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U.S. Supreme Court Grants Certiorari to Decide Damages Period Under Copyright Act

The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted certiorari to consider whether a copyright plaintiff’s timely claim under the discovery rule is subject to retrospective relief for infringement occurring more than three years before the suit was filed. Musician Sherman Nealy and his company, Music Specialist Inc. (collectively, “Nealy”), sued Warner Chappell Music, Inc. (“Warner”), for copyright […]

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Eighth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of “Love Happens” Trademark Infringement Suit for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction

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 […]

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Federal Circuit Rejects “Unanswered Questions” Indefiniteness Standard

By Emily Parker and David Barker Last week, a split Federal Circuit panel reversed a decision invalidating certain computer-aided-design patent claims because the district court used an incorrect indefiniteness standard. Nature Simulation Systems (“NSS”) sued Autodesk, Inc. for infringing two patents directed to computerized methods for building three-dimensional objects. Autodesk argued that certain claims in […]

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Supreme Court Grants Certiorari to Resolve Long-Running Debate on Assignor Estoppel

By: David G. Barker and Emily R. Parker Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Minerva Surgical v. Hologic, thereby agreeing to resolve a long-running debate on patent law’s doctrine of assignor estoppel. Minerva Surgical has asked the Court to abolish the doctrine, which bars inventors who sell their patent rights from challenging […]

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SCOTUS Resolves Circuit Split: Trademark License Rejection in Bankruptcy Does Not Terminate Licensee’s Usage Rights

By Emily R. Parker* and David G. Barker The U.S. Supreme Court recently held in Mission Product Holdings v. Tempnology that a trademark licensor cannot revoke the right of a licensee to use a trademark by terminating a license agreement in bankruptcy. Mission licensed a trademark from Tempnology, which terminated the license after filing bankruptcy […]

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