Semiconductor chip giant Intel was hit with a massive, $2.175 billion dollar verdict this week over infringement claims of two patents owned by VLSI Technology LLC.[1] So, the next time your patent counsel warns that “patent infringement damages can be nontrivial,” please take heed.
In April 2019, VLSI Technology filed three infringement suits against
If you had ears in mid-2014, you’ve heard pop-star Taylor Swift’s Billboard Hot 100 song, “Shake it Off.” The lyrics feature a catchy phrase (apologies in advance for getting it stuck in your head):
‘Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I’m just
In United States Patent & Trademark Office v. Booking.com B. V.,[1] SCOTUS held that a mark styled as “generic.com” is eligible for federal trademark registration if the applicant shows “generic.com” is not a generic name to consumers. Although the Court did not expressly say so, this decision chips away
In a sequel to its Matal v. Tam decision last year, SCOTUS held that the so called “immoral or scandalous” ban on trademarks was unconstitutional in a 6-3 ruling on June 24. In the Tam decision, SCOTUS declared the “disparagement” clause of the Lanham Act to be unconstitutional under the First Amendment, but left open
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a provision of federal trademark law banning offensive trademarks from federal registration is unconstitutional. Matal v. Tam, No. 15-1293 (U.S. June 19, 2017). The case concerned a dance rock band’s application for a federal trademark registration of the band’s name, “The Slants.” “Slants” is a derogatory term for
On May 22, the Supreme Court tightened the reigns on where a patent infringement case with a corporate defendant can be filed, uprooting nearly three decades of common practice. TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Food Brands Grp. LLC, No. 16-341 (May 22, 2017).
The specific statute for patent infringement venue states that a defendant may
Generally, an invention is not patent eligible if it has become publicly known. If the patent is subject to a sale or offer for sale prior to the critical date, it has become “publicly known” and thus no longer eligible for patenting. This obstacle to a patented invention is known as the “on-sale bar” and
On December 6, 2016 the Supreme Court ruled on the nearly $400 million dollar damages award to Apple, Inc. adding yet another chapter in the nearly five year-long case between the technology giant and a competitor, Samsung Electronics, Co. in Samsung Electronics Co., LTD., et al., v. Apple Inc., 580 U.S. __ (2016). When