Intellectual Property Law

Law Prof Appointed to Copyright Case Sees Parallels to Erin Brokovich

Ohio State University law professor Deborah Jones Merritt didn’t shy away from media interviews about her first Supreme Court argument. She told the Columbus Dispatch how she practiced before large photos of the nine justices. She confessed to The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times that she felt like “the…

Oct 8, 2009 2:33 PM CDT

Blog Response to Law Firm’s Demand for Photo Takedown: We’ll Mock You

When bloggers posted about a seemingly way-too-thin photo of a model featured in a recent Ralph Lauren advertisement, the company and its lawyers reportedly responded with a takedown demand, as far as the reprinted, copyrighted photograph is concerned. While at least one blogger and/or its Internet service provider has apparently…

Oct 7, 2009 8:35 PM CDT

9 Patent Lawyers Leap to Bracewell from IP Shop’s Soon-to-Close Texas Office

Nine Texas patent lawyers from a Boston-based intellectual property boutique have found a new home in Austin, little more than a month after their own firm announced that it would soon be closing its Austin office. Headed by partner Alan Albright, the four partners and five associates from Fish &…

Oct 6, 2009 9:43 PM CDT

UK’s High Court OKs Serving Injunction on Anonymous Blogger Via Twitter

In what reportedly is the first such use of the Internet authorized by any court in the country, the United Kingdom’s High Court has permitted an injunction on an anonymous blogger to be served via Twitter. The injunction demands that the unknown blogger stop impersonating on the Internet a well-known…

Oct 2, 2009 5:29 PM CDT

Teen Wins $150K Over Amazon’s Kindle Clawback of Orwell E-Book

When Amazon eliminated a George Orwell book from users’ Kindles earlier this year, after discovering the electronic text had been sold without proper authorization, it also eliminated Justin Gawronski’s homework. His notes on the margins remained, but since the text of Nineteen Eighty-Four was gone they were undecipherable, reports the…

Oct 1, 2009 10:40 PM CDT

James Joyce Estate to Pay Scholar’s $240K Legal Bill in Fair Use Battle

In a settlement that may encourage other academics to push for their right to make fair use of excerpts of published material in their scholarly writing, the estate of famed author James Joyce has agreed to pay a $240,000 legal bill racked up by an English professor at Stanford University…

Sep 30, 2009 7:47 PM CDT

Federal Judge Nixes $390M Jury Verdict in Microsoft Patent Case

A stunning April jury verdict of almost $390 million against Microsoft Corp. in a patent infringement case brought by an anti-piracy software maker has been overturned by a federal judge. U.S. District Judge William Smith wrote that the jury in the Rhode Island federal court case “lacked a grasp of…

Sep 30, 2009 12:27 AM CDT

Supreme Court to Ponder Juvenile Lifers, Government Cross and Dogfight Videos

The U.S. Supreme Court begins its new term Monday with a docket that includes two kinds of videos (one opposing Hillary Clinton and another featuring dogfights), a cross in the Mojave National Preserve, and life sentences for juveniles. More than half of the 45 cases already accepted for argument this…

Sep 29, 2009 8:02 PM CDT

Greenberg Traurig Sued for $100M in Malpractice Suit by Ex-Patent Client

Greenberg Traurig and three of its former intellectual property partners are facing a $100 million malpractice suit that clams the firm failed to properly prosecute patents and committed discovery misconduct. The lawyers named in the suit are Paul Sutton, Barry Magidoff and Claude Narcisse, the New York Law Journal reports.…

Sep 24, 2009 1:22 PM CDT

Google ‘Adwords’ Don’t Violate Trademark Law, Adviser Tells EU Court

In an opinion that could point the way for a first-of-a-kind court ruling in the European Union, an adviser to the European Court of Justice says the use of a competitor’s trademark as a keyword by companies advertising on Google doesn’t violate trademark law. The issue is at the heart…

Sep 22, 2009 8:42 PM CDT

Major Plaintiffs Practice Opens in Calif., Joins Westward Move By Corporate Firms

A major plaintiff firm known for its work in securities class actions has opened a new office in California, establishing its first outpost beyond its 70-attorney headquarters in the suburban Philadelphia area. The new San Francisco office of Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check will be headed by Ramzi Abadou,…

Sep 11, 2009 6:18 PM CDT

Recording Companies Sue Show of Ellen DeGeneres, the Newest Idol Judge

The nation’s biggest record companies have sued The Ellen DeGeneres Show, claiming songs played while DeGeneres dances violated their copyrights. The suit filed in federal court in Nashville, Tenn., alleges that when the show’s representatives were asked why they didn’t obtain licenses to the songs, they replied they didn’t ”roll…

Sep 11, 2009 12:53 PM CDT

After Court Win, Lawyer Calls Suit Against Seinfeld’s Wife a Publicity Stunt

A federal judge has ruled that a cookbook written by Jerry Seinfeld’s wife didn’t copy another author’s book. Both cookbooks encouraged healthy eating by sneaking vegetables into children’s recipes. Plaintiff Missy Chase Lapine had claimed the cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld employs “brazen plagiarism.” U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain disagreed,…

Sep 11, 2009 12:23 PM CDT

Chadbourne Announces 4th High-Profile In-House IP Counsel Hire

Confirming earlier news that former Yahoo Inc. vice president and associate general counsel of global patents Duane Valz would be joining Chadbourne & Parke, the law firm today announced his move to the firm as counsel in its Los Angeles and Silicon Valley offices. The 39-year-old Valz is the fourth…

Sep 10, 2009 9:18 PM CDT

Pfizer Wins Injunction Banning N.Y. Man’s ‘Viva Viagra’ Missile Stunt

A federal judge has sided with Pfizer in an unusual trademark dispute over its erectile disfunction drug Viagra, granting a permanent injunction banning a New York man from towing a 25-foot missile replica emblazoned with “Viva Viagra” in front of the drug manufacturer’s Manhattan world headquarters. In addition to U.S.…

Sep 10, 2009 4:57 PM CDT