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Mealey's Intellectual Property

  • August 19, 2025

    Federal Judge Again Finds Contempt In Long-Running Jarred Sauce Trademark Row

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge held the owners of a city pizzeria named Patsy’s Pizzeria and their counsel in contempt in a long-simmering trademark infringement dispute over packaged sauces launched in 1999 by another New York restaurant, Patsy’s Italian Restaurant, after they again violated an injunction by applying for “Patsy’s” marks.

  • August 19, 2025

    Federal Judge: Tech Company Didn’t Support Trademark Claims Against Meta

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted a motion for summary judgment from Meta Platforms Inc., finding that plaintiff Metabyte Inc. failed to provide evidence of confusion in support of its trademark infringement claims it brought against the social media company after it changed its name from Facebook Inc.

  • August 18, 2025

    9th Circuit Affirms Quashing Of Subpoena For ISP Customers In Piracy Row

    SAN FRANCISCO — On a matter of first impression, Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Aug. 15 that an internet service provider (ISP) acting only as a “conduit” for the infringement of copyrighted materials cannot be forced by a clerk-issued subpoena to provide the identities of subscribers who used torrenting software under a section of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

  • August 18, 2025

    PTAB Right To Invalidate Data Download Patent, Federal Circuit Holds

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a finding by the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) invalidating all claims of a patent related to data downloads in an inter partes review (IPR) sought by Apple Inc., agreeing with arguments made by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) as an intervenor after Apple withdrew from the appeal.

  • August 18, 2025

    Class Responds To Anthropic, Amici’s Attempt At Immediate Appeal

    SAN FRANCISCO — A class of copyright holders told the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in opposition to artificial intelligence company Anthropic PBC’s petition for an immediate appeal of a class certification ruling that summary judgment in the case left only allegations that Anthropic PBC pirated and retained works en masse and that any claim that a verdict would be a death knell for the company is undercut by an agreement to cap the appellate bond at $5 billion.

  • August 15, 2025

    Getty Images Dismisses AI Copyright Suit With Intent To Refile In California

    WILMINGTON, Del. — Getty Images (US) Inc. on Aug. 14 notified a federal judge in Delaware that it was seeking voluntary dismissal of its artificial intelligence copyright suit without prejudice so that it may refile the action in a California federal court where Stability AI Ltd. argued the case properly belonged.

  • August 15, 2025

    Federal Circuit Revives Haptic Patent Suit Against Apple After Judgment

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel vacated a California federal judge’s grant of summary judgment in Apple Inc.’s favor on infringement allegations regarding patents for haptic feedback on devices, finding that the judge abused his discretion by striking the patent owner’s expert testimony and erred by importing narrowing claim limitations not supported by the evidence.

  • August 15, 2025

    2nd Circuit Affirms Co-Ownership Of ‘Zioness’ Mark, Vacates Fee Denial

    NEW YORK — A panel in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a federal jury’s finding that two pro-Zionist advocacy groups were the co-owners of the trademark “Zioness,” holding that sufficient evidence supported a finding that there was overlap of use of the mark before its registration.

  • August 15, 2025

    USAA Tells High Court Federal Circuit Affirmed Arbitrary IPR Ruling

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) tells the U.S. Supreme Court that the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals wrongly affirmed the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) finding that its mobile banking patents are invalid; USAA argues in its petition for a writ of certiorari that PTAB acted arbitrarily given opposite decisions regarding its patents on materially similar issues in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings sought by different petitioners.

  • August 14, 2025

    Federal Circuit Reverses Jury’s Infringement Finding In DNA Sequencing Kit Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Aug. 13 reversed a Delaware federal jury’s finding that a genetic sequencing kit-maker infringed a competitor’s patents and owed $4.7 million in damages; the panel held that no reasonable jury could have found that the accused product met multiple specifications of the patents at issue.

  • August 14, 2025

    Texas Federal Judge Rejects Fees For Microsoft After Patent Judgment

    AUSTIN, Texas — A federal judge in Texas denied Microsoft Corp.’s motion for attorney fees in a patent infringement suit filed against it, despite a federal magistrate judge’s recommendation that Microsoft’s motion be partially granted; the judge disagreed with the magistrate judge’s assessment that the plaintiff company’s post-discovery conduct did not justify finding that the case was “exceptional.”

  • August 13, 2025

    Anthropic, Amici Ask 9th Circuit For Review Of Class, Fair Use Rulings

    SAN FRANCISCO — A ruling denying summary judgment on claims that Anthropic PBC pirated and kept copyrighted works and a second one certifying a class of potentially impacted copyright holders is replete with individuality issues and notice manageability problems and the rushed class ruling prematurely forces the company to grapple with the possibility of billions of dollars in business-ruining damages, the company and various amici curiae tell a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel in seeking immediate appeal.

  • August 13, 2025

    E-Cig Maker To High Court: Federal Circuit Gets Patent Damages Wrong

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Electronic cigarette maker R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. (RJR) tells the U.S. Supreme Court in a petition for a writ of certiorari that the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ affirmation of a jury’s award of more than $95 million in damages for infringing on another company’s tobacco pod technology conflicts with Supreme Court precedent on the apportionment of damages in patent infringement cases.

  • August 13, 2025

    ‘Space Force’ Mark Applicant Takes Rejection To High Court, Citing Loper

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals inappropriately deferred to the interpretation used by the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of a section of the Lanham Act when affirming the TTAB’s rejection of an attorney’s application for a mark on US SPACE FORCE filed only days after President Donald J. Trump’s first proposals regarding the branch, the attorney told the U.S. Supreme Court in a petition for a writ of certiorari.

  • August 12, 2025

    Federal Circuit Revives Dumbbell Patent Row, Reversing Invalidity

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Aug. 11 that a federal judge in Utah was wrong to find that a patent was directed to an abstract idea, conflating a “rather simple mechanical invention” for stacking dumbbells with the kind of computerized automation that is often unpatentable as abstract.

  • August 12, 2025

    Federal Circuit Affirms PTAB’s Invalidation Of Bone Plate Patent Claims

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) correctly invalidated all challenged claims in two related inter partes review (IPR) proceedings, a panel in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held, affirming PTAB’s finding that the claims in the patents relate to bone plates for certain types of foot surgery.

  • August 12, 2025

    Judge Won’t Stay AI Case While Anthropic Appeals Class Cert, Fair Use Rulings

    SAN FRANCISCO — Any appeal by Anthropic PBC of a ruling rejecting fair use defenses for pirating copyrighted works or granting class certification should involve a full record, and to the extent going to trial financially threatens the artificial intelligence company, that reality would be the outcome of its own conduct, a federal judge in California said Aug. 11 in declining to stay the case pending appeal.

  • August 11, 2025

    Federal Circuit Reverses Jury’s Finding That LG Infringed Display Unit Patent

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Aug. 8 reversed a New Jersey federal jury’s finding of willful infringement, holding that LG Electronics Inc. and a related entity successfully showed that two claims of the patent at issue were invalid for lack of an adequate written description because the patent’s specification does not claim possession of a disputed claim limitation.

  • August 11, 2025

    Split 5th Circuit Affirms Fee Denial To Game Makers In Wrestler’s Copyright Suit

    NEW ORLEANS — A split Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel disagreed on whether a retired professional wrestler’s copyright infringement suit against several video game companies was objectively unreasonable, with the majority ultimately determining that a Texas federal judge did not abuse discretion in denying attorney fees to the gaming entities after a jury found no infringement of the wrestler’s comic book character by the game makers.

  • August 08, 2025

    Federal Circuit: PTAB’s Reasoning Not Specific Enough In X-Ray Security IPR

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Aug. 7 that the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) did not adequately explain its finding that a patent related to an X-ray system for scanning cargo containers was rendered anticipated and obvious by prior art references, vacating and remanding for further proceedings.

  • August 08, 2025

    Kanye West Says More Sanctions Not Needed In Copyright Infringement Suit

    LOS ANGELES — Kanye West tells a California federal court that further sanctions are unnecessary in a copyright infringement suit involving accusations he lifted samples for songs on his album “Donda,” disagreeing with an artist revenue entity’s assertion that a deposition shows that West and business entities associated with him had made false statements about discovery to the court.

  • August 08, 2025

    Federal Circuit: TTAB Should Have Found Drink Mark Similar To Sunkist’s Mark

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) incorrectly held that two marks for soft drinks that both involve the word “Kist” are unlikely to be confused, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held, reversing in favor of Sunkist Growers Inc.

  • August 07, 2025

    Judge Says Plaintiff Entity Can’t Show It Used Indian Political Mark First

    DALLAS — A Texas federal judge held that a plaintiff organization based in Texas that supports a political party in India cannot show that it claims priority to its name, agreeing that the defendant entity used its “nearly identical” name before the plaintiff entity came into existence.

  • August 06, 2025

    Federal Circuit Largely OKs Rejection Of Petitioner’s Arguments In Electrical IPRs

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Aug. 5 that the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) did not fully consider an inter partes review (IPR) petitioner’s obviousness arguments due to an incorrect analysis of a prior art combination in a patent dispute involving an electrical safety device.

  • August 06, 2025

    Federal Judge Reverses TTAB’s Finding That Apple AR Trademarks Are Descriptive

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A Virginia federal judge ordered the registration of Apple Inc.’s proposed trademarks “Reality Composer” and “Reality Converter” for augmented reality (AR) products, finding that the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) incorrectly held that the proposed marks were merely descriptive and thus not trademark eligible.