IP & Technology Law Trends
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The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016—A Solution in Search of a Problem?
The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 became the law of the land on May 11, 2016. It was greeted with broad fanfare. Much was written about it, mostly by lawyers, with predictions of how this could change trade-secret litigation. But with nearly a yea...
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Copyright Office Requiring New DMCA Agent Designation by Year’s End
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) provides limited immunity from copyright infringement claims to certain types of websites and other online service providers. To qualify for such safe-harbor immunity, such providers must designate an agent...
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The Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument in Portland Band The Slants' Trademark Case
On Wednesday, January 18, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Lee v. Tam, a case reviewing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's en banc decision in In re Tam holding that the disparagement provision in Section 2(a) of t...
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It’s Tax Fraud Season: Take Action Today to Avoid This Common Data Breach Scenario
Last year, many businesses suffered data breaches during tax season when their employees divulged other employees’ W-2 information (including Social Security numbers) to criminals. Sadly, we are starting to receive reports that the criminals are back...
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The Supremes Unanimously Limit the Galactic Design-Patent-Infringement Damages Award in One of the Apple v. Samsung Design-Patent Wars
More than 120 years have passed since the United States Supreme Court last tackled the issue of damages in design-patent cases. This month, the Court put an end to that silence with its decision in Samsung Electronics Co. v. Apple Inc., handing Samsu...
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TTAB Continues to Trim Cannabis-Related Marks
Continuing the precedent established last month by In Re JJ206, LLC dba JuJu Joints, the TTAB recently released its decision in In re Ultra Trimmer, LLC, which affirms the PTO’s increased vigilance of cannabis-related trade and service marks. Here, t...
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