Intellectual Property Law

University of Houston Law Center sues over law school’s ‘strikingly similar’ new name

The University of Houston Law Center claims in a lawsuit that the South Texas College of law infringed its trademark by changing its name to the Houston College of Law and adopting its red-and-white colors. The suit, filed on Monday in Houston federal court, also alleges unfair competition, according to…

Jun 28, 2016 10:13 AM CDT

Led Zeppelin wins ‘Stairway’ copyright case; losing lawyer sees ‘obviously appealable issues’

Federal jurors on Thursday found for Led Zeppelin in a copyright suit claiming the band had copied the beginning guitar riff of “Stairway to Heaven.” Jurors found for Led Zeppelin after a weeklong trial, the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), Courthouse News Service…

Jun 24, 2016 8:00 AM CDT

Supreme Court upholds patent review procedure used by Apple and Google to invalidate patents

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld regulations that enable quicker and cheaper challenges to patents outside of federal court. The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) calls the decision (PDF) “a blow for companies that favor strong patent protections” and “a boost for technology companies” like Apple and Google, which…

Jun 20, 2016 1:08 PM CDT

Lawyer takes chicken restaurant’s trademarks in lieu of $200K in legal fees, launches a new career

Representing a Southern chicken-and-biscuits fast-food restaurant was not initially a lucrative career move for attorney John Buttolph. His clients, struggling with a lack of capital, a loss of business for Atlanta-based Mrs. Winner’s Chicken & Biscuits during the Great Recession and the inability to get credit, at first resisted a…

Jun 15, 2016 4:12 PM CDT

9th Circuit upholds sanction against ‘copyright trolling’ lawyers who sued porn downloaders

A federal appeals court has upheld a federal judge’s $81,000 sanction against three lawyers who made millions of dollars by pursuing porn downloaders for minor cases of copyright infringement. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the sanction imposed against three lawyers who operated Prenda Law: John…

Jun 14, 2016 5:45 AM CDT

Supreme Court rules test for enhanced patent-infringement damages is too strict

A test used to determine whether enhanced damages may be awarded for patent infringement is so strict that it impermissibly insulates some of the worst infringers, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. The court on Monday overturned the standard used by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit…

Jun 13, 2016 10:09 AM CDT

Use of ‘thanks’ in loyalty program will confuse consumers, Citigroup says in suit against AT&T

Does the use of “thanks” in an AT&T customer rewards program amount to trademark infringement? Yes, says Citigroup Inc, and it will confuse consumers, because the bank has used the phrase “thankyou” in various customer loyalty and rewards programs since 2004, Reuters reports. Citigroup recently filed a trademark lawsuit against…

Jun 10, 2016 1:30 PM CDT

Lawyer who won $5.3M ‘Blurred Lines’ verdict files $20M suit over Ed Sheeran’s ‘Photograph’

A lawyer who represented singer Marvin Gaye’s family in last year’s monster $5.3 million “Blurred Lines” copyright verdict is back in court in another high-profile case over a hit song. This time attorney Richard Busch is seeking $20 million for two veteran California songwriters, contending that Ed Sheeran’s smash song…

Jun 8, 2016 4:46 PM CDT

Judge cites misconduct of in-house lawyer in tossing $200M patent verdict

A federal judge in San Jose, California, is citing the rarely successful legal doctrine of unclean hands in tossing a $200 million infringement verdict obtained by Merck & Co. against Gilead Sciences in a patent dispute over a hepatitis C drug. U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman attributed much of…

Jun 7, 2016 10:26 AM CDT

9th Circuit strikes copyright suit against Madonna over horn sample in ‘Vogue’

Madonna was sued for plagiarism over her 1990 hit “Vogue.” However, a federal appellate court has sided with the Material Girl after finding that the lawsuit had nothing to it. Reuters, the Los Angeles Times and the Hollywood Reporter’s THR, Esq. blog reported Thursday that a divided three-judge panel for…

Jun 3, 2016 5:15 PM CDT

15 lawyers to exit Miami IP boutique for Cozen O’Connor; 5 more left earlier for another firm

Most of the lawyers at a Miami-based intellectual property boutique will be exiting for Cozen O’Connor later this month. The two name partners of Feldman Gale will be in charge of a new national intellectual property litigation practice group at the Philadelphia-based Cozen firm, which lists more than 600 attorneys…

Jun 2, 2016 4:05 PM CDT

Google wins copyright battle over its use of Java software code in Android

A federal jury in San Francisco ruled for Google on Thursday in a suit alleging the company violated Oracle’s copyright by using Java software code to allow software developers to create Android apps. Oracle, which had sought as much as $9 billion in damages, plans an appeal, report the New…

May 27, 2016 7:51 AM CDT

Law student prevails against Marvel and DC Comics over use of word ‘superhero’ in book title

A British businessman who is also a law student got some real-world legal experience over the last few years when the title of his self-help book, Business Zero to Superhero, caught the attention of major comic-book publishers. Although competitors in the publishing world, Marvel Comics and DC Comics band together…

May 25, 2016 11:20 AM CDT

Attorney in ‘Stairway to Heaven’ case asks to compel attendance from Led Zeppelin stars

An attorney suing Led Zeppelin for copyright infringement has asked a Los Angeles judge to compel the attendance of the band’s biggest stars, according to the Hollywood Reporter’s THR, Esq. blog. Attorney Francis Malofiy represents the estate of Randy Wolfe, the former guitarist for the band Spirit, who performed as…

May 20, 2016 2:30 PM CDT

Vincent Gallo sues Facebook over claimed refusal to deactivate imposter’s account

Actor and director Vincent Gallo filed a federal lawsuit against Facebook in Los Angeles on Monday, contending that the social media Goliath has refused his demands to take down a bogus account in his name. Asserting Lanham Act and unfair competition claims, among others, the actor and director—who himself has…

May 18, 2016 3:45 PM CDT