Taking a practical “I-know-it-when-I see-it” approach, a Nevada court considered the applicability of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”), 17 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(2), and other statutes, to mechanisms that allowed users to receive proprietary satellite programming for free. The court entered a preliminary injunction, and authorized impoundment of devices and codes used to access the […]
Software Patent (and Other) Lessons From Prometheus v. Mayo
In addressing claims directed to medical diagnoses, the Supreme Court’s opinion in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc. may actually lend some clarity to questions of patentability pertaining to software patents. True, a clearer understanding of software patentability might not be the most obvious take-away from Prometheus. And we are still a long way from […]
Amending Patent Infringement Contentions
When do the results of claim construction proceedings justify a patent plaintiff in amending its infringement contentions? A court in the Eastern District of Texas allowed the plaintiff to accuse certain software components for the first time following the conclusion of claim construction proceedings. SSL Services, LLC v. Citrix Systems, Inc., No. 2:08-cv-158-JRG (E.D. Texas […]
Enforcing Trade Secrets and IP Contract Rights
What happens when parties to a joint development agreement don’t follow agreed-to procedures for identifying technology created under the agreement? Lawyers can ensure that joint development agreements are larded with procedures under which rights in joint technology are protected. But do we do enough — and can we do enough — to ensure that such […]
Misrepresenting Infringement Under the DMCA
A pro se plaintiff was unable to plead adequately that Viacom had knowingly misrepresented that the plaintiff infringed Viacom’s copyrights when Viacom sent DMCA takedown notices to various content providers. Ouellette v. Viacom International, Inc., No. CV 10-133-M-DWM-JCL (D. Mont. March 13, 2012). Therefore, the court granted Viacom’s motion for judgment on the pleadings under […]
Meeting the Notice Pleading Standard for Patent Infringement
The court in Gradient Enterprises, Inc. v. Skype Technologies S.A, No. 10-CV-6712L (W.D.N.Y. March 13, 2012), addressed the confusion concerning pleading standards in patent infringement actions following the Supreme Court’s decisions in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly and Ashcroft v. Iqbal, as well as the Federal Circuit’s McZeal v. Sprint Nextel Corp. decision. In dismissing […]
No Personal Jurisdiction in Cybersquatting Case
An entity alleged to be the alter ego of a plaintiff bringing an action for reverse domain name hijacking is not subject to the personal jurisdiction of the court on a trademark infringement counterclaim. AIRFX v. AirFX, No. CV 11-01064 (D. Ariz. March 8, 2012). Facts Marc Lurie, accused of cybersquatting in a Uniform Domain Name […]
Stays Pending Reexamination: Timing Matters
As demonstrated by the recent opinion in Interwoven, Inc. v. Vertical Computer Systems, Inc., No. C 10-04645 RS (N.D. Cal. Mar. 8, 2012), timing and circumstances can be very important when seeking a stay of litigation pending a patent reexamination proceeding. Long used as a defense tactic in patent litigation generally, reexaminations have become a […]
Claims Upheld Under Bilski in the E.D. Texas
A recent Eastern District of Texas decision found patentable subject matter in claims directed to determining Current Procedural Technology (“CPT”) codes based on information gathered during a physician-patient encounter. Prompt Medical Systems, L.P. v. AllscriptsMisys Healthcare Solutions, Inc., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30694, No. 6:10-CV-71 (E.D. Texas Feb. 13, 2012). Procedural Setting Defendants brought a […]
Service by E-mail
Internet scofflaws often operate anonymously or under pseudonyms, and frequently provide false addresses, making them difficult to locate and serve. This has led some courts to allow service via e-mail, a helpful tool to remember in the often frustrating battle against the anonymity of cyber squatters, domain name infringers, and the like. For example, in […]
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