IP & Technology

By: Roberta Jacobs-Meadway This article addresses how to prove a trademark is famous when asserting a dilution claim in federal court or in a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) proceeding pursuant to the Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2006 (TDRA). 1 Topics discussed include the legal standard... Read More

NINTH CIRCUIT REINSTATES EMPLOYEES’ SUITS OVER PAYMENT FOR POST-SHIFT INSPECTION PERIODS EMPLOYEES OF NIKE AND CONVERSE MAY PROCEED with class action suits alleging that the athletic wear companies violated California law by refusing to pay them for time spent during mandatory post-shift security... Read More

By: Janet B. Linn , Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP This article addresses how counsel for a generic drug company should prepare for patent litigation under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, better known as the Hatch-Waxman Act. 1 It examines strategies that you should... Read More

By: Michael Furrow , DLA Piper, and Whitney Meier , Venable LLP The Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA) provides an abbreviated pathway for companies to bring biologic drugs to market that are biosimilar to previously approved branded reference products by relying on clinical studies... Read More

STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL FILE APPEAL FROM RULING INVALIDATING AFFORDABLE CARE ACT ATTORNEYS GENERAL FROM 16 STATES AND THE DISTRICT of Columbia have filed a notice of appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit following a ruling by a Texas federal judge striking down the Patient Protection... Read More

By: Frank DeLucia and Luciano Ricondo , Merchant & Gould After a patent application is filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and during the stage in which the application is being examined by a patent examiner, it can often be helpful to conduct an interview with the examiner in... Read More

By: Jeffrey Alan Hovden, Robins Kaplan LLP This article discusses strategies that counsel for brand-name and generic drug companies may employ in pharmaceutical patent litigation under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, commonly known as the Hatch-Waxman Act. It focuses... Read More

SUPREME COURT AFFIRMS CONSTITUTIONALITY OF AIA PATENT REVIEW PROCESS A PROVISION IN THE AMERICA INVENTS ACT (AIA) allowing for pre-trial review of existing patents does not violate Article III or the Seventh Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court has held. In Oil States Energy... Read More

By: Lindsay Burke and Moriah Daugherty Covington & Burling LLP Today, among the most critical risks a company can face are the cyber risks associated with its own employees or contractors. Companies are confronting an increasingly complex series of cybersecurity challenges with employees in the... Read More

By: Torsten M. Kracht, Michael J. Mueller, Lisa J. Sotto, and Daniella Sterns Hunton & Williams LLP Litigation alleging the improper collection and storage of biometric data is being driven by the Illinois Biometric Information Protection Act (BIPA). The authors of this article discuss two headline... Read More

By: Janet Marvel Pattishall, Mcauliffe, Newbury, Hilliard & Geraldson LLP The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is commencing random audits of trademark registrations in which Declarations of Use have been filed to verify that the registered mark is in use on all of the goods and services... Read More

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR SETS NEW GUIDELINES FOR INTERN COMPENSATION THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (DOL) HAS ADOPTED new guidelines for determining whether interns working at for-profit companies are entitled to compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The DOL abandoned its... Read More

D.C. COURT ORDERS EEOC TO RECONSIDER WORKPLACE WELLNESS RULES IN AN ACTION BROUGHT BY THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION of Retired Persons (AARP), the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has ordered the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to reconsider two regulations related to... Read More

By: Michael Furrow and Shannon Clark , Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto                                                Introduction Section... Read More

THE CONDUCTOR CANNOT HOPE TO KNOW EVERYTHING about each section of the orchestra, (e.g., what strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion must do in order to play their part). However, each section (and subsection) has its own chair who can determine that with the help of internal or external advisors... Read More

SUPREME COURT TO RULE ON VALIDITY OF CLASS WAIVERS IN EMPLOYMENT CONTEXT By: Lexis Practice Advisor Staff THE U.S. SUPREME COURT IS expected to decide this term whether the collective-bargaining provisions of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) prohibit enforcement of agreements requiring employees... Read More

By: Stephen E. Reynolds and Nicole R. Woods ICE MILLER LLP In response to the increased concern surrounding cybersecurity, the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) has released the Model Information Protection and Security Controls for Outside Counsel Possessing Company Confidential Information.... Read More

SEXUAL ORIENTATION DISCRIMINATION UNDER TITLE VII REMAINS HOT-BUTTON ISSUE By: Bender’s Labor & Employment Bulletin, Volume 17, Issue 7 RECENTLY, THREE OF THE U.S. CIRCUIT COURTS OF APPEAL addressed the issue of whether discrimination on account of an individual’s sexual orientation... Read More

By: John DeFosse FRIED FRANK, HARRIS, SHRIVER & JACOBSON LLP THIS ARTICLE EXPLAINS THE STRATEGIC AND PRACTICAL considerations associated with filing a motion to dismiss claims of patent infringement under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and discusses the legal grounds that... Read More

By: Seth Appel PATTISHALL, MCAULIFFE, NEWBURY, HILLIARD & GERALDSON LLP THE U.S. SUPREME COURT CONFIRMED THAT ARTISTIC designs on clothing can be subject to copyright protection in Star Athletica, L.L.C. v. Varsity Brands, Inc., 137 S.Ct. 1002 (2017) . This landmark decision follows years of uncertainty... Read More

By: Roberta Jacobs-Meadway and Roger LaLonde, ECKERT SEAMANS CHERIN & MELLOTT, LLC BEFORE SENDING A TRADEMARK CEASE AND DESIST LETTER on behalf of a client, it is imperative to conduct due diligence and to carefully consider the content and tone of the letter. Such letters may range from a polite... Read More

By: Dennis Garcia, Microsoft Assistant General Counsel One of the very hot topics so far in 2017 is artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential disruptive impact on the legal profession. Questions ranging from, “Will AI replace lawyers?” to “Does it make sense to attend law school... Read More

THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO) With the enactment of the America Invents Act in 2011, the PTAB was charged with conducting proceedings to address challenges to existing patents. Those proceedings “have significantly changed the patent landscape by providing a faster, cost... Read More

By: Matthew Bernstein , Perkins Coie LLP. THE MAJORITY OF PATENT CASES ARE BROUGHT BY non-practicing entities (NPEs), also called patent trolls or patent assertion entities (PAEs). These parties litigate or license their patents but have no real products or services. NPE Lawsuits are commonly brought... Read More

Q&A with Po Yi , Partner at Venable LLP. Please provide some general background on the types of transactional work you do currently. I counsel and work with clients on the front end of their marketing activities. My practice focuses on business transactions and counseling in the areas of... Read More