Before Prost, Dyk, and Moore. Appeal from District of Delaware.
Summary: A district court’s construction of a claim term that is contrary to the plain language of the claims and usage of the term in the specification was erroneous.
On January 30, 2019, the luxury jewelry suppliers Van Cleef & Arpels filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Nice Ice Fine Jewelers, LLC (“Defendant”). Van Cleef & Arpels’ complaint alleges trade dress infringement and unfair competition under the Lanham Act and related claims of trademark infringement and unfair competition under New York common law.
On February 6, 2019, the Federal Circuit decided Athena Diagnostics, Inc. v. Mayo Collaborative Services, LLC, affirming a District Court for the District of Massachusetts decision that the claims at issue were patent ineligible for being directed to a natural law.
Before Moore, Taranto, and Chen. Appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
https://www.knobbe.com/attorneys/paul-stewartSummary: The mere fact that a certain thing may result from a given set of circumstances is not sufficient to demonstrate inherency. Instead, the party alleging inherency must show that the natural result flowing from the operation as taught would result in the performance of the questioned function.
Before Prost, Moore, and Wallach. Appeal from the Northern District of Florida.
Summary: When a state entity sues for patent infringement, it waives sovereign immunity as to all defenses, including subject matter eligibility under Section 101.
Under the first sale doctrine, once a trademark owner first authorizes its branded product to be sold to a consumer, the trademark owner’s right to control the further re-sale of that product is generally said to be “exhausted”, so long as the product is not “materially different” from the original.
On December 28, 2018, Nirvana LLC filed a lawsuit against designer Marc Jacobs in the Central District of California, alleging copyright and trademark infringement. Nirvana LLC is the legal entity which controls the band Nirvana’s financial, legal, and business affairs. Nirvana LLC was formed in September 1997 by the band’s two surviving members, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, along with the Cobain Estate, controlled by Courtney Love. The lawsuit was triggered by Jacobs’ new “Bootleg Redux Grunge” Collection, and alleges infringement of Nirvana’s satirical smiley face design, created by Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain in 1991. The design was first introduced in 1992, and has since been licensed for use on numerous items, often appearing in yellow against a black background.
Before Prost, Wallach, and Hughes. Appeal from the U.S. District Court for N.D. Ohio.
Summary: On a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, a district court cannot judicially notice facts that are subject to reasonable dispute. Also, when a Plaintiff “knew or should have known” of its claim is a fact-specific inquiry that cannot be resolved on a motion to dismiss based on the statute of limitations.
Before Lourie, O’Malley, Reyna. Appeals from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, and United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
Summary: A firm’s representation of an indirect subsidiary of a parent corporation may create a disqualifying, concurrent conflict of interest for representation of a party adverse to a different indirect subsidiary of the parent corporation.
Eliya inc., known for its BERNIE MEV shoes, filed a declaratory judgment action against Sketchers on January 29, 2019 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
