The United State Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has provided clarity this week regarding the patent eligibility of computerized processes. On Tuesday, the appellate court issued its ruling in McRO, Inc. v. Bandai Namco Games America Inc. et. al., wherein it reversed the lower court’s ruling that patents on lip-sync technology were invalid […]
Continue Reading →In the wake of litigation surrounding the classic song “Happy Birthday to You,”a class action suit has been filed addressing the classic folk song “This Land Is Your Land.”The class action case seeks to liberate the well-known song and place it in the public domain. It was filed on behalf of the band Satorii, which […]
Continue Reading →Two of the most notorious copyright litigation cases in recent years share one thing in common, neither jury was allowed to compare the audio recordings of the songs in question. The rulings in both the “Blurred Lines”and “Stairway to Heaven”cases show how important it is to file accurate and complete deposit copies with the US […]
Continue Reading →Recently a California U.S. District Judge found that Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. did not hold a valid copyright on the song “Happy Birthday To You‚¬, and the song was held to be in the public domain. As part of the judgment, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. was ordered to pay $14 million to reimburse members of the class […]
Continue Reading →The USPTO has implemented the “Post-Prosecution Pilot”referred to as the “P3 Program.”The goal of the program is to reduce the need for appeals by providing a more robust after final, pre-appeal program. The P3 Program essentially blends two existing programs: the After Final Consideration Pilot and the Pre-Appeal Brief Conference Pilot. The After Final Consideration […]
Continue Reading →One of the most iconic rock songs of the 20th Century came under fire earlier this summer for allegations of copyright infringement. The estate of Randy Wolfe, guitarist for Spirit on the song “Taurus,”brought a copyright suit against Led Zeppelin, frontman Robert Plant, and guitarist Jimmy Page alleging infringement of a guitar riff that opens […]
Continue Reading →In the Striker-Halo decision, the Supreme Court addressed the standard for awarding treble damages for patent infringement, finding the existingSeagate standard was “unduly rigid”and “impermissible encumber[ed] the statutory grant of discretion to trial courts.”In order to award treble damages, theSeagate standard required clear and convincing evidence that the infringer acted despite an objectively highly likelihood […]
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Continue Reading →In In re Hodgdon Powder Company, Inc., the TTAB overturned a prior refusal to register a color mark for gunpowder. In doing so, the TTAB found that Hodgdon Powder Co. had proven acquired distinctiveness under Section 2(f) of the Trademark Act of 1946, 15 U.S.C. § 1052(f), for the color “white”as applied to gunpowder in […]
Continue Reading →In The Medicines Co. v. Hospira, Inc., the full Federal Circuit recently elaborated what exactly constitutes a “sale”for the purposes of the “on sale”bar under Pre-America Invents Act (AIA) 35 U.S.C. § 102(b). Pre-AIA § 102(b) and AIA § 102(a)(1) forbid the granting of a patent where the claimed invention was “on sale”prior to an […]
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