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Mealey's Intellectual Property

  • February 27, 2026

    U.S. Government Moves To Participate In ‘Skinny Label’ High Court Arguments

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States government on Feb. 25 filed a motion to participate in oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court when it considers arguments from a bioequivalent pharmaceutical maker that a patent holder’s complaint failed to state a claim for induced infringement because the “skinny label” generic version of the patent carved out the patented cardiovascular use of the drug; the government’s motion was filed a day after it filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the petitioner entity.

  • February 27, 2026

    Federal Circuit Rejects Comcast’s Call To Rethink Transferring Patent Case Venue

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The full Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected a request from Comcast Cable Communications LLC and a related entity (collectively, Comcast) to reconsider a December order denying its petition for a writ of mandamus that would force a patent suit brought against it to be transferred from a Texas federal court to one in Pennsylvania.

  • February 26, 2026

    Hayes Estate And Trump Settle Copyright Claims Over Campaign Use Of Soul Song

    ATLANTA — The estate of soul musician Isaac Hayes and other associated entities have settled their dispute with President Donald J. Trump and his 2024 election campaign over the alleged infringement of the Hayes-written song “Hold On, I’m Comin’,” and the parties stipulated to the dismissal of the complaint in a Georgia federal court with prejudice.

  • February 26, 2026

    Split Federal Circuit Affirms PTAB Rejection Of Tesla’s Challenge To EV Patent

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A split Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel said in a Feb. 25 opinion that it agreed with the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) that Tesla Inc. failed to show that certain claims in another company’s patent on a system of charging electric vehicles were unpatentable as obvious.

  • February 25, 2026

    Federal Circuit Finds Another AI Patent Directed At Abstract Concepts

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a New York federal judge’s decision to grant summary judgment in favor of Amazon.com Inc. on claims brought by a technology company that accused Amazon of infringing its patent on a type of machine learning; the panel agreed in its Feb. 24 opinion that the plaintiff-appellant’s patent claims were ineligible as abstract.

  • February 25, 2026

    High Court Won’t Consider Claim Constructions In Network Speed IPRs

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a patent holder’s petition for a writ of certiorari, leaving in place an August Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals opinion that affirmed eight inter partes review (IPR) decisions made by the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB); the Federal Circuit found that substantial evidence supported the board’s constructions of disputed claim terms in its consideration of patents describing a system for improving network communication speed.

  • February 25, 2026

    Judge Says Nvidia May Not Avoid Discovery While Court Considers Stay

    OAKLAND, Calif. — Nvidia Corp. must engage in written discovery stemming from an amended complaint expanding the universe of copyright material it allegedly used in the training of its artificial intelligence while the court considers both a motion to dismiss and a motion to stay discovery pending the resolution of the first motion.

  • February 24, 2026

    5th Circuit: Texas Federal Judge Failed To Explain Fees In Copyright Case

    NEW ORLEANS — While a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel rejected plaintiff-appellants’ arguments that a Texas federal judge lacked jurisdiction to enter attorney fees in a copyright row after the Fifth Circuit had already affirmed an earlier finding that the parties would bear their own fees and costs, the panel also found that the judge failed to provide a lodestar analysis to explain the $500,000 awarded in attorney fees.

  • February 23, 2026

    Federal Circuit: Host Cell In Patent Not Naturally Occurring, Judgment Reversed

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Delaware federal judge wrongly concluded that a patent’s claims involving genetically engineered cultured host cells containing a recombinant nucleic acid molecule were directed to a natural phenomenon, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Feb. 20.

  • February 23, 2026

    Supreme Court Won’t Consider App Maker’s Claim 9th Circuit Got Mark Row Wrong

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 23 rejected an app maker’s argument that the Ninth Circuit U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals erred when it held that factors “overwhelmingly” favored a finding that Peloton Interactive Inc.’s “Peloton Bike+” was not likely to be confused with the petitioner’s mobile app called “Bike+.”

  • February 23, 2026

    High Court Rejects Comcast’s Challenge To Federal Circuit Patent Ruling

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 23 denied Comcast Cable Communications LLC’s petition for a writ of certiorari in which the cable giant argued that the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals was wrong to vacate a Florida federal judge’s judgment of noninfringement in its favor, contending that the finding was based on deciding sua sponte a nonjurisdictional issue that was deliberately waived by the patent holder.

  • February 23, 2026

    2nd Circuit Revives Photographer’s Shutterstock Suit For DMCA Safe Harbor Questions

    NEW YORK — While a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel agreed with a New York federal judge’s dismissal of a photographer’s copyright management information (CMI) claims against Shutterstock Inc., the panel also held that factual disputes remain as to whether Shutterstock is protected from infringement claims by the safe harbor provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

  • February 20, 2026

    Federal Circuit: Judge Rightly Excluded Expert From Input Patent Row

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A plaintiff-appellant and its expert witness failed to grapple with some of the key claim limitations in their infringement analysis, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Feb. 19, affirming a Delaware federal judge’s grant of summary judgment of noninfringement on claims challenging some of the PlayStation line of video game consoles.

  • February 20, 2026

    2nd Circuit Affirms Fees To Be Paid By Plaintiff In Tossed Rap Copyright Fight

    NEW YORK — In a summary order issued Feb. 19, a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel saw no abuse of discretion in a New York federal judge’s holding that a musician who sued rapper Donald Glover, who performs as Childish Gambino, of copying elements of his song in Glover’s 2018 hit “This Is America” owes the rapper and other defendant entities more than $286,000.

  • February 19, 2026

    Petitioner Tells High Court ‘Skinny Label’ Patent Ruling Could ‘Swallow’ Carve-Out

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In its Feb. 18 merits brief before the U.S. Supreme Court, a bioequivalent pharmaceutical maker argues that a patent holder’s complaint failed to state a claim for induced infringement because the “skinny label” generic version of the patent carved out the patented cardiovascular use of the drug.

  • February 19, 2026

    Jury Finds In Valve’s Favor On All Counts In ‘Patent Troll’ Case

    SEATTLE — A federal jury in Washington held that video game entity Valve Corp. showed that a claim of a patent held by an entity Valve called a “patent troll” was invalid and that the defendant entities’ breach of contract was material; the jury found Valve is owed nearly $160,000 in damages.

  • February 19, 2026

    9th Circuit: Dances In Workout Videos Not Protectible Under Copyright

    SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a California federal judge’s decision to grant summary judgment in favor of defendant entities accused of copying dance routines seen in workout videos; the panel held that the dances represent a functional fitness method and not a copyrightable expression of choreography.

  • February 18, 2026

    Federal Circuit Emphasizes Court’s Gatekeeping Role In Affirming Patent Verdict

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Feb. 17 affirmed a Minnesota federal judge’s denial of defendant-appellants’ requests for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) or for a new trial on damages; the panel emphasized that its role on appeal was to determine whether the jury had substantial evidence to support its findings, not to reweigh that evidence.

  • February 17, 2026

    Willful Infringement, Enhanced Damages Affirmed In Current Converter Patent Fight

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Feb. 13 affirmed a Texas federal jury’s finding that a defendant-appellant electronics manufacturer willfully infringed two claims of another entity’s patent on direct current to direct current (DC-DC) converters; the panel said substantial evidence supported both the jury’s finding and subsequent enhanced damages and attorney fees.

  • February 13, 2026

    Judge: Counterclaimant In Trademark Suit Can’t Claim Tortious Interference

    TRENTON, N.J. — In a dispute over a trademark on the word “Pearly,” a New Jersey federal judge dismissed a tortious interference counterclaim because the claim was barred by New Jersey’s litigation privileges; the judge held that the defendant entities’ remaining counterclaims survived the motion to dismiss.

  • February 13, 2026

    Judge Grants Alternative Service Motion In Star Trek E-Commerce Trademark Dispute

    MIAMI — A Florida federal judge on Feb. 12 granted CBS’s motion for alternative service of process in a trademark infringement suit against an alleged Singapore-based e-commerce retailer accused of infringement regarding Star Trek intellectual property rights, finding that alternative service through email and website posting will reasonably provide the retailer an opportunity to respond to the suit.

  • February 12, 2026

    Trademark Dilution Claim Stripped From Band Rights Dispute As Judge Adopts Report

    MIAMI — A federal judge in Florida adopted a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation and granted summary judgment to a plaintiff Venezuelan musician on a record label’s counterclaim of state-level trademark dilution in a battle that began with the musician’s allegation that multiple music companies illegally uploaded his music to online streaming platforms.

  • February 12, 2026

    Federal Judge Remands Rolling Paper Trademark Case To California State Court

    LOS ANGELES — A California judge remanded a tobacco company’s trademark complaint against entities it said sold counterfeit products to California state court, agreeing with the plaintiff entity that its claims did not sound in federal trademark law, only state and common law.

  • February 12, 2026

    Judge Defaults Trademark Defendant For Counsel’s Repeated Citations To Fake Cases

    NEW YORK — In a dispute arising from the theft and resale of trademarked children’s toys, a New York federal judge issued case-terminating sanctions by issuing a default order against one of the defendant entities after its counsel was repeatedly chastised by the court for filing briefs riddled with false citations generated via artificial intelligence.

  • February 11, 2026

    Ballistic Armor Patent Preamble Was Limiting, Federal Circuit Agrees

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Maryland federal judge correctly granted summary judgment of noninfringement in a patent dispute over a technology for ballistic armor panels, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed Feb. 10, because the plaintiff entity failed to show that the accused product met properly construed claim limitations.