Subscription services face increased scrutiny from regulators, lawmakers and the plaintiffs’ bar. As we highlighted in a recent client alert, the FTC warned companies against using “dark patterns” in connection with paid...more
On October 28, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission issued a new Enforcement Policy Statement (the Statement) warning companies against using “dark patterns” in negative option marketing. “Dark patterns” is a broad term that...more
Trade secret litigation is on the rise, and new case law related to enforceability has broad implications for how companies protect information that they consider to be trade secrets.
The Lex Machina 2020 Trade Secret...more
2/25/2021
/ Confidential Information ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exit Interviews ,
Former Employee ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Life Sciences ,
Patent Litigation ,
Technology ,
Trade Secrets
Written Description of Therapeutic Efficacy -
In two 2019 rulings, the Federal Circuit invoked the “written description requirement” of 35 U.S.C. § 112 to require evidentiary support for therapeutic efficacy. Now that the...more
2/24/2021
/ Appeals ,
Copyright ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misappropriation ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Section 101 ,
Social Media ,
Trade Secrets ,
USPTO ,
Written Descriptions
Impacts of Coronavirus on Commercial Agreements and Public Company Disclosures -
COVID-19, a disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has now spread to at least 70 countries, including the United States. Our thoughts are...more
3/6/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Contract Management ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
Paid Leave ,
Performance Standards ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sick Leave ,
Workplace Safety
Despite being short one justice for much of the year, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down multiple significant decisions this past term that can unsettle long-standing legal understandings in multiple technology fields. These...more
8/10/2017
/ Bristol-Myers Squibb Co v Superior Court of California - San Francisco County ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Disparagement ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Impression Products v Lexmark International ,
Jurisdiction ,
Laches ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
Microsoft v Baker ,
Music Industry ,
Online Platforms ,
Patent Exhaustion ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Petrella v. MGM ,
SCOTUS ,
Social Networks ,
Star Athletica v Varsity Brands ,
TC Heartland LLC v Kraft Foods ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
Venue
While much of the legal press may be speculating about the future of the Supreme Court’s Chevron test, yesterday the Court considered a very different kind of “chevron”—a design on a cheerleader uniform. In Star Athletica LLC...more
3/24/2017
/ Cheerleaders ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyrightable Subject Matter ,
Fashion Design ,
Graphic Designs ,
Popular ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 101 ,
Separability ,
Sports Apparel ,
Star Athletica v Varsity Brands ,
The Copyright Act ,
Uniforms
California’s Eraser Law: What IP Attorneys and Owners Need to Know -
Hector recently graduated from UC Berkeley and is anxious about his upcoming job interview. He is about to enter the adult world. But he has also got...more
6/23/2015
/ Abstract Ideas ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Bad Faith ,
Claim Construction ,
COPPA ,
Copyright Office ,
DMCA ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Facebook ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Induced Infringement ,
Laches ,
Minor Eraser Law ,
Misappropriation ,
Patents ,
Recruitment Incentives ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Section 101 ,
Social Media ,
Social Networks ,
Software ,
Takedown Notices ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademarks ,
Twitter
This week, the Supreme Court issued an important ruling that will significantly impact the way parties handle trademark disputes in the United States. The opinion in B&B Hardware, Inv. v. Hargis Industries, Inc., 575 U.S....more
The America Invents Act (AIA) came into law back in September 2011, but it was not until last March that its provisions were completely phased in. The changes last year included not only the switch from a “first-to-invent” to...more
2/25/2014
/ America Invents Act ,
Beastie Boys ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Copyright ,
Covered Business Method Patents ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Fair Use ,
First-to-File ,
First-to-Invent ,
GoldieBlox ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Irreparable Harm ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Patents ,
Post-Grant Review ,
SCOTUS ,
STEM ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Litigation
Reversing decades of precedent, on Monday the Ninth Circuit ruled that trademark owners no longer enjoy a presumption of irreparable harm when seeking a preliminary injunction. As we wrote last year, the presumption of...more
In This Bulletin:
- Just Moot It: Supreme Court in Already v. Nike Clarifies When a Covenant Not to Sue Can Kill a Declaratory Judgment Case
- Murky Waters: Post-Approval Regulatory Activities and the §...more
4/4/2013
/ Covenant Not to Sue ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Generic Drugs ,
Mootness ,
Nike ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Public Performance Rights ,
Safe Harbors ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademarks ,
Transfer of Venue
In 2007, the Supreme Court in MedImmune v. Genentech broadened the scope of declaratory judgment jurisdiction, making it easier for parties fearing IP claims to bring defensive lawsuits. Last week, the Court made it easier...more
1/15/2013
/ Already LLC ,
Article III ,
Covenant Not to Sue ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Infringement ,
Justiciable Controversy ,
Mootness ,
Nike ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Trade Dress ,
Trademarks