Laches Limits Damages for Patent Plaintiff

Dueling Experts in Disney Patent Case

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 25, 2013
Tags: Intellectual Property, Judge Leonie Brinkema, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this lawsuit by Disney Enterprises Inc. challenging the U.S. PTO’s rejection of Disney’s ‘772 patent application, the Alexandria U.S. District Court says Disney may not use an expert opinion that came too late under the court’s discovery schedule. The patent examiner issued a final rejection of all the ’772 application’s pending claims on April [...]

Court Has Questions on VUTSA Fee Award

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 14, 2013
Tags: Intellectual Property, Judge Robert E. Payne, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In a hard-fought intellectual property case, a Richmond U.S. District Court says the winning plaintiff is entitled to an award of reasonable attorney’s fees under the Virginia Uniform Trade Secrets Act, but orders additional briefing on the state law standard to award reasonable fees; the court denies a fee award under 28 U.S.C. § 1927 [...]

T-Shirt Copyright Case Goes to Trial

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 12, 2013
Tags: Intellectual Property, Judge Norman K. Moon, U.S. District Court - Western District

A Charlottesville U.S. District Court says plaintiff owner of copyrights for t-shirt designs may try its claims for copyright infringement, breach of contract, tortious interference and unjust enrichment, for defendant’s alleged conduct of continuing to sell plaintiff’s copyrighted designs after expiration of a license agreement. Pursuant to a License Agreement, dated Oct. 1, 2006, between [...]

Court May Award Fees under VUTSA

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 12, 2013
Tags: Intellectual Property, Judge Robert E. Payne, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A Korean company hit with a $920 million judgment for theft of trade secrets is not liable for attorney’s fees under 28 U.S.C. § 1927 or the inherent authority of the Richmond U.S. District Court, but the court still may award attorney’s fees – but not costs – under the Virginia Uniform Trade Secrets Act, [...]

Assignee May Sue on Patent

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 11, 2013
Tags: Intellectual Property, Judge T.S. Ellis III, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this lawsuit alleging defendants infringed plaintiff assignee’s patent for an internet server and method of controlling an internet server, the Alexandria U.S. District Court says the assignment gave the assignee “all substantial rights” and it may pursue this action. This patent infringement suit presents the increasingly common, but always vexing jurisdictional question whether plaintiff, [...]

Patent Review De Novo

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 19, 2012
Tags: Intellectual Property, Judge Anthony J. Trenga, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In an action for review of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (Board) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the Alexandria U.S. District Court denies USPTO’s motion for partial summary judgment based on applicant’s waiver of claims under a procedural rule for administrative proceedings: Kappos v. Hyatt, 132 S. Ct. 1690 [...]

Court Parses Patent Experts’ Testimony

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 19, 2012
Tags: Intellectual Property, Judge Mark Davis, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this suit alleging infringement of a patent for technology used to detect trace amounts of contraband, a Norfolk U.S. District Court says defense experts may testify generally about the science and operation of certain kinds of detection instruments, but may not testify on the issue of non-infringement. The asserted claims at issue involving the [...]

No Willful Infringement in Detector Patent Dispute

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 19, 2012
Tags: Intellectual Property, Judge Mark Davis, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this suit alleging infringement of a patent for technology used to detect trace amounts of contraband, a Norfolk U.S. District Court denies defendant detection company summary judgment on its claim that the patent is invalid as obvious, but grants partial summary judgment holding there was no willful infringement, as defendant has a reasonable, good [...]

What will be the hot practice areas in ’13?

By Dolan Media Newswires
Published: November 29, 2012
Tags: Banks & Banking, Employment, Health Care Law, Intellectual Property, Trends

While a stagnant economy means a tough job market for many lawyers, legal staffing experts predict that attorneys with specialized skills will continue to find themselves in high demand in 2013. It’s a “specialist economy” for the legal profession, said Charles Volkert, executive director at staffing agency Robert Half Legal. “Even though there are significant [...]