Intellectual Property Law

Dickstein Shapiro Faces $250M Suit Claiming Botched Patent Application

Encyclopaedia Britannica has filed a $250 million malpractice suit against Dickstein Shapiro that alleges the law firm mishandled the company’s patents. The suit contends the law firm’s errors caused Encyclopaedia Britannica to lose a $250 million patent infringement case filed against GPS manufacturers, the National Law Journal reports. Encyclopaedia Britannica…

Mar 22, 2010 1:58 PM CDT

Pay-for-Delay Ban Left Out of Health Care Bill

A patent law change that would have banned so-called pay-for-delay patent deals was not included in the landmark health-care reform bill approved Sunday evening. The historic legislation creates “a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s health care system” and requires most Americans to have health insurance, the New York Times reports.…

Mar 22, 2010 11:38 AM CDT

Google: Viacom Uploaded to YouTube While Complaining About Infringement

In the opening briefs in a case between two media giants that is widely seen as a critical test of the Digital Milennium Copyright Act, each side accuses the other of playing dirty pool in a battle to call the winning shots concerning the use of video materials in the…

Mar 18, 2010 7:51 PM CDT

Partner Proclaims Victory Despite Dismissal of Law Firm’s Google Adwords Suit

A Connecticut judge has dismissed an advertising complaint brought against Google by a New Haven personal injury firm, agreeing with the Internet search engine giant that the lawsuit should have been pursued in federal court rather than state court. But partner Michael Stratton of Stratton Faxon is proclaiming victory even…

Mar 17, 2010 8:31 PM CDT

Fish & Richardson, Leason Ellis Hire Lawyers from Dissolving IP Boutique

Five lawyers from the dissolving law firm Darby & Darby have found a new home at another intellectual property law firm, Fish & Richardson. Former Darby partners S. Peter Ludwig and Robert Sullivan are joining Fish & Richardson’s New York office, and bringing a team of three other lawyers with…

Mar 17, 2010 2:06 PM CDT

Can Antitrust Law Save the American Farmer? Holder Pledges Scrutiny

Attorney General Eric Holder told Iowa farmers at a public forum Friday that he is working with federal agricultural officials to scrutinize anti-competitive practices that affect farmers. About 500 people attended the meeting, including farmers and public relations executives for Monsanto, said to be under investigation already for its practices…

Mar 15, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

IP Boutique Darby & Darby Is Shutting Its Doors

Intellectual property boutique Darby & Darby is closing. “It is with a heavy heart that we announce that after more than 100 years in continuous operation, Darby & Darby will begin the process of winding down the firm in anticipation of an orderly dissolution,” the law firm said in a…

Mar 12, 2010 4:10 PM CST

Ex-Model Files $10M Suit for Comedy Film’s ‘Lascivious Use’ of Her Photo

A former model who says she was horrified to learn her photo was used as a “masturbatory prop” in the comedy Couples Retreat has sued the movie makers for $10 million. The suit by Irina Krupnik says she didn’t learn of the “lascivious use of her photo” until after the…

Mar 12, 2010 2:11 PM CST

Xerox Enlisting Hollywood in Fight Against ‘Genericide’ with Ad

Xerox Corp. has a message, and it hopes that those who write screenplays will read it. The maker of copy machines asks in an ad it took out in The Hollywood Reporter to “use Xerox only as an adjective to identify our products and services, such as Xerox copiers, not…

Mar 11, 2010 3:34 PM CST

Harvard Law Prof Is Helping to Draft Fashion Copyright Bill

In the last few months, fashion houses Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen have accused Steve Madden of ripping off their shoe designs and filed suit. But they face an uphill battle in court, because the U.S. lacks a fashion copyright law. Sen. Charles Schumer—along with Harvard law professor Jeannie Suk—is working…

Mar 8, 2010 11:23 PM CST

Harvard Law Prof Nesson on the Hook for Motion Cost in Downloading Trial

Some pro bono litigation could prove costly for Harvard law professor Charles Nesson. Nesson led the defense for graduate student Joel Tenenbaum, who was ordered to pay $675,000 for unlawfully downloading 30 songs on the Internet. Now Nesson may be on a hook for some of the record companies’ legal…

Mar 8, 2010 3:39 PM CST

Newspaper Illustrates ‘Explosion’ of Suits Over Mobile Device Patents

A lawsuit filed by Apple on Wednesday against Taiwanese handset maker HTC is just the latest in an “explosion” of lawsuits over patents relating to mobile devices. The Bits blog of the New York Times has an illustration full of company names and arrows showing a sampling of the litigation.…

Mar 5, 2010 3:28 PM CST

Quinn Emanuel Lawyer Protects Oscar IP and Theater Door

Quinn Emanuel partner David Quinto does double duty for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He protects trademarks and copyrights for the organization—and he’ll be protecting the awards ceremony on Sunday from gate crashers. Quinto talked to the Hollywood Reporter and the Wall Street Journal Law Blog about…

Mar 5, 2010 12:00 PM CST

Sgt.‘s Suit Says ‘Messed Up’ Character in ‘Hurt Locker’ Made Him Look Bad

A journalist who was embedded with his three-man unit during the Iraq war to write an article for Playboy, wound up making him look bad, a soldier says, by reworking it into a screenplay for The Hurt Locker that falsely portrayed him as a “messed up” bomb disposal officer. In…

Mar 4, 2010 7:46 PM CST

Apple’s Legal Strategy in HTC Suit Examined

A lawsuit filed by Apple on Tuesday against mobile handset maker HTC created an Internet sensation, prompting widespread speculation on what would happen if Apple prevails and wins an injunction against further production of Google Android phones, including the Nexus One. “Given the enormity of HTC and the rapidly growing…

Mar 3, 2010 12:16 PM CST