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Featured
Wu-Tang Trade Secret Ruling Hints At New Way To Protect Art
A New York federal judge caused a splash last week when she ruled that a one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album can constitute a trade secret, and attorneys say the surprising decision could broaden the scope of trade secret protections to cover artistic works.
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October 01, 2025
USPTO Lays Off Employees, Closes Rocky Mountain Office
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office laid off some employees Wednesday as part of a reduction-in-force that's affecting around 1% of the agency's workforce, making the move on the first day of the government shutdown, according to sources familiar with the plans.
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October 01, 2025
Ford Loses Bid To Overturn $13M Verdict In IP Dispute
A Michigan federal judge on Tuesday said he wouldn't touch a verdict awarding $13 million to a California-based vehicle technology supplier that alleged Ford Motor Co. profited from misappropriating a trade secret related to the supplier's interface module product, finding the jury had "substantial" evidence to find in favor of the tech company.
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October 01, 2025
Fed. Circ. Sends Social Media Patent Fight Back To PTAB
The Federal Circuit on Wednesday partly revived Snap's challenge to substitute claims in a You Map patent covering a way of displaying social media posts on a map, finding that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board needs to take another run at the issue.
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October 01, 2025
InterDigital Wants Disney's Video Tech Antitrust Case Tossed
Wireless technology company InterDigital Inc. has asked a Delaware federal judge to dismiss an antitrust suit brought by Disney that claims InterDigital isn't offering reasonable licenses on patents for streaming video, saying the entertainment giant's claims were either deficient or time-barred.
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October 01, 2025
4th Circ. Won't Rethink Dance Teachers' Use Of 'Inspire' Name
The Fourth Circuit has rejected a North Carolina charter school's request to reconsider blocking two former teachers from using the name "Inspire" for their dance company, dealing the school another blow in its trademark infringement and false advertising suit.
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October 01, 2025
Elf On The Shelf Maker Lands On Font Creator's Naughty List
A Wisconsin-based retro font designer has sued the company behind The Elf on the Shelf brand in Georgia federal court, accusing it of infringing copyrighted font software by using it without authorization in connection with more than 70 products.
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September 30, 2025
Banker Defamed Jack Nicklaus After Pact Ended, Jury Told
Jack Nicklaus told a Florida state court jury on Tuesday that a banker and his associates defamed him after discontinuing a 15-year business relationship, saying their public relations campaign intentionally smeared his reputation after he refused to make a deal with Saudi Arabia.
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September 30, 2025
3rd Circ. Parses 'Could' And 'Would' In Lipitor Lawsuit
A Third Circuit panel questioned Tuesday whether drug wholesalers and health plans had offered enough evidence that Pfizer Inc. and Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. conspired to delay generic competition for the cholesterol drug Lipitor, focusing on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would have approved the competitor earlier than November 2011.
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September 30, 2025
Biogen Told To Pay Genentech $88M After IP Royalties Mistrial
Biogen MA Inc. owes Genentech Inc. more than $88 million in royalties related to expired patents, a California federal judge ruled Tuesday in a rare post-mistrial verdict arrangement.
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September 30, 2025
Merrill Lynch Denied Bid To Block Rival Firm's Launch
A Georgia federal judge on Tuesday refused to grant Merrill Lynch's bid for a temporary restraining order against a dozen former employees, Charles Schwab and Dynasty Financial Partners in a case concerning an alleged attempt to start a new independent financial advisory firm with Merrill's staff and confidential information.Â
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September 30, 2025
4 Federal Circuit Clashes To Watch In October
The Federal Circuit will hear arguments next week in cases where a nearly $42 million patent win for Seagen hangs in the balance due to a later post-grant review invalidity decision and where Regenxbio is seeking to undo the invalidation of its gene therapy patent for covering a natural product.
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September 30, 2025
Fed. Circ. Largely Unravels $4M Judgment In Curtain IP Fight
The Federal Circuit overruled most of a New York federal judge's $4 million infringement judgment against two hospitality providers on Tuesday, in a multifaceted appeal over hookless shower curtains.
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September 30, 2025
Patent Owner Wants District Judge To Oversee Google IP Trial
The owner of a location tracking patent on Tuesday told the Manhattan federal court that he opposes having a magistrate judge conduct a bench trial on Google's equitable defenses to his infringement claims, saying he would invoke his Seventh Amendment rights unless the trial is heard by U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.
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September 30, 2025
Nevada Hospital Nets $510M Verdict In Staff Poaching Suit
A Nevada hospital won a jury award of more than $510 million in its lawsuit accusing Universal Health Services of raiding its staff and swiping its trade secrets during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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September 30, 2025
SEC Beats Law Prof's Suit To Protect NFTs That 'Troll' Agency
A Louisiana federal judge Tuesday permanently tossed a pre-enforcement challenge targeting the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's treatment of nonfungible tokens from a law professor and a musician who were seeking to protect projects that "troll" the SEC.
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September 30, 2025
College Athlete Advocates Join Supporters Of Senate NIL Bill
A day after three Democratic U.S. senators introduced a bill promising more protections for college athletes — including women, athletes in smaller sports and those at smaller institutions — under the new revenue-sharing rules, the proposal on Tuesday drew praise from advocates for athletes and labor, including an official from the AFL-CIO.
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September 30, 2025
Landlord Faces TM Suit Over Trump-Themed Burger Biz
The companies behind a Donald Trump-themed burger restaurant in Texas have filed a federal trademark lawsuit against their landlord, accusing him of hijacking the concept and operating the restaurant as his own establishment.
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September 30, 2025
Justices Could Enable IEEPA Taxes On Any Trade, Experts Say
If the U.S. Supreme Court decides that a president's power to regulate imports and exports under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act encompasses tariffs, a president could tax services, investments and intellectual property flowing into or out of the country, trade experts said Tuesday.
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September 30, 2025
Judge Freezes Chinese Cos.' Assets In X-Ray IP Suit
Two Chinese companies were barred from doing business in the United States and had their U.S.-based assets frozen by a Chicago federal judge until they comply with an earlier injunction order, with the judge stopping short of referring the pair and two of their executives for criminal contempt charges.
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September 30, 2025
Deel Urges Court To DQ Quinn Emanuel In Trade Secrets Fight
Payroll and human resources company Deel Inc. is urging a Delaware state court to disqualify Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP from representing its competitor Rippling in a trade secrets fight, saying its request is "a textbook case for disqualification" due to a conflict of interest.
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September 30, 2025
Law Professors, Tech Groups Back ROSS In Westlaw IP Fight
A tech startup appealing an adverse fair use ruling to the Third Circuit has received nearly a dozen briefs in support of its position that it did not infringe copyrighted material from Thomson Reuters' Westlaw platform to create a competing legal research tool driven by artificial intelligence.
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September 30, 2025
3M Wins Toss Of $1.7B Suit Over Post-It Notes IP Deal
A New York federal judge has tossed an inventor's $1.7 billion lawsuit challenging the terms of a settlement of his earlier intellectual property case against 3M over the inventorship of the Post-it note, saying his claims are barred by earlier litigation.
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September 30, 2025
Fla. Lawyer Charged With Battery While Facing Suspension
A Florida lawyer accused of scamming dozens of clients and facing emergency suspension was arrested Monday night on a domestic violence charge, a development that could hasten bar disciplinary action against him.
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September 29, 2025
Supreme Court Considers 7 Patent Petitions
The U.S. Supreme Court held its first conference Monday, presenting the justices with several petitions of interest to patent practitioners before the court's new term kicks off next week.
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September 29, 2025
Pfizer Says Drugmaker Moving Too Early On Arthritis Generic
Pfizer has asked a Delaware federal court to block generic-drug maker Prinston Pharmaceutical from moving forward with plans to sell a generic version of the arthritis drug Xeljanz that would allegedly infringe Pfizer's patent.
Editor's Picks
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2024 Patent Litigation: A Year In Review
The Eastern District of Texas held onto its newly regained title as the busiest patent venue in the U.S., with nearly three times as many cases in 2024 as the once-dominant Western District of Texas. In addition, Patent Trial and Appeal Board filings bounced back after falling to a record low in 2023.
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My So-Called Retirement: Some IP Lawyers Just Can't Quit
When patent partner Terry Rea set out to retire, the onetime acting director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had her eyes on the independence that retirement promises — flexible hours, fewer deadlines and less stress over having lots of people counting on you.
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Trade Secrets Emerge As Path For Cos. To Protect AI Works
Classifying creations of artificial intelligence tools as trade secrets has become a viable alternative to copyrights and patents — a shift that is presenting businesses using AI with a range of strategies and risks they must consider to protect their innovations.
Expert Analysis
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Female Athletes' NIL Deal Challenge Could Be Game Changer
A challenge by eight female athletes to the NCAA’s $2.8 billion name, image and likeness settlement shows that women in sports are still fighting for their share — not just of money, but of respect, resources and representation, says Madilynne Lee at Anderson Kill.
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What Ethics Rules Say On Atty Discipline For Online Speech
Though law firms are free to discipline employees for their online commentary about Charlie Kirk or other social media activity, saying crude or insensitive things on the internet generally doesn’t subject attorneys to professional discipline under the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, says Stacie H. Rosenzweig at Halling & Cayo.
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Kimmel 2nd Circ. Victory Holds Novel Copyright Lessons
The Second Circuit's recent decision in Santos v. Kimmel, dismissing a copyright infringement claim against Kimmel for airing Cameo videos recorded by former U.S. Rep George Santos, examines the unusual situation of copyrighted works created at the request of the alleged infringer, say attorneys at Venable.
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Junior Attys Must Beware Of 5 Common Legal Brief Mistakes
Excerpt from
Junior law firm associates must be careful to avoid five common pitfalls when drafting legal briefs — from including every possible argument to not developing a theme — to build the reputation of a sought-after litigator, says James Argionis at Cozen O'Connor.
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Demystifying Generative AI For The Modern Juror
In cases alleging that the training of artificial intelligence tools violated copyright laws, successful outcomes may hinge in part on the litigator's ability to clearly present AI concepts through a persuasive narrative that connects with ordinary jurors, say Liz Babbitt at IMS Legal Strategies and Devon Madon at GlobalLogic.
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Series
Power To The Paralegals: How And Why Training Must Evolve
Empowering paralegals through new models of education that emphasize digital fluency, interdisciplinary collaboration and human-centered lawyering could help solve workforce challenges and the justice gap — if firms, educators and policymakers get on board, say Kristine Custodio Suero and Kelli Radnothy.
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Series
Playing Softball Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My time on the softball field has taught me lessons that also apply to success in legal work — on effective preparation, flexibility, communication and teamwork, says Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty.
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And Now A Word From The Panel: Choosing MDL Venues
One of the most interesting yet least predictable facets of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation's practice is venue — namely where the panel decides to place a new MDL proceeding — and its choices reflect the tension between neutrality and case-specific factors, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.
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Fed. Circ. In August: A Framework For AIA Derivation Disputes
In Global Health Solutions v. Selner, the Federal Circuit established how to assess derivation challenges under the America Invents Act's first-to-file system, making it easier for petitioners to determine a challenge's odds of success, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.
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USPTO's Track One A Reliable Patent Pathway Amid Backlog
As the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office faces a backlog of unexamined utility, plant and reissue patent applications, patent applicants should consider utilizing the USPTO's Track One Program, which not only expedites the process but also increases the likelihood of working with more senior examiners, says Ryan Schermerhorn at Marshall Gerstein.
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How New Rule On Illustrative Aids Is Faring In Federal Courts
In the 10 months since new standards were codified for illustrative aids in federal trials, courts have already begun to clarify the rule's application in different contexts and the rule's boundaries, say attorneys at Bernstein Litowitz.
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What Novel NIL Suit Reveals About College Sports Landscape
A first-of-its-kind name, image and likeness lawsuit — recently filed in Wisconsin state court by the University of Wisconsin-Madison against the University of Miami — highlights new challenges and risks following the NCAA’s landmark agreement to allow schools to make NIL deals and share revenue with student-athletes, say attorneys at O'Melveny.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Time Management
Law students typically have weeks or months to prepare for any given deadline, but the unpredictability of practicing in the real world means that lawyers must become time-management pros, ready to adapt to scheduling conflicts and unexpected assignments at any given moment, says David Thomas at Honigman.
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How Hyperlinks Are Changing E-Discovery Responsibilities
A recent e-discovery dispute over hyperlinked data in Hubbard v. Crow shows how courts have increasingly broadened the definition of control to account for cloud-based evidence, and why organizations must rethink preservation practices to avoid spoliation risks, says Bree Murphy at Exterro.
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Beaming Up Lessons From William Shatner's Failed Patent Bid
In a tale that boldly goes where few celebrity inventors have gone before, William Shatner's unsuccessful attempt to patent a smartphone file organization system offers insights about potential pitfalls to avoid in patent applications, say attorneys at King & Spalding.