samsung.jpgIPNews® – The Federal Circuit on Thursday struck down a California federal judge’s U.S. sales ban on Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy Nexus smartphone in Apple Inc.’s massive patent infringement case over the iPhone and iPad.

Judge Lucy Koh abused her discretion in finding Apple would suffer irreparable harm in the absence of the injunction, the appeals court ruled. Apple did not sufficiently prove there is a nexus between the alleged harm and the infringing conduct, it said. To continue reading, click: Federal Circuit Overturns Samsung Sales Ban In Apple Patent Case

books shelf.jpgIPNews® – A New York federal judge on Wednesday shut down the Authors Guild’s copyright infringement lawsuit against the HathiTrust over its book scanning and digitization project, ruling that the project constitutes fair use.

The HathiTrust, a group of researchers and academic institutions, is embarking on a massive preservation project to digitize the contents of its members’ libraries. The Authors Guild sued the HathiTrust in September 2011 in conjunction with its sister case against Google Inc. To continue reading, click: Book Scanning Research Group Prevails In Authors Guild Copyright Lawsuit

troll.jpgIPNews® – Non-practicing entities, or patent trolls, initiated 40 percent of all patent litigation filed in the U.S. in the past year, a new study has shown.

The percentage has jumped up from trolls filing 22 percent of all patent cases just five years ago, the study, soon to be published in the Duke Law & Technology Review, shows. That number does not even account for the patent troll licensing demands that do not make it to the litigation stage, the study’s authors say. To continue reading, click: Patent Trolls Account For 40 Percent Of All Patent Litigation, Study Shows

Thumbnail image for microsoft.jpgIPNews® – Motorola Mobility failed Wednesday to convince a Seattle federal judge to toss Microsoft Inc.’s claims seeking a court-declared reasonable and non-discriminatory royalty rate for Motorola’s standards-essential patents for wireless network and video coding technology.

The court had already found that Motorola has an obligation to license the patents in suit at RAND rates under its commitments to international standards-setting organizations. A bench trial to determine the RAND royalty rate will begin Nov. 13. To continue reading, click: Motorola Fails To Shake Microsoft Claim For Standards Patents RAND Rate

power on.jpgIPNews® – Verde Power Supply Inc. has lost its appeal of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s denial of its attempt to register “Verde” as a trademark.

The PTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board affirmed a PTO examiner’s finding that the proposed trademark was merely descriptive. Verde Power Supply failed to respond to the examiner’s questions about its goods’ environmental friendliness and energy efficiency, the board noted. To continue reading, click: TTAB Rejects “Verde” Power Supply Trademark As Merely Descriptive

courthouse.jpgIPNews® – The Federal Circuit agreed on Tuesday to hold an en banc rehearing involving all of the court’s judges regarding a controversial three-judge panel decision in July that upheld four financial software patents.

The July ruling in CLS Bank International v. Alice Corp. drew heat from many quarters, especially in the technology industry, for allowing too-vague ideas to receive patent protection. The appeals court requested additional briefing on rehearing regarding how the court should determine whether a computer-implemented invention is a patent-ineligible abstract idea. To continue reading, click: Federal Circuit To Rehear Abstract Financial Software Patent Case En Banc

disney.jpgIPNews® – A group of major television and movie studios told a Manhattan federal judge on Monday that they deserve summary judgment on their claims that Lime Wire LLC induced widespread copyright infringement on its users’ part by allowing rampant illegally downloading of the studios’ shows and films.

The studios asked for the same ruling the New York court handed down in 2010 in the copyright infringement case the major record companies brought against Lime Wire, based on the doctrine of collateral estoppel. It does not matter that the other case concerned music-related infringement, as Lime Wire has argued in its opposition to summary judgment, because liability for inducement does not depend on the type of work, the studios say. To continue reading, click: Disney, Viacom, Others Ask For Infringement Ruling In Lime Wire Copyright Case

sony.jpgIPNews® – Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC shot back on Thursday at Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC’s trademark infringement complaint in San Francisco federal court over Bridgestone’s use of an actor who appeared in numerous Sony Playstation ads in one of its own commercials playing a Nintendo Wii.

Bridgestone says that it is not, as Sony claims, misappropriating its trademark “Kevin Butler” character to promote a competing product. Sony says that featuring the actor was an unlawful attempt to capitalize on his association with the Playstation brand. To continue reading, click: Bridgestone Strikes Back At Sony Actor Trademark Lawsuit

pills-tablets.jpgIPNews® – Impax Laboratories Inc.’s attempt to bring to market a generic version of the emotional instability treatment Nuedexta drew a new infringement lawsuit on Monday from Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc., which owns the patent for Nuedexta.

Avanir’s patent for the drug issued in July, and it says Impax’s recently filed abbreviated new drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would infringe that patent. The drug is used to treat “emotional lability,” or uncontrollable emotional outbursts as a result of brain damage. To continue reading, click: OC Drug Maker Avanir Tries To Block Impax’s Generic Nuedexta

download.jpgIPNews® – A Virginia federal judge on Friday denied Megaupload Ltd.’s motion to dismiss the U.S. government’s massive criminal copyright infringement case agains the online media storage and download service, its founder Kim Dotcom and seven other employees.

The New Zealand-based Megaupload had argued that the company could not be properly served with a summons because it has no address or operations in the U.S. Judge Liam O’Grady disagreed, saying that such a minor hurdle does not warrant dismissal and that one of the individual defendants could be served upon extradition. To continue reading, click: Megaupload Loses Bid To Junk U.S. Copyright Criminal Action