by BHMK | Sep 10, 2020 | Litigation, Newsletter, Patterson Thuente News, Trademark
Two companies with similar marks operated in the same region for more than 40 years without any actual confusion arising for consumers. Nonetheless, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) found a disqualifying likelihood of confusion when one company tried to...
On behalf of Patterson Thuente Pederson, P.A. | May 7, 2020 | Litigation, Patent Law, Patterson Thuente News
Inter partes review (IPR) offers parties an expedited opportunity to challenge the validity of a patent outside of court. But, as one challenger recently learned the hard way, it’s critical that arguments against patentability be raised at the proper time. Out of the...
On behalf of Patterson Thuente Pederson, P.A. | Apr 30, 2020 | Litigation, Newsletter, Trademark
Fair use defense wins trademark infringement case Athletes are known for “leaving it all on the field,” or going all out in competition. A nutritional consultant firm for athletes recently took the same mindset to a trademark battle — but it didn’t emerge...
On behalf of Patterson Thuente Pederson, P.A. | Apr 20, 2020 | Litigation, Newsletter, Patterson Thuente News
Federal Circuit rejects narrow approach to relation back doctrine The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the appellate court that hears all patent-related appeals, recently revived an infringement lawsuit based on the relation back doctrine. The court...
On behalf of Patterson Thuente Pederson, P.A. | Apr 15, 2020 | Copyright Law, Litigation, Newsletter, Patterson Thuente News
In 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court in Star Athletica, L.L.C. v. Varsity Brands, Inc., established a two-part test for analyzing which elements of a piece of clothing are design elements protectable by copyright and which are nonprotectable functional elements. The U.S....
On behalf of Patterson Thuente Pederson, P.A. | Mar 31, 2020 | Copyright Law, Litigation, Newsletter, Patterson Thuente News
After securing a copyright infringement verdict, it should be easier to obtain a permanent injunction against the infringing party, right? Not so in several jurisdictions. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has now made it harder for copyright holders to...
On behalf of Patterson Thuente Pederson, P.A. | Mar 18, 2020 | Litigation, Newsletter, Patent Law, Patterson Thuente News
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) doesn’t always get it right. This was demonstrated once again in a case where the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that the board had improperly failed to consider some vital factors when evaluating whether a...
On behalf of Patterson Thuente Pederson, P.A. | Mar 8, 2020 | Design Patents, Litigation, Newsletter, Patterson Thuente News
Holders of design patents received some welcome news recently from a case in which some auto parts distributors sought declaratory judgment for invalidity of design patents to sell parts that were covered by a major vehicle manufacturer’s designs. The U.S. Court of...
On behalf of Patterson Thuente Pederson, P.A. | Nov 28, 2019 | Litigation, Newsletter, Patterson Thuente News
Generally, using precise and careful language in a patent application is wise. But providing a precise numerical value can work against a patentee when it comes time to bring an infringement claim. A boat manufacturer learned this lesson the hard way when it sued a...
On behalf of Patterson Thuente Pederson, P.A. | Nov 21, 2019 | Litigation, Newsletter, Patent Law, Patterson Thuente News
What’s obvious to one person isn’t always obvious to another, and the same is true when it comes to patents. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit demonstrated this principle in rejecting the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB’s) determination that a...
