Intellectual Property Law

Dickstein Contingent-Fee Payout Could Be $600K Per Partner

It’s a good time to be a partner at Dickstein Shapiro, an article in this month’s Washingtonian magazine notes. Under a partial contingent-fee arrangement in a patent case, each of the firm’s 150 partners can expect an average payout of $600,000, if a $501 million Texas federal jury award (apparently…

May 20, 2008 11:08 PM CDT

Does That Counterfeit Bag Support Terrorism?

Starting Monday, New Yorkers and visitors who happen by city pay phones will see anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting ads aimed at educating the public about “The Real Price of Counterfeit Goods.” According to the New York Times City Room blog, one of the ads reads: “When you buy counterfeit goods, you…

May 16, 2008 7:04 PM CDT

Fan May Face IP Claim Over Dr. Who Knitting Patterns

A 26-year-old British fan of the BBC’s classic Doctor Who television show is facing a potential intellectual property claim over the knitting patterns she invented and distributed over the Internet for free, so fellow fans could create their own homemade versions of the show’s characters. Technically, it seems that the…

May 14, 2008 5:14 PM CDT

Legal Dispute Escalates With Craigslist Countersuit Against EBay

Web classified company Craigslist has filed a countersuit against eBay that claims the auction company interfered with its business operations and infringed its trademark after acquiring a minority stake in Craigslist. The suit was filed just two weeks after eBay sued Craigslist executives claiming they improperly sought to dilute eBay’s…

May 14, 2008 1:30 PM CDT

Battle of the Undergarments: Spanx Sues Spank for Trademark Infringement

Spanx, the maker of body shapers, is suing Sexy Panties and Naughty Knickers Ltd. for trademark infringement over its abbreviated name, Spank. The Fulton County Daily Report characterizes the suit as a dispute over an abbreviation between the “makers of abbreviated and abbreviating undergarments for women.” One of the exhibits…

May 8, 2008 3:04 PM CDT

Federal Circuit to Consider Patents for Business Methods Today

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will consider a case today that will help determine what kinds of business methods are eligible for patents. The case, In re Bilski, asks whether a patent can be issued for a method used by a commodity provider to manage the…

May 8, 2008 10:45 AM CDT

Adidas Award of $305M in Trademark Infringement Case May Be Record

A Portland, Ore., jury has awarded Adidas AG nearly $305 million for violation of its trademark for three-stripe shoes. Lawyers at Kilpatrick Stockton who represented Adidas said the judgment against Payless ShoeSource Inc. may be the largest trademark victory in U.S. history, the American Lawyer reports. The verdict included $137…

May 7, 2008 4:14 PM CDT

Magazine Compiles Top 50 List of Young IP Lawyers

A list of the top 50 intellectual property lawyers under the age of 45 includes big-firm partners, boutique litigators and in-house lawyers. IP Law & Business (reg. req.) has compiled the list, starting with Oliver Ashe, who was a sixth-year associate when started his own firm, to William Zimmerman, who…

May 6, 2008 12:12 PM CDT

Law Prof Finds Flaw That Could Invalidate Thousands of Patent Decisions

Law professor John Duffy of George Washington University figured he was missing something when he discovered a flaw in the appointment process for judges who decide patent disputes. The Constitution’s appointments clause requires “inferior officers” of government to be appointed only by the president, the courts or “heads of departments”…

May 6, 2008 11:22 AM CDT

Searching Questions

Internet keyword ads are a billion-dollar business, and many may be illegal

May 1, 2008 1:01 PM CDT

Allegations That Rambus Shredded Documents Are Moot, Court Says

Memory chip technology developer Rambus protected itself from a judge’s stinging opinion when it offered to pay opponent Samsung’s legal fees after allegations Rambus shredded documents in advance of patent litigation. U.S. District Judge Robert Payne of Virginia had criticized the company two years ago for its actions, but yesterday…

Apr 30, 2008 4:14 PM CDT

3 Thelen Practice Leaders Join Proskauer

Heads of three practice groups at Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner are moving to Proskauer Rose, along with two associates. The three, who will be partners in their new 750-lawyer firm’s technology practice group in New York, are: Jeffrey Neuburger, who chaired Thelen’s technology, media and communications department; Robert…

Apr 25, 2008 6:34 PM CDT

Imagine: Yoko Ono in 2 Lawsuits Over John Lennon Rights

In two separate lawsuits, the widow of John Lennon is seeking to protect her late husband’s memory from commercial exploitation. Yoko Ono reportedly wants to force the removal of an excerpt from Lennon’s song “Imagine” from a documentary about Darwinian evolution and regain possession of a 1970 home video that…

Apr 24, 2008 11:19 PM CDT

Paralegal Says Victoria’s Secret Stole ‘Very Sexy’ Bra Design

A paralegal in New York says Victoria Secret infringed on her 2004 patented bra design when the company created its “Very Sexy” convertible model. Katerina Plew, 38, says she spent about $12,000 to patent her design and develop a prototype, but began contacting companies seeking a manufacturing partner when she…

Apr 22, 2008 3:43 PM CDT

Shocked Judge Says A&O Overbilled; Firm Spent $10.4M for 5-Day Trial

Updated: A shocked judge on the United Kingdom’s High Court has criticized one of the country’s most prominent law firms for spending way too much time representing Research In Motion UK in an infringement case concerning BlackBerry patents. Justice Christopher Floyd pointed out that Allen & Overy racked up nearly…

Apr 18, 2008 4:51 PM CDT