Windy City Innovations, LLC (“Windy City”), assignee of U.S. Patent No. 8,458,245 (the “245 patent”) entitled “Real Time Communications System,” brought a patent infringement action against Facebook Inc. (“Facebook”) for alleged infringement of the ’245 patent. Facebook filed for summary judgment on grounds that the ’245 patent was invalid…
Publications
Irwin IP Publications is the go-to resource for the latest updates and insights in the world of intellectual property. Over 250 articles are published on cases addressing unique issues, all of which can be found using the search tool below. Additionally, there is a collection of articles/papers and presentations that cover a wide range of topics. Whether you’re a legal professional, business owner, or simply someone passionate about IP, our publications page will provide you with all the knowledge needed to navigate this dynamic field.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) recently sought public input into the proper interpretation the article of manufacture requirement (AoM) for design patents under 35 U.S.C. 171 (including, specifically, whether it should protect digital designs that encompass new and emerging technologies, such as projected, holographic, virtual -reality…
You are likely familiar with Pocky, a popular stick-shaped biscuit cookie dipped in chocolate. Lotte, a South Korean conglomerate, makes its own version, called Pepero. On October 8, 2020, the Third Circuit affirmed the district court’s holding that the biscuit cookie product’s design was functional, and ineligible for trademark…
Ariix, a nutritional supplement company, brought action against NutriSearch, the publisher of the NutriSearch Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements (the “Guide”), which NutriSearch expressly claims is an evidence-based comparison of nutritional supplements without any particular bias. Not so said Ariix, NutriSearch’s Guide is merely a sophisticated marketing sham designed…
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (the “PTAB”) recently held, on remand from the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the “CAFC”), that five claims of Prisua’s U.S. Patent No. 8,650,591 (directed to a system for editing a video stream; see, e.g., patent Fig. 3, below) were invalid…
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) reversed a summary judgment ruling that uCloudlink infringed Plaintiff SIMO’s patent on cell phone virtual SIM technology, finding the Southern District of New York erred in construing the term “and” to mean “and/or” to make a claim cover a disclosed…
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) recently affirmed standing to challenge a competitor’s patent based on significant investment into and likely use of a potentially infringing product. The CAFC also vacated a decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“the Board”), affirming that the standard…
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) recently issued a decision providing guidance for analyzing patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101 when a claim includes limitations directed to “printed matter.” C.R. Bard., and Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. (collectively, “Bard”), and AngioDynamics, Inc. (“AD”) are manufacturers of…
The Eastern District of Michigan granted a preliminary injunction against dental instrument supplier UL Amins Industries and Hammad Ashiq (“Defendants”) for allegedly selling counterfeit dental bur kits that infringe plaintiffs’, Versah LLC’s (“Versah”) and Huwais IP holding’s (“Huwais”), copyrights and trademarks.[1] The court decided the Plaintiffs were able to…
On December 7, 2020, Japanese-based Hamamatsu was ordered by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) to transfer ownership of their U.S. and foreign patents to Harvard University-backed SiOnyx. In light of the terms of the parties’ nondisclosure agreement (NDA), the Federal Circuit held that the lower…
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the “CAFC”) held that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (the “PTAB”) properly considered evidence submitted with the Petitioner’s reply supporting the prior art status of references relied upon in its petition for inter partes review. Thus, the CAFC upheld the…
Changing the future of Hatch-Waxman litigation, the Federal Circuit held as a matter of first impression that for purposes of venue under Hatch-Waxman Act claims, acts of infringement occur where actions related to the Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) submission occur. Thus, a plaintiff has only two options to…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the “Court”) recently reaffirmed the standard for determining whether cited prior art is “analogous.” Donner Technology, LLC (“Donner”) petitioned for inter partes review (“IPR”) of U.S. Patent No. 6,459,023 (“the ’023 patent”), challenging various claims as obvious under 35 U.S.C….
Floyd Mayweather, the infamously elusive twelve-time world champion boxer, caught a stiff jab from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board” or “TTAB”)’s rejection of his “PAST PRESENT FUTURE” (“the Mark”) on grounds that it could not function as a source identifier. The Board found that the Mark failed…
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) recently precluded the use of multiple online references in a validity challenge due to poor indexing. According to the Board, the lack of organization and search capabilities precluded these references from being deemed “publicly accessible” for use as prior art “printed…
On October 20, 2020, the Eleventh Circuit resuscitated J-B Weld’s (“J-B”) action for trade dress infringement and trade dress dilution against Gorilla Glue (“Gorilla”) by reversing the lower court’s grant of Gorilla Glue’s motion for summary judgment. The Court found that the lower court failed to discuss all of…
State and federal claims brought by various models for unauthorized use of their images in advertisements by a strip club received mixed results on cross motions for summary judgment in the District of Arizona. Plaintiffs prevailed on their state law misappropriation claim, but their state law false light claims…
Since Judge Alan Albright took the bench in the Western District of Texas in 2018, the former patent litigator’s extensive experience, as well as the rise of Austin as a tech hub, has driven patent infringement filings to that District, with 618 new patent infringement filings this year through…
On September 8, 2020, the Federal Circuit affirmed the final written decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), finding that Trans Ova failed to show that XY’s challenged patent was obvious. During oral argument on Trans Ova’s appeal, the Panel took most of the time to grill…