Welcome to the Snell & Wilmer intellectual property and technology litigation blog! Check here for useful news and information about patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, and other IP and technology litigation developments.
The Supreme Court issued its ruling yesterday in a trademark lawsuit between Jack Daniel’s and the seller of a dog toy resembling a bottle of Jack Daniel’s famous whiskey. In a unanimous decision, the Court reversed the Ninth Circuit and held that the “Bad Spaniels” dog toy was subject to the usual likelihood of confusion […]
The Supreme Court unanimously held last week in Amgen v. Sanofi that a patent’s specification must enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the full scope of the invention as defined by its claims. Amgen sued Sanofi in 2014, alleging that Sanofi had infringed its cholesterol-lowering drug patents, which disclosed 26 […]
Yesterday, the Supreme Court held 7-2 that a specific use of Andy Warhol’s “Orange Prince” silk screen—based on a copyrighted photograph of Prince—was not fair use. In doing so the Court focused not solely on the “transformative use” aspect of the first factor of a four-part fair use analysis, but on the entire first factor […]
The Federal Circuit recently held, for the first time, that patent owners bear the burden of proof for an Inter Partes Review (“IPR”) Estoppel affirmative defense that an alleged infringer failed to include prior art in a previous IPR. In overturning the district court, the Federal Circuit held that a patent owner must prove, by […]
USPTO Director Kathi Vidal recently petitioned the Supreme Court to review a Federal Circuit decision in In re Elster. There, the Federal Circuit held the USPTO unconstitutionally applied Lanham Act Section 2(c) (15 U.S.C. § 1052) in refusing to register Elster’s mark that used a living individual’s name, because it impermissibly restricted free speech. Section […]
By: Trent Hoffman and David Barker On November 4, 2022, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Amgen v. Sanofi, No. 21-757, to review “[w]hether enablement is governed by the statutory requirement that the specification teach those skilled in the art to make and use the claimed invention, 35 U.S.C. § 112, or whether it must […]
By Daniel M. Staren and David G. Barker The Federal Circuit recently denied a mandamus petition seeking relief from a district court order denying a motion to dismiss a patent case for improper venue under 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b). Bel Power Solutions, Inc. sued Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. in the Western District of Texas for selling power modules that […]
By: Zach Schroeder and David Barker To obtain a trademark containing or consisting of a living individual’s name, portrait, or signature, that individual must give written consent. 15 U.S.C. § 1052(c). The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) is currently faced with a novel question of whether individuals can revoke their consent after issuance […]
By: Emily R. Parker and David G. Barker The Eighth Circuit recently upheld dismissal of Brothers and Sisters in Christ, LLC’s (“BASIC”) lawsuit against online marketplace Zazzle, affirming that “the bare-bones nature of BASIC’s allegations,” including Zazzle’s sale of a single t-shirt, were insufficient to create personal jurisdiction in the state of Missouri. BASIC is […]
By Andrew S. Green and David G. Barker The Ninth Circuit affirmed a preliminary injunction in favor of AK Futures LLC (“AK Futures”), a manufacturer of e-cigarette and vaping products, against Boyd Street Distro, LLC (“Boyd Street”), a Los Angeles-based storefront and smoke product wholesaler that had allegedly been selling counterfeit versions of AK Futures’ […]
