IP Pipeline Blog

Luxury fashion brand Hermès sued Mason Rothschild in January 2022 alleging that the digital images underlying the non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) produced and sold by Rothschild depicting faux fur-covered Birkin handbags – the “MetaBirkins” – constituted trademark infringement and dilution and that...Read More

Intellectual property rights can get muddled in the “real world” and with the advent of virtual worlds, such as the Metaverse, this will only further complicate matters for brand owners who will now have to monitor and enforce their rights in the boundless virtual world. Indeed, legal disputes are already surfacing in the...Read More

The Trademark Modernization Act (TMA) was signed into law December 27, 2020. Importantly, the burden shifting provision for trademark owners in litigation seeking preliminary or permanent injunctive relief was made effective immediately.Read More

Rooted in the principle of fairness, the doctrine of assignor estoppel generally prevents an inventor, who had previously assigned their patent rights to another for value, from later contesting the validity of the assigned patent.   Read More

On June 21, 2021, in United States v. Arthrex, the Supreme Court finds that Administrative Patent Judges (“APJs”) on the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) panels for inter partes review (“IPR”) proceedings to be acting as Principal Officers in violation of the Appointments Clause.Read More

A failure to address IP considerations can have a devastating and lasting impact—including a permanent loss of IP rights and a risk of costly litigation—which ultimately hinders the ability to grow from a startup into a thriving, successful company.Read More

Through the passage of the recent budget bill directed to providing COVID relief, Congress has also passed the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (the “CASE Act”), essentially creating a small claims “court” within the Copyright Office itself.Read More

The Supreme Court of the United States held unanimously in Romag Fasteners Inc. v. Fossil Inc., et al., 140 S. Ct. 1492 (2020) that a plaintiff in a trademark infringement suit does not have to prove willfulness for an award of defendant’s ill-gotten profits as damages under the Lanham Act.Read More

This article appeared in the Daily Business Review on July 28, 2020. Commentary provided by Eric C. Christu and Jodi-Ann Tillman. Read More

The USPTO has now extended patent deadlines another month for small and micro entities.Read More

In his latest IP Pipeline blog post, Tampa partner Woodrow Pollack discusses whether the COVID-19 crisis warrants ex parte relief to address price gouging under trademark theories.Read More

For many patent and trademark filing deadlines that would have been due between March 27, 2020 and May 31, 2020, the USPTO will consider them timely filed so long as: (1) they are filed on or before June 1, 2020; and (2) they are accompanied by a statement that the delay in filing was due to the COVID19 outbreak.Read More

The answer – No.

Plaintiff in a patent infringement matter concerning Plaintiff’s ceiling fan patents asked the court to delay all deadlines 90-days in light of the COVID19 crisis.  Plaintiff noted that the parties and attorneys are all located in states that imposed social distancing guidelines and other stay at home...Read More

The answer – Yes.

Pierce Manufacturing secured a preliminary injunction prohibiting E-One from selling its Metro 100 single rear axle quint.  That preliminary injunction prohibits E-One from selling the Metro 100 during the pendency of the patent infringement litigation Pierce Manufacturing is pursuing against E-One.

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The United States Patent and Trademark Office today extended certain deadlines in connection with patent and trademark related matters due to the COVID19 crisis. Similarly, the United States Copyright Office has announced modifications to deadlines in light of the crisis.Read More

No.Erbaviva, LLC, a California LLC, sent a demand letter to Era Organics, a Florida company.  The letter identified a number of Erbaviva federal trademark registrations, and "request[ed]" Era Organics:

1. Request the USPTO expressly abandon certain Era Organics trademark registrations;
2. Permanently refrain from using ERA...

No.

Micro Processing Technology, Inc. sent a letter to Plasma-Therm alleging that Plasma-Therm was infringing MPT's patent.  Plasma-Therm filed a declaratory judgment action seeking a declaration that it did not infringe.  Six months into the litigation, MPT served preliminary infringement contentions, which were based...Read More

If she or he is not a lawyer, no.Read More

The owner of the TEMPUR-PEDIC bedding brand ("Plaintiff") has sued a number of defendants, including a former retailer as well as the owner of the THERAPEDIC bedding brand. Through that lawsuit, Plaintiff seeks to enjoin sales of the THERAPEDIC bedding.Read More

Nope. The party seeking fees pursuant to a rejected Rule 68 Offer of Judgment still has the burden of showing a proper offer was made, was served, and was not accepted.Read More

Yes. Thursday, LLC and Klhip, Inc. are both retailers that use Amazon to sell nail clippers online. Klhip filed a number of claims with Amazon about Thursday. In response, Amazon would take Thursday down and investigate. Each time, Klhip's allegations have been found baseless (and Thursday's Amazon presence has been...Read More

Taser International, Inc. sued Phazzer Electronics, Inc. for patent infringement. The discovery history appears tortured.Read More

The Supreme Court will consider the scope of the on-sale bar to obtaining a patent. This decision has the potential to remove a substantial barrier to business encountered by many new and small businesses that own intellectual property assets.Read More

Commodores Entertainment Corporation has sued Thomas McClary, a former Commodores band member, for various trademark claims. Read More

The Supreme Court recently decided the Disparagement Clause of the Lanham Act is unconstitutional, paving the way for parties to register trademarks that were previously prohibited as ‘disparaging.’ The ruling also ends the long-running battle over the Washington Redskins’ trademarks.Read More

On remand from the Supreme Court, the Federal Circuit has declined to craft a test for calculating design patent damages when the patent-in-suit covers only a component of a larger product. Instead, it has been left to the Northern District of California to sort out the issue and hold a new trial, if necessary.Read More

The Supreme Court reversed Apple’s $399 million verdict against Samsung for infringing Apple’s design patents covering certain aspects of the iPhone. However, the Court’s decision arguably leaves critical questions unanswered.Read More

Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands, which turns on whether the stripes and chevrons found in Varsity Brands’ cheerleader uniforms are sufficiently “separable” from the overall uniform to be copyrightableRead More

The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands on October 31 to determine whether the stripes and chevrons found in Varsity Brands’ cheerleader uniforms are sufficiently “separable” from the overall uniform to be copyrightable.Read More

Non-attorneys are allowed to practice before the Patent Office. However, because they are not attorneys, there is an open question of whether attorney-client privilege extends to their communications with clients. This question has previously been determined on a case-by-case basis. The USPTO has proposed a new rule that...Read More

The Supreme Court heard oral argument in the long-running patent dispute Samsung v. Apple. The dispute centers on a jury award of damages in favor of Apple for Samsung’s infringement of design patents covering elements of the iPhone. While the parties agreed that the appellate court had applied the wrong standard, Apple...Read More

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Samsung Electronics v. Apple, Incorporated today, the long-running patent dispute between the companies involving Samsung’s alleged infringement of Apple’s design patents covering certain aspects of the iPhone.Read More

Trade secrets are one of the four main types of intellectual property rights. When used properly, trade secrets can be the most valuable asset in your intellectual property portfolio. Let’s take a look at how Col. Harlan Sanders built an empire by using trade secrets as part of a comprehensive IP portfolio.Read More

The Federal Circuit recently reversed the Trademark Trial and Appeal’s Board determination that patent claims were invalid as obvious when the TTAB overused “common sense” to fill-in missing claim limitations and find a patent was invalid on obviousness grounds.Read More

AGIS v. Life360 upheld patent invalidity in a case where Eric Christu and Daniel Barsky were members of the trial team. Coined terms in patents may result in patent invalidity if the coined term is not adequately disclosed. Technology patents cannot used coined terms that are really nothing more than generic ‘general purpose...Read More

Two recent decisions by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit provide some helpful insights into the application of the two-step framework for assessing patent-eligible subject matter.Read More

Two recent decisions by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit provide some helpful insights into the application of the two-step framework for assessing patent-eligible subject matter.Read More

The newly implement Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 creates a federal cause of action that allows a plaintiff to seize stolen trade secrets prior to notifying the defendant.Read More

Written by experienced lawyers who serve clients in securing, enforcing and defending patents, trademarks and copyrights, the Intellectual Property Pipeline Blog aims to inform and educate businesses and individuals on the legal complexities of this field.

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