News

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The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on March 23, 2020, denied a petition for a full-court rehearing of its Arthrex Inc. v. Smith and Nephew, Inc. decision.

The US Supreme Court on March 23, 2020, ruled that state institutions can’t be sued for copyright infringement, in a case stemming from the use of videos and images featuring the wreck of Blackbeard’s ship, Queen Anne’s Revenge.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on March 13, 2020, overturned the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) unpatentability determination for a nail-fungus treatment patent.

The Fourth Circuit on March 12, 2020, affirmed a North Carolina District Court’s grant of two complementary injunctions granted to protect SAS Institute Inc.'s $79.1 million copyright infringement win against “collateral attacks” on the judgment in UK court.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on March 9, 2020, held that the opening guitar riff in Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” didn’t infringe another band’s copyright.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office on March 16, 2020, announced that it will be closing all USPTO facilities to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The US Patent and Trademark Office has announced that examiner and examining attorney interviews, Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) oral hearings, and other similar in-person meetings with parties and stakeholders scheduled to take place at USPTO offices on or after Friday, March 13, 2020 will be conducted remotely by video or telephone.

The US Patent and Trademark Office is seeking nominations for the 2020 National Medal of Technology and Innovation (NMTI).

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on March 6, 2020, upheld Dish Network Corp.‘s win over portions of two patents related to storing personalized ad data on a set-top box.

The US Patent and Trademark Office is hosting another China IP Road Show on March 19, 2020, in Minneapolis, MN.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on March 2, 2020, held that two inventors misinformed the US Patent and Trademark Office with the help of Cantor Colburn LLP.

Loeb & Loeb LLP is entitled to collect $450,000 in attorney’s fees, costs, and Rule 11 sanctions for having successfully defended hip hop group Migos against an unreasonable copyright infringement claim centered around lyrics in their song “Walk It Talk It,” the US District Court for the Southern District of New York said.

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Commissioner for Patents Drew Hirshfeld has named Valencia Martin Wallace Deputy Commissioner for International Patent Cooperation (OIPC), effective March 1.

On March 3, 2020, AIPLA Executive Director Lisa K. Jorgenson helped kick off the 2020 Women's Entrepreneurship Symposium.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on February 25, 2020, affirmed the invalidation of Collabo Innovation Inc.’s imaging device patent.

The Federal Circuit on February 21, 2020, held that a challenge to parts of Spin Master Ltd.'s patent covering its line of Bakugan transforming robot toys was properly rejected by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on February 20, 2020, affirmed the district court’s award of $6.75 million to a group of artists under the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 after a Queens, New York, developer intentionally whitewashed over their graffiti.

On February 26, 2020, AIPLA Executive Director Lisa K. Jorgenson traveled to her home state of Texas and spoke to the University of Houston Intellectual Property Student Organization on the benefits of joining AIPLA!

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on February 19, 2020, affirmed a $28 million reduction in Arctic Cat Inc.'s $46 million judgment in a patent dispute with Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. because Arctic Cat didn’t mark its personal watercraft steering control patents.