Intellectual Property | Virginia Lawyers Weekly

No Infringement of Pet ‘Responder’ Mark

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 24, 2012
Tags: Intellectual Property, Judge Leonie Brinkema, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A California nonprofit service group that uses the name “RedRoverResponders” for its program using volunteers to care for animals displaced by natural disasters does not infringe plaintiff LLC’s registered service mark, “Wag’N Rover Respond’R.” for the LLC’s “Mobile Emergency Information Kit,” and the Alexandria U.S. District Court grants summary judgment to defendant.
The record clearly shows [...]

Patent Suit Mooted by Bankruptcy

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 24, 2012
Tags: Intellectual Property, Judge James R. Spencer, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Although plaintiff German corporation had standing when it first sued defendant corporation for patent infringement, plaintiff’s suit became moot after plaintiff pursued bankruptcy in Germany and the appointed insolvency administrator obtained the legal right to sue for patent infringement; the Richmond U.S. District Court dismisses plaintiff’s suit.
Defendant LSI does not dispute that debtor Qimonda had [...]

‘Conversion’ Covers Intangible Property

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 16, 2012
Tags: Intellectual Property, Judge Robert E. Payne, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this multi-million dollar intellectual property case, a Richmond U.S. District Court grants judgment as a matter of law to defendant Kolon Industries Inc. on plaintiff DuPont’s claims for conversion and civil conspiracy; the federal court says Virginia courts would recognize a conversion action for converted intangible property, such as confidential business information about the [...]

Cookware Case Nets Treble Damages

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 16, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Intellectual Property, Judge Andre M. Davis

Meyer, a manufacturer of “Anolon Advanced” cookware, wins its suit alleging trade dress infringement and violation of North Carolina unfair trade practices law against defendant Belk department store, which sold a private-label cookware that was “deceptively similar”; the 4th Circuit upholds a $1.26 million damage award for plaintiff.
Defendant Meyer supplies cookware marketed under the brand [...]

Injunction Issued in VOD Patent Case

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 15, 2012
Tags: Intellectual Property, Judge Raymond A. Jackson, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In the wake of a Norfolk federal jury’s $115 million award to a small technology company, as well as $17.4 million in supplemental damages and $6.6 million in post-judgment interest, the Norfolk U.S. District Court grants plaintiff company’s motion for a permanent injunction.
Because plaintiff is such a small corporation with less than 150 employees, it [...]

No Claim for ‘Interactive Community’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 8, 2012
Tags: Intellectual Property, Judge Henry Coke Morgan Jr., U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A reasonable jury could conclude from testimony of the parties’ experts in this patent infringement suit against Twitter Inc., that the method for creating an “interactive virtual community of famous people” claimed by plaintiff’s ‘309 patent was not an interactive virtual community, as defined by the experts, and the Norfolk U.S. District Court denies plaintiff’s [...]

Google Faces Trial on Trademark Claims

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 10, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Intellectual Property, Judge William B. Traxler Jr.

In language-learning company Rosetta Stone’s trademark infringement suit against Google over use of the Rosetta Stone mark in Google’s online advertising platform, the 4th Circuit vacates summary judgment for Google on plaintiff’s claims for direct infringement, contributory infringement and dilution of plaintiff’s mark, but upholds summary judgment for Google on claims of vicarious infringement and [...]

‘Big Case’ TV Commercial Copied

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 6, 2012
Tags: Intellectual Property, Judge Rebecca Beach Smith, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this copyright and trademark litigation involving two marketing companies’ claims to marketing programs involving TV commercials for the “Big Case,” the Norfolk U.S. District Court holds that plaintiff copied defendant’s “Big Case” commercial.
This dispute involves various copyright and trademark claims arising out of defendant Market-Masters Legal’s and plaintiff Innovative Legal Marketing LLC’s respective production [...]

Copyright Suit Against Builder Dismissed

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 3, 2012
Tags: Intellectual Property, Judge Robert G. Doumar, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A Norfolk U.S. District Court dismisses a Florida architectural firm’s suit against a Virginia Beach customer home builder for copyright infringement, which fails to detail how defendants might have gained access to plaintiff’s copyrighted works or copied them; despite plaintiff’s assertion that defendants can “figure out why they are being sued,” a defendant in a [...]

Defense Disputes Patent Ownership

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 28, 2012
Tags: Intellectual Property, Judge Leonie Brinkema, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this dispute over patents for encryption and security techniques, an Alexandria U.S. District Court says there are genuine factual disputes concerning a defense of “inequitable conduct” based on the identity of the proper inventor on a patent in question, and the court denies summary judgment on that defense.
Plaintiff TecSec’s primary business is the development [...]

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