After 44 years at law firm, name partner to lead a 3-partner team elsewhere

After 44 years at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, name partner Mike Ciresi is leading a three-partner team to another Minneapolis law firm. They will leave Feb. 1 to form Ciresi & Conlin, reports the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. A former firm chairman who now heads RKMC’s business litigation group,…

Jan 6, 2015 11:40 AM CST

Craft brewers find good beer names are limited; one conflict creates ‘Collaboration Not Litigation’

Trademark issues are bubbling up among brewers, due to the popularity of craft beer. “There are only so many words and names that make sense with beer, so it’s not surprising that many people will come up with the same ideas,” self-described craft beer attorney Candace Moon tells NPR. Bitter…

Jan 6, 2015 8:10 AM CST

Sony Pictures hires David Boies, who warns media to destroy documents leaked by hackers

Sony Pictures Entertainment has gone on the offensive after computer hackers posted corporate documents online, including employee medical information and embarrassing emails written by corporate executives. The company has hired litigator David Boies, who sent a letter to several news organizations stating that Sony Pictures “does not consent to your…

Dec 15, 2014 11:38 AM CST

SCOTUS accepts Spider-Man patent royalty case; petitioners want court to overrule 1964 precedent

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether to overturn precedent that bars the inventor of a Spider-Man toy from collecting contracted royalties after his patent expired. A cert petition (PDF) filed on behalf of inventor Stephen Kimble argues that the 1964 Supreme Court case, Brulotte v. Thys…

Dec 15, 2014 6:15 AM CST

Lawyer’s tech tools track litigation, predict chances of success before patent board

A patent lawyer frustrated with the ability to track cases related to the suit against his client turned to his previous experience as a software engineer for an answer. Lawyer Michael Sander built an automated alert tool to notify lawyers about case developments and created a legal technology firm, Docket…

Dec 12, 2014 9:55 AM CST

BigLaw patent lawyer faces possible sanction over petition filed with US Supreme Court

A Washington, D.C., lawyer is facing an unusual U.S. Supreme Court attorney discipline case over a petition he filed with the court in a patent case. In a brief Monday order (PDF, scroll down), the court gives Foley & Lardner partner Howard Shipley 40 days to show cause why he…

Dec 9, 2014 5:05 PM CST

Former in-house patent lawyer admits $5M billing scheme, will reimburse Hunter Douglas

Sued in federal court in Denver, a former lead in-house patent lawyer for Hunter Douglas Inc. has admitted a billing scheme that diverted more than $5 million of company funds to a patent-search firm he secretly controlled and promised to repay the money. Jason Throne, 53, said in court papers…

Dec 8, 2014 5:05 PM CST

Suit challenges Rightscorp’s ticketing method of policing infringers; are ISPs liable?

A company that uses crawler technology to monitor file-sharing networks and identify illegal downloaders is facing a lawsuit claiming its agents are using illegal debt collection methods to collect from copyright infringers. The would-be class action suit against Rightscorp Inc. claims its agents use illegal robocalling and misleading notices to…

Dec 1, 2014 10:47 AM CST

Rightscorp fights Internet piracy by ‘ticketing’ copyright infringers

Dec 1, 2014 1:50 AM CST

Google wins SLAPP motion, has constitutional right to list search results as it wishes

Unhappy about search-engine results that put its website way down in the list of results, the owner of CoastNews sued Google, alleging antitrust law issues and seeking some $5 million in damages. But the search-engine Goliath not only prevailed but did so in a motion to dismiss under California’s SLAPP…

Nov 18, 2014 2:30 PM CST

Threatened patent suits amounted to deceptive tactics, FTC alleges; law firm and client settle

The Federal Trade Commission has settled a complaint against a Texas law firm and its client that alleged their threatened patent suits amounted to false or misleading statements. Law firm Farney Daniels and its client MPHJ Technology Investments agreed in a consent order (PDF) to stop making misrepresentations in letters…

Nov 10, 2014 6:15 AM CST

Federal appeals court blasts attorney for forwarding chief judge’s congratulatory email

After receiving a congratulatory email earlier this year from the sitting chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, a prominent patent lawyer did what the email expressly suggested and forwarded the praise to others. Edward Reines sent the email to more than 70 current or…

Nov 5, 2014 4:18 PM CST

Federal judge says lawyer must pay $87K for filing ‘objectively baseless’ suit over Web news posts

A California lawyer has been ordered to pay $87,000 in attorney fees for his litigation opponents because he pursued an “objectively baseless” copyright claim in a federal lawsuit over articles about him that were posted by an Internet news aggregator. Dionne Choyce should have realized, after his initial lawsuit against…

Nov 5, 2014 1:05 PM CST

Does lights out loom for Aereo? Federal judge nixes cable license, leaves door open on DVR service

Down but not yet out following an adverse U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this year, Aereo is still trying to find a way to provide free TV shows to viewers over the Internet without violating federal copyright law. The nation’s top court in June nixed free real-time Internet streaming of…

Oct 24, 2014 1:00 PM CDT

Actor in ‘Goodfellas’ sues Fox for $250M, says wise guy in ‘Simpsons’ cartoon is based on him

An actor known for the mob characters he played in the The Godfather Part II and Goodfellas has sued Fox Television Studios for $250 million over a wise-guy character in The Simpsons known as Louie. Plaintiff Frank Sivero says The Simpsons used both his likeness and physical characteristics and a…

Oct 22, 2014 5:30 PM CDT