News & Publications

The US District Court for the Southern District of New York held that Viacom’s request for declaration of its “Double Dare” trademark was too premature to be heard, as the alleged harm from Armstrong Interactive’s trademark registration applications was too speculative.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on August 16, 2019, held that the District Court for the Northern District of California erred when it dismissed a patent infringement case based on patent ineligibility without first settling a claim construction dispute.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on August 9, 2019, held that the University of Bern, a Swiss university, could not claim sovereign immunity to stop a challenge to its patent related to the detection of a mutation in dog DNA.

The Federal Circuit on August 12, 2019, reversed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) invalidation of patent claims covering a lawnmower steering mechanism, holding that the Board’s decision was “predicated on its incorrect claim construction” of the term “mechanical control assembly.”

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on August 12, 2019, affirmed a lower court’s ruling that AT&T Mobility LLC and Ericsson Inc. didn’t infringe Iridescent Networks Inc.’s networking patent.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on August 1, 2019, held that Hylete, an athletic performance apparel company, could not undo the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s decision to reject its trademark application.

The US Patent and Trademark Office on August 2, 2019, designated two Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decisions as precedential and another as informative.

The US Patent and Trademark Office will require electronic filing for all trademark applications beginning October 5, 2019, according to a USPTO Mandate Electronic Filing for TMs published July 31, 2019. 84 Fed. Reg. 37081-37099. This new rule will apply to all users conducting business with the USPTO regarding a trademark matter.

The SDNY on July 15, 2019, granted Marvel’s motion for summary judgment in a copyright infringement suit regarding an “Iron Man 3” movie poster.

The US Patent and Trademark Office on July 31, 2019, issued a federal register notice where it proposes to adjust patent fees; specifically, making several targeted fee adjustments in addition to an approximately five percent across the board increase to the fees.