First Republic Executives Fail in Attempt to Recover Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plan Assets
Every month, Erise’s trademark attorneys review the latest developments at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in the courts, and across the corporate world to bring you the stories that you should know about: Taylor...more
In Impossible X LLC v. Impossible Foods Inc., Impossible Foods recently filed an opposition to Impossible X’s petition for certiorari, which asks the Supreme Court to decide (1) whether some disputes should require so-called...more
The PTAB recently declined to exercise its discretion to deny IPR, instituting review in BMW of North America, LLC v. NorthStar Systems LLC, IPR2023-01017, Paper 12 (Dec. 8, 2023). There, the PTAB held that (1) a Sotera...more
On June 1, 2023, the new European Unified Patent Court (UPC) opened its doors, and enforcement of European patents in (currently) 17 contract member states is now possible with one action. This series of articles – directed...more
Thank you for reading the January 2023 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss an ongoing trademark dispute between the band OK Go and cereal company Post, how to stay vigilant about...more
Mitek Systems, Inc. v. United Services Automobile Association, Appeal No. 2021-1989 (Fed. Cir. May 20, 2022) - Our Case of the Week this week is a declaratory judgment action brought against USAA. In a 27-page opinion,...more
On February 8, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit determined that certain restrictions on the ability to challenge the validity of patents are enforceable. Without such restrictions, companies that are...more
ENERGY HEATING, LLC v. HEAT ON-THE-FLY, LLC - Before Moore, Prost, and Stoll. Appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota. Summary: Enforcing a patent with knowledge that it is invalid can...more
In the most recent of a series of litigations by AbbVie against manufacturers seeking to market biosimilar versions of Humira®, the world’s most profitable drug, AbbVie initiated an action against Alvotech in the district...more
In a precedential decision, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) dismissed a petition for inter partes review (IPR), finding that the one-year time limit for filing an IPR petition under 35 USC § 315(b) is triggered even...more
A game of “hot potato” between the US Courts of Appeals for the Federal and Fifth Circuits has been resolved, ending a disagreement over the scope of the Federal Circuit’s jurisdiction. After a patent infringement defendant...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...more
Last week, in Pappalardo v. Stevins, the Federal Circuit affirmed-in-part, vacated-in-part, and remanded a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida granting a motion to dismiss filed by...more
PATENT CASE OF THE WEEK - WesternGeco LLC v. Ion Geophysical Corp., Appeal Nos. 2016-2099, -2100, -2101, -2332, -2333, -2334 (Fed. Cir. May 7, 2018) - In an appeal from an inter partes review, the Federal Circuit...more
Arbitration - Waymo v. Uber Technologies, 870 F.3d 1342 (Fed. Cir. 2017) - Waymo sued Uber and others for trade secret misappropriation and patent infringement. Uber contends that Waymo should be compelled to...more
This paper is based on reports on precedential patent cases decided by the Federal Circuit distributed by Peter Heuser on a weekly basis. ...more
As the sun set on 2016, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Sunearth, Inc. v. Sun Earth Solar Power, Co. embraced a new standard for awarding attorneys’ fees in Lanham Act cases. Adopting the U.S. Supreme Court’s rationale...more
Pre-AIA and Post-AIA Issues Presented by the On-Sale Bar - The “on-sale” bar to patentability refers to a sale or offer for sale of an invention that can invalidate the patent for that invention. The...more
The America Invents Act established inter partes review and post-grant reviews mechanisms to challenge the validity of issued United States patents. These procedures were created to improve patent quality, and were introduced...more
Clarifying the “final written decision” rule in covered business method (CBM) reviews, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit explained that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB or Board) decision to terminate...more
On March 19, 2015, Draeger Medical Systems, Inc. (“Draeger”) filed a Declaratory Judgment action against My Health, Inc. (“My Health”). The complaint alleges that My Health sent a cease and desist letter to Draeger that...more
Addressing whether a district court action dismissed without prejudice bars a filing of an inter partes review (IPR) petition under 35 U.S.C. § 315(a)(1), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (PTO) Patent Trial and Appeal...more
On March 11, 2014, in Danisco US Inc. v. Novozymes A/S, No. 2013-1214 (Fed. Cir.), the Federal Circuit held that pre-issuance conduct can be considered when determining whether a declaratory judgment defendant has instigated...more
Defendant Bears Burden of Proof in Declaratory Judgment Case - In Medtronic, Inc. v. Mirowski Family Venture, LLC, Appeal No. 12-1128, the Supreme Court reversed the Federal Circuit’s determination that the burden of...more
In 2007, the US Supreme Court set a new test for declaratory judgment actions in MedImmune. Its decision continues to have a profound impact on trade mark cases, explain Bobby Ghajar and Carolyn Toto. One-Minute Read -...more