IP & Technology Law Trends
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Portland Band The Slants Singing a Happy Tune After the Supreme Court Unanimously Holds That the Disparagement Clause Violates the First Amendment
Background
Yesterday, six months after hearing oral argument (and nearly six years after Simon Tam filed his trademark application for "THE SLANTS"), the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's en b...
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What’s in Your Privacy Policy? New Oregon Law Requires Accuracy
On May 25, 2017, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed into law H.B. 2090. This new law will make materially inaccurate claims related to the collection, use, disclosure, maintenance, and disposal of consumer data an unlawful trade practice subject to en...
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Supreme Court Squeezes Patents: TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods & Impression Products v. Lexmark
In a pair of important decisions over the last week, the Supreme Court again changed the patent protection landscape (and again overruled the Federal Circuit). In TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands, LLC, the Supreme Court took on the issue...
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It’s Not Always Sunny in Philadelphia: CertainTeed v. BIPV
In CertainTeed v. BIPV, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has given us a good reminder that patents (or patent applications) and trade secrets don’t mix well, and also weighed in on the confounding question of...
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The Supremes Have Spoken: The Defense of Laches Does Not Apply to Patent Infringement Suits...
...but can only collect damages for six years prior to filing suit.
In a stunning upset of years of jurisprudence (Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, prior patent act), the U.S. Supreme Court determined that laches (an equitable remedy) cannot be appl...
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Sis Boom Bah? Cheerleading Uniforms and Copyright Protection—Star Athletica Case Decided!
Can a cheerleader uniform containing combinations of elements like chevrons, lines, stripes, and angles be protected by copyright? Well, the Supreme Court addressed this exact issue on March 22, 2017, in the case of Star Athletica, L.L.C. v. Varsity...
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