Supreme Court Upholds Lanham Act Claim in Juice Wars
August 02, 2014
Pomegranate juice is the subject of an intense legal battle between POM Wonderful and Coca-Cola Co. In its Lanham Act challenge, POM alleges that Coke's juice product's name, label, marketing and advertising mislead consumers into thinking the product is mostly a pomegranate and blueberry juice when it in fact is mostly apple and grape juice.
S. Ct. Resolves 'Raging' Debate Over the Use of the Laches Defense
July 02, 2014
The Supreme Court in <i>Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.</i>, recently resolved a split amongst the circuit courts in a 6-3 decision, holding that the equitable doctrine of laches could not be invoked to preclude a claim for damages within the statute of limitations for copyright cases.
Supreme Court Mandates More Patent Claim Clarity
July 02, 2014
In <i>Nautilus, Inc. v. Biosig Instruments, Inc.</i>, a unanimous Supreme Court held that the test for patent claim definiteness in 35 U.S.C. '112, '2 (2006) "require[s] that a patent's claims, viewed in light of the specification and prosecution history, inform those skilled in the art about the scope of the invention with reasonable certainty."
IP News
July 02, 2014
Patent Co-Owners Cannot Be Involuntarily Joined as Parties <br>IPR Procedural Right to Appeal Does Not Grant Art. III Standing<br>Federal Circuit: <i>Suprema v. ITC</i> to Be Reheard <i>En Banc</i> by the Federal Circuit
On the Move
June 02, 2014
Who's doing what; who's going where.
Litigating Trade Secret Claims
June 02, 2014
Employees escape with valuable information every day, resulting in substantial, sometimes devastating losses to employers. Here's what employers need to know.
<i>Gilead Sciences, Inc. v. Natco Pharma Ltd. </i>
June 02, 2014
Upon issuance, can a later-issued (but earlier-expiring) patent qualify as a double patenting reference against an already issued (but later-expiring) commonly owned patent of the same inventor? In Gilead Sciences, the Federal Circuit held that it could.
Intent to Use
June 02, 2014
Bona fide intent was given new meaning by the TTAB. <i>Lincoln National Corporation v. Anderson,</i> exemplifies an apparent trend of the TTAB requiring greater proof of an applicant's "intent" as a jurisdictional prerequisite for filing an application or face a finding that the application is void <i>ab initio.</i> This is the paradigm of the "ticking time bomb" trademark nightmare with a very long fuse.
The ITC Is Dead, Long Live the ITC
June 02, 2014
In the last decade, the ITC has been an increasingly popular forum for litigating IP rights, largely because it offers a quick and forceful remedy in the form of an exclusion order, which can exclude infringing products from the U.S. market. In recent months, several important decisions have caused some to question the continuing vitality of the ITC as forum.
