When Journey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, Steve Perry was ranked 76th on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Singers of All Time.” Arguably, many Journey fans view the front man and his voice as the...more
With the holiday season upon us and winter quickly approaching, people are trading in lighter dishes for heavier, heartier meals. At the center of these dishes are butter and cream, and at the center of a new lawsuit is a...more
One of the banes of any practicing patent attorney's professional existence is counseling clients on licensing agreements where the parties attempt to avoid setting forth definitive terms on contract provisions regarding...more
During periods of widespread economic disruption such as the present, operating businesses must be able to identify and respond to threats to the financial health of their contracting counterparts in order to protect key...more
On July 24, 2020, a panel of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued splintered precedential opinions surrounding the interplay of state sovereign immunity under the Eleventh Amendment and required joinder of...more
Last week, a divided panel of the Federal Circuit extinguished Molon Motor and Coil Corporation’s hopes of going forward with a patent infringement suit against its electric motor industry competitor Nidec Motor Corporation....more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a district court decision that retained jurisdiction over a breach of contract action, finding that the action did not sufficiently implicate issues of patent law and...more
In a decision following a 10-day bench trial, Judge Lucy H. Koh ruled on May 21, 2019 in favor of plaintiff U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) that defendant Qualcomm, Inc.’s (“Qualcomm’s”) licensing practices relating to...more
On April 18, 2018, the International Trade Commission (“Commission”) reversed an Administrative Law Judge’s (“ALJ”) finding that a litigation funding agreement destroyed standing for a complainant at the ITC. In Certain Audio...more
In a highly anticipated decision on the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe’s motion to terminate inter partes review proceedings, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board rejected tribal sovereign immunity to IPRs. The PTAB’s decision also...more
Dividing a single patent application into multiple patents is often essential for deriving maximum economic benefit from the disclosed inventions. When an applicant wants to protect multiple inventions disclosed in a single...more
The case involved a dispute between the owner of the Cabbage Patch Kids brand and related intellectual property (“CPK”), and licensee JAKKS Pacific, Inc., which had an exclusive license to use the brand and intellectual...more
A few months ago, the Irish drug company Allergan moved to shield its key patents on its dry-eye drug Restasis from challenge at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the U.S. Patent Office by assigning these patents to...more
Sovereign immunity refers to the doctrine that the government cannot be sued without its consent. Specifically, the 11th Amendment precludes federal courts from exercising jurisdiction over states in suits brought by private...more
Using an innovative strategy, pharmaceutical company Allergan recently transferred the patents associated with the eye drug, Restasis, to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, in exchange for an exclusive license back. The tribe...more
You are in negotiations with a copyright owner to obtain a license to her work, which you want to publish, distribute, and/or license yourself. You want to ensure that you have the right to enforce the copyright against...more
Are you starting a new company or business venture? Launching an exciting new product or expanding into a new business line? Congratulations. Just remember, if you wind up with a high-growth opportunity, it can often pay big...more
The University of Florida picked up some big wins in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, moving into the tourney’s Sweet Sixteen. But the Gators also earned a big patent dispute victory recently in Covidien LP v. University...more
A Smooth Patch in a Rough Road? Governmental Transition and Intellectual Property - Whenever a new Congress convenes, some IP issues come to the fore while others take a back seat. Transition to a new administration in the...more
As intellectual property licensing continues to grow more prevalent, legal practitioners and business personnel are being asked to craft and negotiate agreements that can significantly impact a business’s ability to compete...more