Science, Computers & Technology › Civil Remedies › Commercial Law & Contracts

Arbitral Award of Perpetual License Upheld by Fifth Circuit

Once in a while it seems the people who design live-action war-based video games get into real-world non-virtual disputes of their own. When “Timegate” promised to “Southpeak” that it would design a videogame named “Section...more

A First for FRAND: Federal Court in Microsoft v. Motorola Sets FRAND Royalty Rates for Standard Essential Patents

Microsoft v. Motorola developed a framework for courts to assess fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms for standard-essential patents. Its roadmap and analysis will probably influence future FRAND cases in...more

Figuring FRAND

In our December post “A FRANDlier Realm” we discussed emerging law relating to patents that are essential to technological standards, like 3G wireless telecommunications. What happens when patent owners and product makers...more

Game Developer’s Conduct Justified Granting Publisher a Permanent Royalty-Free License

On April 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit issued an order upholding an arbitration award against a video game developer and granting a publisher a perpetual license in the developer’s game due to the...more

Franchising in the Courts - April 2013

Robert Moore Pharmacy Ltd. v. Shoppers Drug Mart Inc.: The Applicability and Limits of the Duty of Good Faith - Robert Moore Pharmacy Ltd. v. Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. 2012 ONSC 73511 (Moore Case) reaffirms key...more

Free Product Distribution or Discounted Component Distribution Likely Does Not Exhaust Patent Rights

In LifeScan, Inc. v. Shasta Technologies, LLC, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38677 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 19, 2013), Judge Davila granted plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction to address claims of patent infringement, and...more

Intellectual Property Newsletter - January 2013

In This Issue: *News From the Bench - Enough Already, Supreme Court Tells Petitioner in Mythology-Laced Opinion. - Divided Fed. Circuit Affirms Patentability of Claims to a 12-Can Dispenser Carton. -...more

Click & Copy: Breach of Online License Agreements & Copyright Infringement

My article Click and Copy: Breach of Online License Agreements and Copyright Infringement was published in Canadian Intellectual Property Review in December. The enforceability of click-through licenses for online...more

Confidentiality and Invention Assignment Agreements Enforceable Against Former Employee

Generally speaking, noncompete agreements are often rigidly construed by courts and reviewed in terms of whether they are reasonably limited with respect to time and place. On the other hand, confidentiality agreements and...more

"FTC Ends Google Investigation With a ‘Slap on the Wrist’"

On January 3, 2013, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ended its highly publicized and wide-ranging investigation into Google Inc.’s business practices with an enforcement action that has been described by some as a “slap on...more

Medical Device Industry Remains a Hotbed for NonCompete Litigation

A recent opinion stemming from a lawsuit between two competitors in the medical device industry reminds us of the old adage “be careful what you wish for.” In Howmedica Osteonics Corp. v. Zimmer, Inc., the plaintiff seemed to...more

US v. Pokerstars, et. al. (Lederer)

STIPULATION AND ORDER OF SETTLEMENT IN REGARD TO HOWARD LEDERER

STIPULATION AND ORDER OF SETTLEMENT IN REGARD TO HOWARD LEDERER [SDNY Court Clerk Summary]: IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED, ORDERED AND AGREED, by and between Plaintiff United States of America, by its attorney Preet Bharara,...more

When Banks Are on the Hook for Cybertheft

This Wall Street Journal Article features Bernstein Shur Attorney Dan Mitchell. Banks typically are responsible for losses when personal accounts are hacked. But commercial clients that fall victim to cyber theft have...more

After Sanford company’s money stolen, court rules banks are responsible if hacked

This BDN Maine article features Bernstein Shur Attorney Dan Mitchell. SANFORD, Maine — A recent court ruling involving a Sanford construction company and its bank could have nationwide implications as attorneys and...more

Bank Agrees to Reimburse Hacking Victim $300K in Precedent-Setting Case

This Wired Magazine article features Bernstein Shur Attorney Dan Mitchell. In a case watched closely by banks and their commercial customers, a financial institution in Maine has agreed to reimburse a construction...more

US v. Pokerstars, et. al. (Rafael Furst)

STIPULATION AND ORDER OF SETTLEMENT IN REGARD TO RAFAEL FURST AND TELAMONIAN AJAX TRUST

STIPULATION AND ORDER OF SETTLEMENT IN REGARD TO RAFAEL FURST AND TELAMONIAN AJAX TRUST [SDNY CourtClerk Summary]: The Claimants agree to forfeit to the United States all funds in the Trust Account (the "Trust Account...more

Federal District Court Finds Valid Agreement under ESIGN Based on Upload of Images in Accordance with Website Terms of Use

On November 13, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland held that uploaded pictures to a website disclosing in its Terms of Use (TOU) that uploading images creates valid assignments of the rights to use...more

Class Actions Adding to the Cost of Data Breaches

Big data yields big data breaches, and potentially produces large class sizes, making such lawsuits attractive to plaintiffs’ lawyers. Companies that store or process personal information face an increasing risk of class...more

Court Decision in Sony PlayStation Data Breach Case Places Burden on Plaintiffs to Allege Actual Damages

Class action plaintiffs asserting claims against Sony in connection with the 2011 Sony PlayStation Network (“PSN”) data breach face permanent dismissal of their claims unless they can allege actual losses resulting from the...more

Product Liability Risk In Licensing Trademarks With Technology

A Connecticut Superior Court judge has upheld a jury verdict that once again demonstrates the product liability risks faced by trademark licensors, particularly those who license technology as well as their marks. In Hannibal...more

Morgan Stanley Sued Over $110 Million in Mortgage Loans

On September 28, an RMBS trustee sued a Morgan Stanley unit in the Supreme Court for the State of New York, alleging that Morgan Stanley sold RMBS backed by defective mortgage loans. The trustee asserts that Morgan Stanley...more

FRAND and Injunctive Relief: Exploring a Standard-Essential Patent Owner’s Right to Injunctive Relief

Introduction - Often, an industry-adopted technical standard includes technology covered by patents, and the owners of these patents agree to license the patents on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms as...more

The Guns of August: FTC Announces Policy Change Lowering Barrier to Monetary Relief for Anticompetitive Behavior; Action Aimed at...

In a signal that it may seek monetary relief from pharmaceutical companies involved in so-called “pay-for-delay” agreements and from other firms engaged in other conduct believed to be anticompetitive, the Federal Trade...more

Supreme Court confirms that generic drug manufacturers can challenge brand-name use-code descriptions in patent litigation

The Hatch-Waxman Act Congress designed the Hatch-Waxman Act (codified at 21 U.S.C. § 355(b), (j), (l) and 35 U.S.C. §§ 156, 271, and 282) to inspire medical innovation by giving medical-device and pharmaceutical patent...more

Preliminary Injunction Reinstating Contract Ordered By Business Court

It's not every day that you see a "mandatory injunction," In fact, Judge Jolly said last Friday that such an injunction was "rare and generally disfavored as an interlocutory remedy," in Bayer Cropscience LP v. Chemtura...more