IN RE BOLORO GLOBAL LIMITED

Before Lourie, Dyk, and Reyna. Appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Summary: When administrative patent judges are unconstitutionally appointed, their decisions in ex parte appeals must be vacated.

When the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) passed, there were more than a few things that gave businesses pause – inconsistencies and typos among them – and left privacy professionals grappling with trying to figure out how to comply with the CCPA as it continued to evolve throughout the years.

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES, LLC V. SHOPPERSCHOICE.COM, LLC

Before PROST, DYK, and WALLACH. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Summary: The grant or denial of attorney fees requires consideration of a party’s manner and pattern of litigation when abuses are alleged.

USPTO v. BOOKING.COM

Before the Supreme Court of the United States. On Writ of Certiorari from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Summary: A term styled “generic.com” is not necessarily generic and can be eligible for federal trademark protection if consumers view the mark as distinguishing the source of the goods.

B/E AEROSPACE, INC. v. C&D ZODIAC, INC.
Before Lourie, Reyna, and Hughes. Appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Summary: Common sense may be invoked in obviousness determination if accompanied by reasoned analysis and supporting evidence.

SHOES BY FIREBUG LLC v. STRIDE RITE CHILDREN’S GROUP

Before Lourie, Moore, and O’Malley. Appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Summary: In similar claims of two related patents, one preamble was limiting because it supplied antecedent basis for a subsequent structural claim limitation, and another preamble that supplied no antecedent basis was not limiting.

ADIDAS AG v. NIKE, INC.

Before Moore, Taranto, and Chen. Appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Summary: A patent challenger can establish standing to appeal a final written decision in an IPR by showing that its past, present, or anticipated future activity would give rise to a possible infringement suit, even if the patentee has not specifically alleged infringement.

In Re Personal Web Technologies LLC

Before Wallach, Bryson, and Taranto. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

Summary: The Kessler doctrine is not limited to cases involving a finding of non-infringement; it applies to cases that are dismissed with prejudice.

COVID-19-related web applications have been popping up from the very start of the pandemic, and many, including Apple and others, have stepped up to contribute to the developments. The majority of COVID-related applications attempt to tackle the effort of contact tracing in order to get a better grasp on where the virus is spreading. Many of them have taken on a variety of approaches to tackle the issue – some apps are optional while others have mandated downloads. The MIT Technology Review Covid Tracing Tracker goes into an in-depth evaluation of the 25 applications it was able to identify. For example, Turkey requires all residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 to download Hayat Eve Sığar and share their data with the police, while India has become the only democracy that is making its app Aarogya Setu mandatory for millions of its people. On the other end of the spectrum are apps like Austria’s Stopp Corona and Iceland’s Rakning C-19, which are entirely voluntary to use.

MUNCHKIN, INC. V. LUV N’ CARE LTD
Before Dyk, Taranto, and Chen. Appeal from the Central District of California.

Summary: when a litigant seeks fees for an exceptional case based on issues that were not fully adjudicated at the district court, the litigant’s fee motion must demonstrate not only that they would have succeeded, but also that the opposing party’s position was unreasonable.