Skip to main content
Insights
Inflation Reduction Act
The Trade Secrets Bill Proceeds to the President's Desk
On April 27, the House of Representatives by a 410-2 vote passed the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), which creates a federal cause of action for trade secret misappropriation, providing trade secrets with a degree of protection akin to other...
When the Best Defense is a Federal Cause of Action: Trade Secret Owners May Soon Have a Federal Cause of Action for Trade Secret Misappropriation
Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed bill S. 1890, the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA). If enacted, the DTSA will create a federal cause of action for trade secret misappropriation, providing protection similar to that afforded...
Know Them Before They are Famous (or at least final): The Latest USPTO Proposed Rule Changes
On August 19, 2015, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) released proposed rule changes for trials before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The proposed rule changes were made in response to input solicited by the USPTO...
Supreme Court Rules that Trademark Tacking is a Question for Juries
Today, the Supreme Court unanimously held in Hana Financial v. Hana Bank, 574 U.S. ___ (2015), that trademark tacking is a question for juries. Trademark tacking, or the ability to "tack" a new mark to an older mark in order...
Supreme Court's Dual Standard of Review for Claim Construction Creates a Potential Grab Bag For Patent Litigants
The United States Supreme Court clarified yet another important standard in patent law by mandating that the Federal Circuit apply clear error review when reviewing subsidiary factfindings in patent claim construction. Teva Pharms. USA Inc., v. Sandoz, Inc. , 574...
.bank and Other Domain Names to Open for Financial Institutions... And Others
The governing body that administers the domain name space, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), is in the process of vastly expanding the number of top level domain names (like .com and .net) from less than thirty...
Supreme Court Grants Cert on Trademark "Tacking"
Last week, the Supreme Court of the United States granted a writ of certiorari in Hana Financial, Inc. v Hana Bank . The issue presented is whether trademark "tacking" is an issue of fact for a jury or an issue...
Supreme Court Effectively Shuts Down Aereo's Television Streaming Service
The Supreme Court of the United States announced an important copyright decision Wednesday in American Broadcasting Cos. v. Aereo, Inc. (573 U.S. ____ (2014)). The 6-3 decision by Justice Breyer reversing the United States Court of Appeals for the Second...
Supreme Court Rejects Generic Computer Use to Patent Abstract Ideas
To listen to the podcast, please click here . On June 19, 2014, in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International , the United States Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the ineligibility of the patent claims at issue — directed to the...
The Supreme Court's Limelight Continues to Rein in the Federal Circuit
For the second time in less than two months the Supreme Court unanimously redefines patent law by overturning a Federal Circuit case regarding induced infringement. 1 In Limelight Networks, Inc. v. Akamai Technologies, Inc. , the Supreme Court overturned an...
Protecting Yourself Against Data Breach: Don't Be a Target
To listen to the podcast, please click here . On May 5, 2014, Target Corporation Chief Executive Officer Gregg Steinhafel resigned after having been with the company for 35 years, another casualty of the massive data breach that continues to...
Echoes from the Gunn? Aggravated States and Demand Letters
To listen to the podcast, please click here . A gunshot that cracks the silence of an old west desert canyon creates an echo coming from all directions. A Supreme Court decision can make similar reverberations throughout the legal world...
What do "Abacus Guy," Mom, and Computers That Say "Stop!" Have in Common? They May be Unpatentable Abstract Ideas.
To listen to the podcast, please click here . Nine Justices of the Supreme Court and three oral advocates held over 100 spectators at bay for just over an hour as they debated—of all things—patents. Today’s case, Alice Corp. vs...
Copyright Co-Authorship: Be Prepared to Weather the Storms
To listen to the podcast, please click here . The recent Third Circuit decision in Brownstein v. Lindsay , --- F.3d ----, 2014 WL 306240 (3 rd Cir. Jan. 29, 2014) clarified important issues related to the statute of limitations...
Clash Of Titans over Biosimilars at FTC Workshop
On Tuesday, February 4, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) conducted an all-day public workshop at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. on competition issues involving biologics and biosimilars. 1 During highly informative presentations and roundtable discussions, the FTC and various stakeholders...