Seventh Circuit: $70,000 in attorney fees affirmed for copyright and trademark appeal Back in March, we wrote about a copyright and trademark case involving a novelty doll, "Pull My Finger Fred." In the case's previous trip to the Seventh Circuit, the court affirmed a verdict of copyright and trademark infringement, $291,000 in damages, and $575,000 in attorneys' fees. Now the parties are back, this time disputing the […] Continue Reading →
Failure to discover title defect doesn’t make case exceptional; Rule 11 burden-shifting inapplicable In a decision yesterday, the Federal Circuit addressed when a case may be considered "exceptional" under 35 U.S.C. § 285, and therefore potentially warrant an award of attorney fees. The plaintiff purchased rights to a patent "as is" from a company going through bankruptcy. However, it was later revealed that the company did not have […] Continue Reading →
Judge sanctions Qualcomm for concealing over 200,000 pages of documents, providing false testimony It's been a rough week for Qualcomm. On Monday, the Bush administration let stand the ITC ruling barring import of mobile phones using certain Qualcomm chips unless a license fee is paid to Broadcom, a competing company who holds patents covering the power management technology used in the chips. Also Monday, a federal judge in […] Continue Reading →
Seventh Circuit: no evidence of use of “Stealth” mark, cancellation affirmed In a ruling today, the Seventh Circuit affirmed the cancellation of one of Leo Stoller's many "STEALTH" registrations (owned by one of his companies) for lack of use. The registration in question for "baseball bats, softball bats, and t-ball bats," was the basis for a suit brought against baseball hall of famer George Brett and […] Continue Reading →
Sixth Circuit affirms copyright infringement award against karaoke disc maker In a decision today, the Sixth Circuit affirmed an award of $806,000 in statutory damages plus attorney fees in a copyright case. The case was brought by a copyright holder against a manufacturer of karaoke discs incorporating the compositions to which the plaintiffs held the copyright. The court upheld the award and finding of willful […] Continue Reading →
Seventh Circuit issues a stinker of an opinion in copyright case The Seventh Circuit succinctly sums up the field of commerce of its decision today in JCW Investments, Inc. v. Novelty, Inc.: Somewhat to our surprise, it turns out that there is a niche market for farting dolls, and it is quite lucrative. The case presents some interesting issues, such as whether the copyright in such […] Continue Reading →
Voluntary dismissal prevents award of attorney fees under § 285 In a recent case, the Federal Circuit found that when a plaintiff voluntarily dismisses its case under Rule 41(a)(1)(i) before an answer is served, the defendant is not a “prevailing party.” As a result, attorney fees under § 285 could not be awarded by the district court. More details of the case after the jump. RFR […] Continue Reading →