Intellectual Property › Business Torts › Civil Procedure

Patent Watch: Forrester Envtl. Servs., Inc. v. Wheelabrator Techs., Inc.

[P]ermitting state courts to adjudicate disparagement cases (involving alleged false statements about U.S. patent rights) could result in inconsistent judgments between state and federal courts [but] this possibility of...more

In re Wayport, Inc. Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 4167-VCL (Del. Ch. May 1, 2013) (Laster, V.C.)

In this opinion, the Court of Chancery, applying the “special facts doctrine,” rejected the plaintiffs’ claims for breach of the fiduciary duty of loyalty against the defendants arising out of sales of the plaintiffs’ stock...more

IP/Entertainment Law Weekly Case Update for Motion Picture Studios and Television Networks - May 3, 2013

- Cariou v. Prince, USCA Second Circuit, April 25, 2013 - Second Circuit reverses summary judgment in favor of photographer on his infringement claims against well-known appropriation artist Richard Prince, holding...more

Therasense Revisited: In re Rosuvastatin Calcium Patent Litigation

In the United States, patent applicants and their counsel owe a duty of candor and good faith to the Patent Office. This duty is breached when the applicant or its counsel knowingly fails to disclose material prior art...more

Recent Federal Court Rulings Reaffirm Broad Supersession of Common Law Claims under California's Uniform Trade Secrets Act

Last month, two federal district courts reaffirmed that litigants may not plead around California's Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA) by alleging common law tort claims said to protect business information that does not...more

How Much "Competition", If Any, Is Required to Establish Standing in Lanham Act False Advertising Cases—the Supreme Court May Be...

Lanham Act false advertising law is largely consistent among the various federal circuit courts. However, one area of Lanham Act jurisprudence where the federal appellate courts do not see eye-to-eye concerns who has standing...more

IP/Entertainment Law Weekly Case Update for Motion Picture Studios and Television Networks -- March 14, 2013

In This Issue: - Gibson Guitar Corp. v. Viacom International, Inc., USDC C.D. California, March 8, 2013: District court grants Viacom’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s Lanham Act and related state law claims for...more

Business Torts In Virginia

In late January, the United State District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, sitting in Richmond, handed down an opinion that provided a succinct analysis of the pleading standards applicable to several Virginia...more

Ochre, LLC v. Rockwell

Appellant's Brief

From the Preliminary Statement: In Chosun Int'l, Inc. v. Chrisha Creations, Ltd., 413 F.3d 324, 328 (2d Cir. 2005), this Court held that “one may not copyright the general shape of a lamp.” This appeal raises the question...more

Bernstein Shur Business and Commercial Litigation Newsletter #24

We are pleased to present the 24th edition of the Bernstein Shur Business and Commercial Litigation Newsletter. This month, we highlight recent decisions addressing the statute of repose for securities fraud claims, the...more

In re Novell, Inc. S’holder Litig., C.A. No. 6032-VCN (Del. Ch. Jan. 3, 2013)

In this memorandum opinion, the Court of Chancery denied defendants’ motions to dismiss with respect to Plaintiffs’ bad faith claims. The Court’s decision was based on its finding that the complaint stated a “reasonably...more

SBA Rules Changes – Definition of a Small Business

In the quest to compete and survive, small businesses should embrace all opportunities for revenue growth available to them. One of the largest potential customers in the world is the US Government. Small businesses have a...more

California Electronic Discovery Act: Part Four

Part Four in a multi-part series on the topic. Searching for evidence in the form of email, text messages and instant messaging is increasingly important in lawsuits. However, requests for this type of evidence during the...more

Shoe Designer Kicks Out Its Counterclaims

DuetsBlog has taken an interest in the Louboutin v. Yves Saint Laurent case venued in the Southern District of New York. I, along with my colleague Steve Baird, have previously written about this important color trademark...more

Linkedin Lockout Loss for Employee

Can your employer demand access to your Linkedin account? Can your employer keep access to your account after you terminate employment? Can you sue for damages if your employer denies you access to Linkedin, and your...more

Guggenheim Capital v. Toumei

Reply Brief of Appellant David Birnbaum

This is the reply brief in an appeal concerning the question of whether it is proper for a court to enter, as a sanction for litigation non-compliance, a default judgment and a seven-figure statutory damages award against a...more

MBL-AKUSTIKGERÄTE GMBH & CO., KG et al. v. MBL OF AMERICA, INC.

Reply Brief in Support of Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction

MBL of America's reply brief in support of its motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction or, in the alternative, dismiss for improper venue, emphasizes that jurisdiction cannot be predicated on the fact that...more

Business and Commercial Litigation Newsletter #19 - August 2012

We are pleased to present the nineteenth edition of the Bernstein Shur Business and Commercial Litigation Newsletter. This month, we highlight news concerning the Apple patent infringement trial, the requirements for...more

Boarding School Review, LLC v. Delta Career Education Corp.

Brief in Support of Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim Upon Which Relief Can be Granted (FRCP 12(b)(6))

Plaintiff operates a website called Community College Review. It received multiple cease and desist letters, which escalated in the severity of their threats, from counsel for certain institutions about which routine,...more

California Court Awards Attorneys' Fees and Costs in Bad Faith Trade Secret Lawsuit

In July 2012, a California appellate court affirmed a trial court's award of attorneys' fees to a trade secret defendant, finding that the plaintiff that had raised the claim of trade secret misappropriation in the case did...more

Devere Group GMBH v. Opinion Corp. et al.

Order Dismissing Trademark Claim Against PissedConsumer.com for Failure to State a Claim

Order dismissing, for failure to state a claim under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), defamation claim pleaded as a Lanham Act trademark infringement in attempt to circumvent DMCA section 230....more

MBL-AKUSTIKGERÄTE GMBH & CO., KG et al. v. MBL OF AMERICA, INC.

Defendants' Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction

MBL of America's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction seeks to dismiss the German plaintiff's attempt to manufacture jurisdiction in New York against Arizona and California defendants, where no sales are...more

Amerigas Propane, L.P. v. Opinion Corp. d/b/a PissedConsumer.com

Order on Motion to Dismiss

Per blogger and law professor Eric Goldman: "You may recall PissedConsumer, the site that solicits user gripes, SEOs the crud out of them, and then offers the griped business pay-to-play to downgrade the visibility of those...more

Guggenheim Capital v. Toumei

Brief for Defendant-Appellant David Birnbaum

This appeal concerns the question of whether it is proper for a court to enter, as a sanction for litigation non-compliance, a default judgment and a seven-figure statutory damages award against a penurious individual who...more

Amerigas Propane, L.P. v. Opinion Corp. d/b/a PissedConsumer.com

Reply Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim under FRCP 12(b)(6)

See the associated moving brief. This is the reply brief preliminary statement: Defendant Opinion Corp. (“defendant” or “Opinion Corp.”) submits this reply memorandum in further support of its motion to dismiss the...more