Conflict of Laws

Read Intellectual Property Law updates, alerts, news, and legal analysis from leading lawyers and law firms:

News & Analysis as of May 24, 2013

Federal Circuit Holds the Reexamination Door Open in In Re Baxter

by Courtenay C. Brinckerhoff | Foley & Lardner LLP on 11/30/2012

When the Federal Circuit denied the Request for Panel Rehearing and Rehearing en banc in In re Baxter, the court let stand its two decisions that affirmed conflicting rulings on the validity of the same patent....more

Rogers et al v SOCAN: W(h)ither the "Making Available" Right?

by Bob Tarantino | Heenan Blaikie LLP on 11/19/2012

Among the unanswered questions arising in the wake of the massive changes to the Canadian copyright landscape in 2012 is the issue of precisely how the two seismic forces at work (i.e., The Copyright Modernization Act and the...more

Indiana Joins the Emerging Majority Position on Uniform Trade Secrets Act Preemption of State-Law Tort Claims

by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati on 9/21/2012

Last month, an Indiana appellate court became the latest court to adopt the majority position on the question of whether the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA) displaces state-law tort claims said to protect information that is...more

July 2012: European Litigation Update: European Patent System Is in for Fundamental Changes

by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP on 7/26/2012

Adopting the European Patent Convention (EPC) and establishing the European Patent Office (EPO) – thereby allowing for a single application for a “European patent” (which is more precisely a bundle of national patents which...more

Superman Case Unable to Save Selective Waiver Theory

by Saul Ewing LLP on 5/31/2012

In In re Pacific Pictures Corp., No. 11-71844, 2012 WL 1293534 (9th Cir. Apr. 17, 2012), a dispute concerning royalties derived from the character of Superman, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals joined a majority of circuit...more

Jointly Waiting on a Divided Federal Circuit

by Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP on 5/30/2012

What happens when two or more actors perform steps in a “method” patent claim? The Federal Circuit may soon clarify, and this clarification may change the law. Method claims are directed to a method or process. They...more

Federal Circuit Clarifies Appealable Subject Matter from the ITC

by Patton Boggs LLP on 3/16/2012

The Federal Circuit recently clarified the scope of review that the Court affords appeals from the International Trade Commission (ITC). In General Electric Co. v. U.S. Int’l Trade Comm'n, No. 2010-1223 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 29,...more

Classen v. Biogen Idec et al. – The Latest Installment in the Patent-Eligibility Arena

by Fenwick & West LLP on 10/10/2011

On August 31, 2011, the Federal Circuit issued its long-awaited decision in Classen Immunotherapies, Inc. v. Biogen Idec et al. The case was remanded by the Supreme Court back to the Federal Circuit with instructions to...more