Although the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a damages award for trade secret misappropriation and breach of a confidentiality agreement, it found that the district court erred in its determination of when...more
Understanding what to patent versus what to keep as a trade secret is an increasingly important and challenging decision facing companies developing biologics products, such as cell and gene therapies, where technologies are...more
Understanding how hardware and firmware/software work together to perform desired functions or tasks is an important enabler to unlocking the value of intellectual properties in the systems (including embedded systems) area....more
On May 9, 2022, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board denied Hillman Group, Inc.’s (“Hillman’s”) three petitions for inter partes review. See The Hillman Group, Inc. v. Hy-Ko Products Co. LLC, IPR2022-00168, -00169, and -00174....more
Two recent decisions by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit shed light on several recurrent issues that arise in trade secret litigation under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) and related state acts....more
We previously discussed which portions of an artificial intelligence/machine-learning (“AI/ML”) platform can be patented. Under what circumstances, however, is it best to keep at least a portion of the platform a trade...more
What is reverse engineering? Reverse engineering refers to the process of working backward from an available product to understand what its parts are, how it functions and/or how it was made. The Texas Uniform Trade Secret...more
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana recently held that, under the Defend Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1836, et seq., information included in a patent application remains an actionable...more
Licensors of software typically utilize software license agreements providing for their ownership of the licensed software and related IP, as well as restrictions barring licensees from reverse engineering the code at issue....more
Before copying or reverse engineering a functional product or process analyze each of the issues below. It is best to consult an experienced patent attorney during this analysis. I. Is there a Contract Preventing the Use...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded a district court finding that a defendant was liable for breach of a software license agreement and therefore infringed the...more