Second Circuit: Famous marks doctrine doesn’t support NY unfair competition claim In a recent decision, the Second Circuit decided the one outstanding issue from a case it had previously decided in March 2007 (previously blogged here), namely whether the "famous marks" doctrine the court held Congress has not yet incorporated into federal trademark law might support a New York common law claim for unfair competition. The […] Continue Reading →
Fifth Circuit affirms injunction against trademark infringement in Saudi Arabia In a recent decision, the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court's finding of infringement and disgorgement of profits, but increased the amount of profits awarded because the defendant failed to provide evidence of its costs to reduce the award. Interestingly, the infringement took place entirely outside the United States, namely in Saudi Arabia. Even though […] Continue Reading →
Post-verdict infringement royalty must take into account changed bargaining position of parties In a decision Tuesday, the Federal Circuit addressed the issuance, stay, and subsequent dissolution of a permanent injunction. Further, the court addressed how damages should be allocated from infringement during a stay. The district court took the jury's reasonable royalty for pre-verdict infringement and trebled it to determine the applicable post-verdict royalty. The Federal Circuit […] Continue Reading →
Seizure of goods with counterfeit marks not an “embargo,” so no CIT jurisdiction to challenge fine In a decision this week, the Federal Circuit vacated the decision of the Court of International Trade (CIT) and remanded with instructions to dismiss the plaintiff's complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.The case arose out of a civil fine levied against the plaintiff for importation of counterfeit goods. The plaintiff brought suit in the […] Continue Reading →
EU highest court rules ISPs not required to identify P2P users allegedly infringing copyrights In a decision released today, the highest court in the EU, the European Court of Justice, ruled that under EU law, internet service providers (ISPs) are not required, in the course of a civil lawsuit, to disclose the identity of an individual subscriber associated with a particular IP address. The case arose out of an […] Continue Reading →
Fourth Circuit: Subpoena to foreign corporation valid even though no U.S. business contacts The Fourth Circuit last week addressed a district court's ability to issue subpoenas to foreign witnesses in USPTO administrative proceedings. The court held that a district court may issue a Rule 30(b)(6) subpoena to a foreign corporation who is party to an opposition, even if the party has no officers, directors or managing agents who […] Continue Reading →
Term defined in specification limited even though partially characterized as exemplary In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded a limited exclusion order by the International Trade Commission. The ITC entered an exclusion order that prevented importation of products produced by a method that infringed two patents.The Federal Circuit vacated the finding of infringement, holding that under the correct claim construction, there was no […] Continue Reading →
Dramatic change in UK trademark policy; Australia eliminates obligation to disclose search reports There have been two interesting changes in foreign IP practice over the past month. Effective October 1, 2007, the UK Trade Marks Office changed its policy such that it will no longer raise objections to applications based on prior existing applications/registrations. Instead, it will be the policy to write to owners of earlier potentially conflicting […] Continue Reading →
More examination outsourcing by the USPTO? According to a news release published today, the USPTO is exploring the feasability of having the Swedish Patent and Registration Office (PRV) perform the search and examination of international applications filed under the PCT in the U.S. receiving office. In the release, the USPTO notes that it receives about 50,000 international applications and about 400,000 […] Continue Reading →
Tenth Circuit: First Amendment analysis required when public domain works “restored” to copyright In an important copyright decision posted today (but apparently filed yesterday), the Tenth Circuit addressed the First Amendment implications of the "restoration" of public domain works to copyright protection as a result of the Uruguay Round Agreement Act (URAA). The URAA implemented Article 18 of the Berne Convention, which brought works back under copyright that […] Continue Reading →