Posts in Circuit Courts of Appeal
Recent Trademark Developments: Four Cases Shaping the Law in the United States and Beyond
Trademark law has seen substantial developments in 2019 and 2020, with four major cases in the United States and Europe rising to the top. The U.S. Supreme Court (…
Ninth Circuit Holds that Jersey Boys Did Not Infringe ‘Protected Expressive Elements’ of Autobiographical Book
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a decision on appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of …
Trade Secrets Lessons from Epic Systems v. Tata Consultancy Services
On August 20, the Seventh Circuit in Epic Systems Corp. v. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd & Tata America Interntional Corp d/b/a/ TCS America No. 1950 (7th Cir. Aug. 20, 2020) …
Second Circuit Vacates Trademark Infringement Holding Against Costco For Use of the Term ‘Tiffany’
On August 17, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated and remanded a decision of the district court in Tiffany & Co. v. Costco Wholesale …
Eighth Circuit Affirms Holding That Disclosure of Source Code Was Authorized Under the Parties’ Agreement
On August 14, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part a district court decision in MPAY Inc. v. …
Guideposts for Determining Whether a Mark is Functioning as a Trademark
Under the Lanham Act, a trademark is any combination of words, names, symbols, or devices that are used to identify and distinguish goods or services and to …
Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Copyright Infringement Claim Against Disney’s Inside Out Movie
On August 3, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in Masterson v. Walt Disney Company, affirmed a district court’s dismissal of Carla Masterson’…
Qualcomm Vindicated in Ninth Circuit Reversal of California Court’s Antitrust Ruling
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today vacated a decision of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California finding …
Request for Amici: Tell SCOTUS to Incentivize Original Fictional Characters through Copyright
Some fictional characters are heroes; others are villains. Some mimic reality and others personify fantasy. And some appear in comic books and video games, while others in …
‘Improper Means’: The Eleventh Circuit’s Very Dubious Trade Secrets Decision in Compulife Software v. Newman (Part II)
Part 1of this article addressed the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in Compulife Software, Inc. v. Newman, __ F.3d __, 2020 WL 2549505, (11th Cir. May 20, 2020) and the court’s dubious …
Ninth Circuit Reverses Functionality and Fame Findings in Office Chair Trademark Case
On June 25, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision in Blumenthal Distributing v. Herman Miller, Inc. in which the appellate court …
A Dubious Decision: Eleventh Circuit Finds Scraping of Data from a Public Website Can Constitute Theft of Trade Secrets (Part I)
Much has already been written in a relatively short period of time since the Eleventh Circuit decided Compulife Software, Inc. v. Newman, __ F.3d __, 2020 WL 2549505, (11th Cir. …
Eighth Circuit Finds ‘Hot Pocket’ Patents Were Not Fraudulently Obtained
On June 18, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (the circuit court) affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in Inline Packaging, …
Lessons From Jerry Seinfeld’s Second Circuit Copyright Win
You may have seen a web series featuring Jerry Seinfeld called Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. The basic premise of the show is that Seinfeld and another …
D.C. Circuit Finds No Proximate Cause in Patent Attorney Malpractice Case
On June 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) affirmed a decision of the U.S. District Court for …
