents held by Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing LP related to automated call systems, the firm announced Tuesday.
CME Group Faces Patent Suit Over Electronic Trading
Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008
A securities information directory has filed suit against CME Group Inc. and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. for allegedly infringing two patents for electronic trading.
Rambus Scores In Feud Over IP Attorney's Conduct
Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008
Rambus Inc. has gained ground in its bitterly contested battle with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. ahead of a September trial, with a federal judge granting summary judgment in Rambus' favor on three of Samsung's counterclaims that Rambus' former in-house counsel misappropriated confidential information regarding memory chip patents owned by Samsung, his previous employer.
IP Practice: Holland & Knight
Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008
After many years of court decisions that strengthened patent protections for business, the opposite may be happening as courts weaken patent protections, according to Joshua Krumholz, a partner in Holland & Knight LLP's Boston office and leader of the firm's intellectual property practice group.
Cisco Execs Deny Approving 'Troll Tracker' Blog Post
Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008
Two Cisco Systems Inc. affiliates denied Monday that they approved an article that ran in the notorious “Patent Troll Tracker” blog and sparked a patent lawyer's defamation suit against the company.
Wyeth Sues Apotex Over Plans For Generic Effexor
Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008
Wyeth Inc. has sued generic rival Apotex Inc. for allegedly infringing patents covering Wyeth's popular depression drug Effexor by planning a generic version of the drug.
Super Lawyers In New Jersey Could Be Silenced
Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008
You may be a Super Lawyer, but you might want to keep your mouth shut if you're in New Jersey, where the state Supreme Court will soon decide whether it's a violation of the rules of professional conduct for a lawyer to advertise her inclusion in peer-reviewed attorney rankings that use superlatives such as “super” and “best.”
Facebook Wins Bid To Stay Patent Case
Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008
A federal judge Monday has granted Facebook Inc.'s motion to stay a patent lawsuit filed against it pending a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office decision on whether to re-examine the patent in question.
Warner Bros., Fox Square Off Over 'Watchmen' Film
Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008
Two of Hollywood's biggest studios are headed to court over a film adaptation of the popular 1980s graphic novel “Watchmen” after a federal judge has refused to dismiss 20th Century Fox's lawsuit against Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. over the rights to the book.
Plaintiffs Want Thelen Suit Sent To State Court
Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008
IVI Smart Technologies Inc. wants a lawsuit in which it accuses Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP of helping a competitor of an IVI unit steal its intellectual property transferred from federal to state court.
Drugstores Granted Class Status In TriCor Suit
Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008
A federal judge on Monday granted class status to drugstores and other outlets alleging that the makers of the anti-cholesterol drug TriCor prevented a generic version of the drug from reaching the market by filing a series of frivolous patent infringement lawsuits.
Harry & David Sues Rivals Over Key-Word Advertising
Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008
Gourmet gift retailer Harry and David has filed a trademark infringement suit against 1-800-Flowers.com, FTD.com and other gift basket Web sites for allegedly stealing its customers through key-word advertising on the Internet.
Wine Auction Site Settles Acacia Unit's Patent Suit
Monday, Aug 18, 2008
WineCommune.com LLC has struck a settlement deal geared toward ending its involvement in a patent case that an Acacia Research Corp. subsidiary brought against five e-commerce companies over a patent related to guaranteed or bonded online auctions.
Janssen Sues Sandoz Over Alzheimer's Drug Patent
Monday, Aug 18, 2008
Two Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries and their licensing partner have launched a patent infringement suit against Novartis AG’s generics arm, Sandoz Inc., after the generics maker filed an abbreviated new drug application for Razadyne, a drug used to treat Alzheimer's.
Kraft Wins Stay In Coffee Container Patent Dispute
Monday, Aug 18, 2008
In another boost for Kraft Foods Global Inc., a federal judge has stayed a patent dispute with Procter & Gamble Co. over plastic coffee containers, nearly a year after putting a related suit between the companies on hold.
Fed. Circ. Clarifies MedImmune Decision
Monday, Aug 18, 2008
A federal appeals court ruled Friday that marking products with their applicable patents does not create enough "controversy" under Article III of the U.S. Constitution to sustain a declaratory judgment suit, upholding the dismissal of a complaint filed against Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. by a generics manufacturer seeking a noninfringement ruling.
ING Sues PNC For Orange Orb Use In Online Banking
Monday, Aug 18, 2008
ING Direct Bancorp is suing rival PNC Financial Services Group Inc. for trademark infringement over the company's use of an orange ball to market its new direct online banking service to young people.
Biomedical Companies Spar Over Genotyping Patents
Monday, Aug 18, 2008
Genetic analysis company Sequenom Inc. has denied claims that it violated Beckman Coulter Inc.'s patents for genotyping applications.
J.M. Smucker Sues Pierre Foods Over Crustless PB&J
Monday, Aug 18, 2008
Jam maker J.M. Smucker Co. has filed a lawsuit saying bankrupt Pierre Foods Inc.'s crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwiches infringe the trademark for J.M. Smucker's Uncrustables sandwiches.
Post-Tiffany Liability For Contributory Infringement
The Tiffany v. eBay decision changes the relationship between brand owners and online auction sites, creating a higher hurdle for finding liability for contributory trademark infringement, says Heather J. Kliebenstein of Merchant & Gould PC.
Copyright Holders Can Take Comfort From Jacobsen
The opinion by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Jacobsen v. Katzer is one of the few federal court decisions dealing with open source licenses and should be of interest to anyone who distributes or uses copyrighted works, such as computer software, under an open source license, says Albert J. Marcellino of Woodcock Washburn LLP.
For Starbucks, Cream And Sugar – But No Dilution
The decision in Starbucks Corp. v. Wolfe’s Borough Coffee Inc. indicates that courts remain reluctant to find dilution by blurring where there is no likelihood of consumer confusion, even where the plaintiff’s trademark is unquestionably famous and distinctive, say Lawrence I. Weinstein, Brendan J. O’Rourke and Adam D. Siegartel of Proskauer Rose LLP.
Reining In The Scope Of Safe Harbor
In a decision sure to be welcomed by many research tool patent holders, the Federal Circuit in Proveris Scientific Corp. v. Innovasystems Inc. departs from a line of cases that have expansively interpreted the “safe harbor” provisions of the Hatch-Waxman Act, says Courtenay C. Brinckerhoff of Foley & Lardner LLP.
A New Fantasy Sport: Defining The Right Of Publicity
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to not review the Eighth Circuit's decision in C.B.C. Distribution and Marketing Inc. v. Major League Baseball Advanced Media LP - the "Fantasy Baseball" case - was an unfortunate missed opportunity to clarify the "Right of Publicity," says Rick Kurnit of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC.
Cablevision: Key Reversal For Digital Content Cos.
The decision to reverse the lower court's ruling and grant summary judgment in favor of Cablevision has far-reaching implications for companies involved in all aspects of digital content delivery, say Cathy S. Kirkman, Brian G. Mendonca, Jeff C. Ulin, Gary R. Greenstein and Raghu B. Seshadri of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC.
Will High Court Change Burden Of Proving Invalidity?
Although KSR has been settled, Microsoft’s petition in the case addressing the Supreme Court’s view that the rationale underlying the presumption of validity is “much diminished” when prior art references are not disclosed to the PTO is likely the tip of the iceberg, says David O. Taylor of Baker Botts LLP.
Troubled Patents Asserted Against Annuity Insurers
It remains to be seen whether the defects in the Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. patents, broadly asserted against variable annuity insurers, will be uncovered during ongoing infringement litigation. What is clear is that a lot more ordinary skill needs to be applied in drafting and examining insurance and financial services patent applications, says Tom Bakos of Tom Bakos Consulting, Inc.