This week, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) affirmed the invalidity of Polaris Innovations Ltd.’s (“Polaris”) previously-invalidated patents, despite previously vacating and remanding the invalidity decisions. In February of 2017, NVIDIA Corporation (“NVIDIA”) initiated two inter partes review (“IPR”)…
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.
On September 7, 2022, the Federal Circuit (CAFC) affirmed dismissal of a patent infringement suit under the duplicative litigation doctrine because the asserted patent and accused products were part of an earlier filed case. Arendi S.A.R.L. (“Arendi”) filed suit against LG Electronics Inc. and LG Electronics USA, Inc. (collectively,…
Pointing to domain registration, hosting services, website compliance terms, and U.S. based users of a Hong Kong company’s internet business, the Ninth Circuit reversed dismissal of a Japanese company’s copyright suit for a lack of personal jurisdiction. This precedential decision provides guidance regarding what constitutes sufficient jurisdictional contacts to…
On August 23, 2022, the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) rejected an attack on the Alice/Mayo patent eligibility framework (“Alice/Mayo”), finding it was sufficiently defined based on judicial precedent to be usable in practice, was not arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) as the APA does not apply…
On July 13, 2022, the Ninth Circuit held that art editor Alan Wofsy’s use of copyrighted photographs in his series of books documenting Picasso’s artwork titled, The Picasso Project, was not protected by fair use. The copyrighted works at issue were photographs of the works of Pablo Picasso taken…
On July 1, 2022, the Western District of Washington granted a motion for a preliminary injunction sought by Bungie, the owner of the popular video game “Destiny 2,” to stop certain cheat software created for the game from being transferred from the defendant in the case to an international,…
On June 29, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) reversed the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s (“TTAB”) decision to cancel the U.S. registrations owned by beverage company Meenaxi Enterprise, Inc. because Coca-Cola, the challenger, did not have statutory standing. This case involves…
On June 13th, the District Court of Maryland protected publishers’ rights to control the distribution of their literary works when it declared unconstitutional a Maryland statute that requires publishers to license their electronic literary products, such as e-books and audiobooks, to Maryland public libraries. The statute states in part…
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) recently backed a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) decision sustaining Barclays’ opposition to Tiger Lily’s attempted registration of a satirical LEHMAN BROTHERS mark for bar and restaurant services (in particular, for whiskey), and sunk Tiger Lily’s opposition of Barclays’ claim to the original…
On June 3, 2022, the CAFC held that reliance on an “obvious minor clerical error” within a claim is not a defense to willful infringement. CATR Co. sued Kingston Technology Co. (“Kingston”) for infringement of U.S. Patent No. 6,926,544 (“the ’544 Patent”) in the Central District of California (“the…
In this appeal of an inter partes review (“IPR”) by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”), the CAFC upheld the PTAB’s decision that the term “self-similar” in a substitute claim 57[1] of U.S. Patent No. 9,565,493 (the “‘493 Patent”) was not indefinite, among other issues. The ‘493 Patent…
In late 2019, Mitek Systems, Inc. (“Mitek”) filed for a declaratory judgment (DJ) that it did not infringe four USAA check imaging patents. Following a transfer from the N.D. Cal. to the E.D. Tex., the district court dismissed the suit for a lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The district…
In 2014, Toyo Tire Corporation (“Toyo”) brought a trade dress infringement lawsuit against Atturo Tire Corporation (“Atturo”). Atturo alleged seven counterclaims based on actions Toyo took in an investigation brought before the United States International Trade Commission (“ITC”). Specifically, those counterclaims stemmed from allegedly defamatory statements made during settlement…
On April 29, 2022, the CAFC vacated an inter partes review decision, where the Patent Trial and Appeal Board refused to invalidate Intuitive Surgical Operation, Inc. (“Intuitive”)’s patent, related to instrument swapping in robotic surgery systems, as obvious. The Board determined that Auris Health Inc. (Auris)’s asserted prior art…
In a design patent infringement dispute between California Costume Collections, Inc. (“CCC”) and Pandaloon, LLC (“Pandaloon”), Judge Holcomb of Central District of California granted Pandaloon’s motion to dismiss CCC’s claim that U.S. Design Patent No. D806,325 (“the ’325 patent”) for a “Pet Costume” was unenforceable due to inequitable conduct….
While a website owner may not want competitors scraping information from their system, it may not be a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) unless the website owner has “gates-up.” The Ninth Circuit recently upheld a preliminary injunction preventing LinkedIn Corp (“LinkedIn”) from denying hiQ Labs,…
In a decision designated precedential on March 29, the USPTO refused to grant Jasmin Larian trade dress protection for her popular handbag design because the design was generic and nondistinctive. But, the USPTO granted somebody else a design patent claiming that same bag design on an application filed months after Larian’s trade dress…
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California (“the Court”) recently granted Google’s motion to dismiss Sonos’ claims for willful and indirect infringement for insufficient pleading. In doing so, the Court made the unusual move of sua sponte certifying its decision for interlocutory review. Regarding willful…
In a trademark infringement dispute between Bluetooth and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (“FCA”), the Ninth Circuit vacated the District Court for the Western District of Washington’s order granting partial summary judgment that the first sale doctrine did not apply to the Bluetooth’s trademark claims. Instead, the Ninth Circuit found that…