Intellectual Property Law

Maryland IP Jobs, Seminar Announcement, Kanye West Lawsuit

Posted on August 25, 2009
Please visit the Maryland IP Jobs page for a list of Intellectual Property jobs in Maryland (if you would like to have an IP-related job in Maryland listed on this website--for free--please send me the information)   Invotex Group's Michele Riley will be co-presenting a WEBINAR to the MD Bar Association - IP Section titled "Removing the Mystery: Damages in Intellectual Property Disputes" on Thursday, September 10, 2009 from 8:30 to 9:30 a...

Number of Patents Issued to Marylanders Inches Up

Posted on July 10, 2009
     U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) records show that for the year ending June 30, 2008, the PTO granted 1,983 patents naming at least one Maryland resident as an inventor or joint inventor (based on residence addresses supplied by patent applicants to the PTO)...

Looking for a Few Good Patent Attorneys?

Posted on June 10, 2009
     If you're looking for a registered patent attorney (or patent agent) in Maryland near you, visit this website, which provides a map showing the location of registered patent attorneys and agents in Maryland based on address information supplied to the U...

Law Article: Assertion of Military and State Secrets Privilege by Government in Patent Cases on the Rise

Posted on June 01, 2009
     In their forthcoming Berkeley Technology Law Journal article (alternative link), visiting University of Maryland Associate Professor of Law Davida Isaacs and University of Kentucky Assistant Professor of National Security Robert Farley discuss the Military and State Secret Privilege and its negative impact on innovation, the discovery process, and government procurement...

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Judgment Against American Mensa in Trademark Dispute

Posted on May 22, 2009
UPDATE: American Mensa, Ltd. v. Inpharmatica, Ltd. et al., No. 07-3283 (D. Md filed Dec. 6, 2007); assigned to J. Quarles      As previously reported on this website, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland granted in part and denied in part Defendants' motion for summary judgment in the case of American Mensa v...

Fourth Circuit: Turnitin's Anti-Plagiarism Service a Fair Use

Posted on May 15, 2009
A.V. (Minors) v. iParadigms, LLC, No. 08-1424 and 08-1480 (4th Cir. Apr. 16, 2009)      Plaintiffs, four minors (who at the time of their complaint attended high schools in McLean, VA, and Tucson, AZ), brought a copyright infringement suit against iParadigms, LLC, based on the company's use of essays and other papers written by plaintiffs for submission to their high school teachers through an online service operated by iParadigms called "Turnitin Plagiarism Detection Service...

Cigarette Patent Case Resumes With Jury Trial

Posted on May 15, 2009
UPDATE: Star Scientific vs. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.      Next Monday, Petersburg, Virginia-based Star Scientific, Inc. and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. will resume their battle over allegations of RJR's infringement of Star's U...

Hanna-Barbera Productions Opposes Registration of Yogiberry Trademark

Posted on March 08, 2009
     Rockville, MD-based Yogiberry, Inc., filed an application for registration of the mark YOGIBERRY in the U.S. Trademark Office on March 11, 2008, which was approved for publication and subsequently published for opposition on September 2, 2008...

Settlement News and MD Bar Association Events

Posted on March 07, 2009
Many of you have inquired about the status of the Nacre v. Silynx Communications matter, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on October 2, 2007.  I am not surprised by the interest, since this case has garnered more attention by visitors to the Maryland Intellectual Property Law blog than any other reported case...

Number of Copyright Lawsuits in Maryland Increases

Posted on February 03, 2009
     Data available from Justia.com shows that the number of copyright lawsuits filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (Greenbelt and Baltimore divisions combined) in 2008 (40; see table below comparing Districts) was higher than the number initiated in 2007 (30)...

Tech Council Urges IP Legislation for Clean Technology

Posted on January 21, 2009
     In its 2009 Policy Platform for Technology and Biotechnology published earlier this month, the Technology Council of Maryland (TCM) called for funding and targeted legislation for the state's technology and biotechnology industries, but also urged incentives, financing, tax credits and intellectual property legislation "that will spur the potential for making Maryland a leader in clean and green technology...

Number of Trademark Lawsuits Initiated in Maryland Increases

Posted on January 14, 2009
      Data available from Justia.com shows that the number of trademark lawsuits filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (Greenbelt and Baltimore divisions combined) in 2008 (36; see table below comparing Districts) was slightly higher than the number initiated in 2007 (33)...

No Fame In Mensa's Trademark, Court Finds

Posted on January 13, 2009
American Mensa, Ltd. v. Inpharmatica, Ltd. et al., No. 07-3283 (D. Md filed Dec. 6, 2007); assigned to J. Quarles      In American Mensa v. Inpharmatic, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland granted in part and denied in part Defendants' motion for summary judgment...

Number of Patent Lawsuits Initiated in Maryland Increases

Posted on January 11, 2009
     The table below shows how Maryland ranked among other U.S. District Courts in terms of the number of lawsuits raising patent issues in 2008 (source Justia.com). Table values are based on the number of complaints filed in 2008...

Patent Secrecy Act Activity Drops in FY08

Posted on January 08, 2009
     Ever wonder what the "LR" or "L&R" code means in the electronic file history of a pending patent application?  It refers to the Patent Office's Licensing and Review function, which is an early screening function applicable to all provisional applications filed under 35 U...

Number of Patents Issued to Marylanders Continues Downward Trend

Posted on January 03, 2009
     U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) records show that for 2008, the PTO granted 1,942 patents naming at least one Maryland resident as an inventor or joint inventor (based on residence addresses supplied by patent applicants to the PTO)...

Maryland's Silynx and Norway's Nacre Forge Ahead on Patent Case

Posted on January 03, 2009
Nacre AS v. Silynx Communications, Inc., matter, No. 07-cv-02676, filed Oct. 2, 2007; assigned to J. Williams For those of you following the Nacre AS v. Silynx Communications, Inc., matter (and many of you are, based on traffic on this website), the parties jointly filed a stipulated schedule with the court, which was granted by U...

Federal Trademark Trends in Maryland: 2008 Summary

Posted on January 02, 2009
     U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) records show that in 2008, the PTO received 68 trademark applications from Maryland resident or entities (based on a search of "owner address" records using Trademark Electronic Search System, TESS, database)...

Upcoming Conference Targets Bio/Pharma Industry

Posted on December 19, 2008
pnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Hat tip to a href="http://www.infringementupdates.com/2008/12/intellectual-asset-management-strategies.html"Philip Brooks/a for noting the upcomingnbsp;a href="http://www.cbinet.com/show_conference.cfm?confCode=PC09009"Bio/Pharmaceutical Summit on Intellectual Asset Management Strategies/anbsp;to be held in Baltimore, MD, on January 20-21, 2009...

Copyright Reform?, House IP Committee Nixed, Patent Terms Extended

Posted on November 15, 2008
  Calling for Copyright Reform "Given where we are on the patent reform debate, is it time to move patent reform off the table and work on copyright reform?" That is the question posed by Kristie Prinz at the Silicon Valley IP Licensing Law Blog...

Patent Reform Act of 2008: News, Commentary, and Analysis

Posted on November 13, 2008
     Seven weeks after Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) introduced S.3600, the Patent Reform Act of 2008, on September 25, 2008 (source: GovTracks), the reaction has been predictable, with stakeholders on the pro- and anti-reform sides making their views known...

Court Clarifies Patent Eligibility Standard for Inventions Involving Process Steps

Posted on October 31, 2008
In Re Bilski (Fed. Cir.; October 30, 2008)      In In Re Bilski, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, DC, sitting en banc, considered the issue of whether certain so-called business methods and other “processes” are eligible for patent protection...

Copyright News: PRO-IP law, RIAA setback, DMCA rulemaking

Posted on October 22, 2008
Copyright On October 13, 2008, President Bush signed into law P.L. 110-403, the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008 (also known as the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act or PRO-IP Act). The law creates a cabinet-level position entitled “Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator”, a...

MD IP Law Blog Joins Top-Ranked Blawgs

Posted on September 28, 2008
     The top 20 law blogs focusing on intellectual property issues, based on “weekly” rankings compiled by Blawgsearch (Justia.com), are shown below. The Maryland Intellectual Property Law Blog is ranked 11th (out of a total 183 blogs in the IP category)...

Man & Machine, Inc. v. Apple, Inc.

Posted on September 21, 2008
Man & Machine, Inc. v. Apple, Inc., No. 8:2008cv02453 (D. Md filed Sep. 18, 2008); assigned to J. Williams      Man & Machine, Inc. (M&M), a Maryland company based in Landover, MD, owns the federally registered MIGHTY MOUSE trademark, which, according to Trademark Office records, was first used in commerce in 2004 (in connection with M&M's medical and industrial and hygienic waterproof computer mice products)...

Copyright Workshop Series Announced; Information Theft on the Rise

Posted on September 20, 2008
Univ. of Maryland University Center's Center for Intellectual Property announces its 2008-2009 asynchronous online workshop series. Courses include "Copyright Law and Integrated Access to Digital Course Materials," "Section 108," and "Fair Use and Balance in Copyright: The Best Practices Model," among others...

Cardin Adds Support to Intellectual Property Enforcement Bill

Posted on September 12, 2008
     On September 10, 2008, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) added his support to S. 3325, the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008, one day before the Senate Judiciary ordered the bill "to be reported with amendments favorably...

Pinkberry v. Yogiberry

Posted on September 10, 2008
Pinkberry, Inc. v. Yogiberry, Inc., No. 8:2008cv02355 (D. Md. filed Sep. 9, 2008); assigned to J. Titus      California-based Pinkberry, Inc. is a wildly popular upscale frozen yogurt restaurant with stores in New York and California...

Maryland IP Law Blog Wordle

Posted on September 08, 2008
     Below is a Wordle based on the last several months worth of posts on this website.  A Wordle is a “word cloud” generated from text in which greater prominence is given to words that appear more frequently in the source text...

Trademark Applications, IP Lawsuit Filings, and Technology Spending in Maryland

Posted on September 04, 2008
2008 Maryland trademark filings and registrations continue to trail 2007 numbers: Wake County, North Carolina, Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens ruled September 3, 2008, that two Chinese companies and a former Serenex employee must pay Serenex $57...

Recent Popular Searches for Maryland IP Law Info

Posted on August 31, 2008
     Thank you for visiting the Maryland IP Law Blog; I appreciate all the traffic, posted comments, and frequent emails.  While you're here, please visit the revised "About" page, which was updated to contain more concise biographical information...

Conspiracy Theory Fails to Convince Federal Circuit

Posted on August 25, 2008
Star Scientific, Inc. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., No. 2007-1448 (Fed. Cir., argued March 7, 2008; opinion August 25, 2008)      Petersburg, Virginia-based Star Scientific, Inc., sued R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. for infringement of U...

Hillcrest Labs Sues Nintendo and Its Wii Video Game

Posted on August 24, 2008
Hillcrest Laboratories, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd. et al      Hillcrest Labs sued Nintendo of America (Redmond, WA, and Kyoto, Japan), maker of the widely-popular "Wii" (TM), for patent infringement on August 20, 2008, in the US District Court for the District of Maryland one day after its U...

Patent Lawsuit Filings Down in July 2008

Posted on August 13, 2008
     According to statistics compiled by Kyle Fleming at the Patent Appeal Tracker Blog using PACER data, there were 241 patent litigation cases filed in July 2008 in 50 different judicial districts. That's 14 fewer lawsuits than in June 2008...

Maryland's SafeNet Patented Technology Secures Beijing Olympic Coverage

Posted on August 11, 2008
     Maryland's SafeNet announced earlier this month that it had been hired by CCTV, the national television network of the People's Republic of China, to secure from copyright infringement CCTV's live and on-demand online video footage of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games...

Senate Passes Legislation Impacting IP Laws

Posted on August 06, 2008
Senate Passes Bill to Fix Administrative Law Judge Status Reacting to revelations that several PTO Administrative Law Judges may have been appointed to their positions without proper authority, the Senate introduced and then passed S.3295 on July 22, 2008...

Number of IP Lawsuits Increases in Maryland

Posted on August 05, 2008
     Even in soft economic times, companies continue to protect their intellectual property assets. According to statistics available from Justia.com, 63 complaints alleging liability under patent, copyright, and/or trademark laws were filed in the U...

Federal Circuit Considers Whether Justiciable Case or Controversy Exists in Hatch-Waxman Case

Posted on July 26, 2008
Merck & Co. Inc. v. Apotex Inc., No. 2007-1362 (Fed. Cir. July 16, 2008) (non-precedential)      In this appeal, the Federal Circuit affirmed and vacated a decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware (J...

eBay's Liability for Counterfeit Goods Sold on its Website Decided

Posted on July 15, 2008
     "eBay tumbled Tiffany's carefully stacked legal arguments," writes law professor and Counterfeit Chic blogger Susan Scafidi.  On Monday, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held that eBay is not liable to Tiffany & Co...

TTAB: Dont Overreach When Identifying Services Associated With One's Trademark

Posted on July 12, 2008
     In Grand Canyon West Ranch v. Hualapai Tribe, TTAB No. 91162008 (June 30, 2008), the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board found that an applicant, not registrant, committed fraud on the Trademark Office when it represented to the Office that it provided services in association with its mark GRAND CANYON WEST that, in fact, it did not offer...

Targeted Patent Reform Legislation: Cutting Some Slack for Missed Deadlines

Posted on July 11, 2008
     35 U.S.C. § 156(d)(1) requires the submission of a patent term extension (PTE) application within 60 days from the date the patentee obtains permission from the FDA to commercially market or use a drug product that is the subject of a new drug application (NDA)...

New Blog Covers "Green" Patents

Posted on July 05, 2008
    Eric Lane, a patent attorney at Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps in the firm's Intellectual Property and Climate Change & Clean Technologies practice groups, publishes the Green Patent Blog. This relatively new website is dedicated to discussing and analyzing intellectual property issues relating to clean technologies and renewable energy...

Federal Trademark Trends in Maryland: First Half 2008

Posted on July 03, 2008
     U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) records show that for the period January through June 2008, the PTO received 28 trademark applications from Maryland resident or entities (based on a search of "owner address" records using TESS)...

Number of Patents Issued to Marylanders Continues Recent Trends

Posted on July 02, 2008
     U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) records show that for the period January through June 2008, the PTO granted 986 patents naming at least one Maryland resident as an inventor or joint inventor (based on residence addresses supplied by patent applicants to the PTO)...

Copyright Office Announces Electronic Registration

Posted on July 01, 2008
     Last September, the Copyright Office issued an announcement that it had begun beta testing of its web-based registration system, which was part of a new "electronic Copyright Office" (eCO) program (see Copyright Office Announces Electronic Registration Testing)...

Alleging Infringement by Corporate Officers Requires More Than Just Bare Allegations

Posted on June 21, 2008
Nacre AS v. Silynx Communications, Inc., No. 07-cv-02676, filed Oct. 2, 2007; assigned to J. Williams.      Plaintiff Nacre AS is a Norwegian company that alleges ownership of U.S. registered trademark QUIETPRO, as well as U...

Grimm's Guide to Asserting Attorney-Client Privilege

Posted on June 12, 2008
     In Victor Stanley, Inc. v. Creative Pipe, Inc., No. 06-2662 (D. Md. May 29, 2008), U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Grimm describes the proper means for asserting that documents are protected or immune from discovery because of the attorney-client privilege or attorney work product doctrine...

E-Discovery: Inadvertent Disclosure of Privileged Documents May Waive Attorney-Client Privilege

Posted on June 08, 2008
     U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Paul W. Grimm is a leading jurist in the field of electronic discovery. In Victor Stanley, Inc. v. Creative Pipe, Inc., No. 06-2662 (D. Md. May 29, 2008), Judge Grimm discusses the approach the U.S...

Trade Secret Lawsuits on the Rise

Posted on May 23, 2008
     Hat tip to the Womble Carlyle Trade Secret Blog for publishing interesting statistics about trade secret lawsuits filed in the US. In its post a few weeks ago, the Womble bloggers reported the results of their search of the Westlaw federal database (federal district, appeals and Supreme Court cases) for the term "trade secrets," which returned 905 cases for 2007...

Copyright: New Rules and Other News

Posted on May 21, 2008
Copyright Office Publishes Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Amend Current Regulations Governing Group Registrations In its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Copyright Office is proposing to amend 37 CFR Part 202, the current regulations governing group registrations, to allow the grouping of individual works on one registration application...

Discussion: IP Licensing Issues Impacting Maryland Entities

Posted on May 19, 2008
     The Maryland State Bar Association - Intellectual Property Section is co-sponsoring a rountable discussion this Wednesday concerning IP licensing issues. The "IP Licensing Issues from an In-House Perspective: A Roundtable Discussion" event is being presented shortly after registration beginning at 8:00 AM...

Maryland IP Litigation 2008: Lawsuit Summaries

Posted on May 17, 2008
     Below are summaries of recent IP-related lawsuits filed in the the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in 2008 (source: Justia). Magnus v. Association of Pet Dog Trainers, No. 8:2008cv00850; filed April 4, 2008; assigned to J...

Exporting Technology Information to Colleagues Abroad Requires License

Posted on May 10, 2008
     Employees of Maryland companies with R&D, manufacturing, and other  capabilities located outside the US may be tempted to collaborate with their counterparts located abroad. It's important to remember, however, that exporting technology information outside the US is highly regulated by several US agencies...

PRO-IP Bill Passes in House of Representatives

Posted on May 09, 2008
     By an overwhelming majority, the House of Representatives on May 8, 2008, passed, by roll call vote, H.R. 4279, the "Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property (Pro-IP) Act of 2008." According to govtracks, the vote was held under a suspension of the rules to cut debate short and pass the bill (a move that needed a two-thirds majority)...

Maryland IP Litigation 2008: Lawsuit Summaries

Posted on May 08, 2008
     Below are summaries of recent IP-related lawsuits filed in the the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in 2008 (source: Justia). Emerson Electric Co. v. John Does 1-10, No. 1:2008cv00734; filed March 20, 2008; assigned to J...

Patent Office Will Accept New Application Format

Posted on April 29, 2008
     The US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), the European Patent Office (EPO), and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) agreed on a common patent application format (CAF), which is shown below.      The USPTO states that its rules and procedure are consistent with the CAF, and that while some of the requirements of the CAF go beyond what the USPTO requires, the USPTO will accept an application in the CAF...

Patent Reform Act Legislation Stumbles in Senate

Posted on April 18, 2008
     Below are links to and highlights of recently published blog posts discussing current events relating to the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (s.1145). It appears from all accounts that Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), ranking minority member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and his Republican caucus, may block pending patent reform legislation until there is a "fair and equitable treatment" on the confirmation of federal judges, and resolution of provisions concerning apportionment of damages for patent infringement...

Webinar and Conference Announcements, State of the Blogosphere, and Other News

Posted on April 11, 2008
IP Forum Webinar Announcement: "DELAWARE: Epicenter for U.S. IP Dispute Resolution"      This from a soon-to-be released announcement from my law firm, Blank Rome:  "Join a knowledgeable team from Blank Rome on April 30, 2008 for an in-depth look at the Top 5 Things You Need Know when litigating a patent case in the U...

District Court IP Litigation Trends 1Q 2008

Posted on April 10, 2008
    The table below identifies the top 10 states having the most copyright, trademark, and patent lawsuits filed in their respective U.S. district courts during the first quarter of 2008 (source Justia.com). The numbers show that California had the most filings, followed by, in order, Texas, New York, Illinois, Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, and Michigan...

Federal Trademark Trends in Maryland: 1Q 2008

Posted on April 04, 2008
     U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) records show that for the period January through March 2008, the PTO received 15 trademark applications from Maryland resident or entities (based on a search of "owner address" records using TESS)...

Maryland IP Litigation 2008: Lawsuit Summary No. 20

Posted on April 03, 2008
#20: Staggs v. West, No. 8:2008cv00728; filed March 20, 2008; assigned to J. Messitte      Dayna D. Staggs, III, a Prince Georges County, MD, resident and music recording artist who, as reported by On the Record, reportedly performs and produces under the alias D'Mystro, filed this copyright infringement lawsuit against singer Kanye West ("one of the worlds biggest Hip Hop Rap artist[s]") and co-defendants Roc-A-Fella Records, LLC, Good Music Carter Administration, Shawn Carter Records, LLC, and Broadcast Music Inc...

Patents Issued to Marylanders Down, Applications Increase

Posted on April 02, 2008
     U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) records show that for the period January through March 2008, the PTO granted 468 patents naming at least one Maryland resident as an inventor or joint inventor (based on residence addresses supplied by patent applicants to the PTO)...

Maryland IP Litigation 2008: Lawsuit Summary No. 19

Posted on April 01, 2008
#19: CoStar Realty Information, Inc. v. Field, No. 8:2008cv00663; filed March 13, 2008; assigned to J. Williams      This copyright lawsuit involves Plaintiffs CoStar Realty Information, Inc., and CoStar Group, Inc., which are Delaware companies with their principal places of business in Bethesda, MD, and Defendants Mark Field (allegedly a California resident and sole proprietor d/b/a Alliance Valuation Group), Lawson Valuation Group, Inc...

SCOTUS and Patent Law: A Panel Discussion at Maryland School of Law

Posted on March 31, 2008
     On April 18, 2008, the University of Maryland School of Law Intellectual Property Law and Business Law Programs, and the Journal of Business & Technology Law, will host a panel discussion entitled "The New Private Ordering of Intellectual Property: The Emergence of Contracts as the Drivers of Intellectual Property Rights...

Copyright Primer and Tips for Authors

Posted on March 30, 2008
     Below are three interesting and useful blog posts and websites dealing with copyright issues. Primer on Copyright Liability and Fair Use by Citizen Media Law Project      This blog provides legal primers on a variety of legal subjects, including the linked primer that provides an in-depth summary of United States copyright, fair use, and Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) issues...

Maryland IP Litigation 2008: Lawsuit Summary No. 18

Posted on March 30, 2008
#18: Sunoco, Inc. (R&M) v. IDK, Inc., No. 8:2008cv00605; filed March 6, 2008; assigned to J. Titus       Pennsylvania-based Sunoco, Inc., markets and distributes petroleum products, including motor fuels, to distributors and service stations in Maryland...

Maryland IP Litigation 2008: Lawsuit Summary No. 18

Posted on March 29, 2008
#18: Sunoco, Inc. (R&M) v. IDK, Inc., No. 8:2008cv00605; filed March 6, 2008; assigned to J. Titus       Pennsylvania-based Sunoco, Inc., markets and distributes petroleum products, including motor fuels, to distributors and service stations in Maryland...

Star Scientific, Inc. v. R.J. Reynolds Corp.: Inequitable Conduct

Posted on March 28, 2008
Star Scientific, Inc. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., No. 2007-1448 (Fed. Cir., argued March 7, 2008)      Update: Petersburg, Virginia-based Star Scientific, Inc., sued R.J. Reynolds Corp. for patent infringement in the U.S...

Star Scientific, Inc. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.: Inequitable Conduct

Posted on March 28, 2008
Star Scientific, Inc. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., No. 2007-1448 (Fed. Cir., argued March 7, 2008)      Update: Petersburg, Virginia-based Star Scientific, Inc., sued R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. for patent infringement in the U...

A Trademark Opposition, Patent Infringement Lawsuit, and Military Award Protest: Nacre AS v. Silynx

Posted on March 27, 2008
Nacre AS v. Silynx Communications, Inc., No. 07-cv-02676, filed Oct. 2, 2007.      Update:  Rockville, MD-based Silynx Communications and Norway's Nacre AS have been facing off on all fronts in their battle to gain control of the U...

Senate Patent Reform Moving Forward

Posted on March 16, 2008
     On March 12, 2008, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) issued a press release outlining possible amendments to S.1145, the Patent Reform Act of 2007. As stated in the press release: "Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt...

United States lags behind Germany and France in International Trademark Applications

Posted on March 13, 2008
     In 2007, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) saw almost 40,000 trademark applications, a 9.5% increase from 2006. This included an 18.8% increase in filings from U.S. applicants. Nevertheless, according to United Nations trademark agency statistics, the U...

Maryland IP Litigation: 2008 Lawsuit Summaries Nos. 16-17

Posted on March 12, 2008
#16: Wolsey v. Tactical Medical Solutions, LLC, No. 1:2008cv00546; filed February 28, 2008; assigned to J. Quarles           Plaintiffs Henry Garnet Wolsey and Althea Wolsey are residents of the United Kingdom, and the inventors of U...

Maryland IP Litigation 2008: Lawsuit Summaries Nos. 13-15

Posted on March 10, 2008
Today's lawsuit summaries involve patent and trademark issues (source: Justia).  #13: Pennzoil-Quaker State Co. v. Anton Schmidt, Jr., No. 8:08cv00430; filed February 15, 2008; assigned to J. Chasanow      Pennzoil-Quaker State, a Delaware company based in Houston, TX, contends that it is owner of the PENNZOIL logo and related marks (used in commerce for the sale and promotion of lubricants and other petroleum-based products)...

Update: Technology Patents LLC v. Deutsche Telekom AG

Posted on March 05, 2008
     The Technology Patents LLC v. Deutsche Telekom AG lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on Nov. 8, 2007, now has over 400 entries in the court's docket. Motorola and several other defendants filed motions to dismiss, to which Technology Patents has responded...

Keep Track of Competitors With Google® Patents RSS Feeds

Posted on February 28, 2008
     Not too long ago, I noticed that Google® Patents was including an "RSS" feed link on some of its hit lists. I started using this feature to track what others are saying in new patent applications about specific pharmaceutical drugs, medical diseases, or a specific patent number (a client's patent, for instance)...

Keep Track of Competitors With Google? Patents RSS Feeds

Posted on February 28, 2008
     Not too long ago, I noticed that Google® Patents was including an "RSS" feed link on some of its hit lists. I started using this feature to track what others are saying in new patent applications about specific pharmaceutical drugs, medical diseases, or a specific patent number (a client's patent, for instance)...

What do the NFL, 55-Inch Televisions, and Prayer Have In Common?

Posted on February 24, 2008
     The National Football League (NFL) has campaigned against large-group events that show the Super Bowl on TVs wider than 55 inches, citing federal copyright laws. That policy impacts churches that hold Super Bowl parties (the NFL only makes an exception to its policy for large-scale viewings at sports bars)...

Top 10 List: Google® Searches

Posted on February 22, 2008
Below are the 10 most recent popular Google® searches that resulted in hits on this website. Leading the hit parade are two patent and trademark infringement lawsuits in Maryland: Technology Patents v. Deutsche Telekom (for more about this lawsuit, click here, here, here, and here), and Nacre v...

Top 10 List: Google? Searches

Posted on February 22, 2008
Below are the 10 most recent popular Google® searches that resulted in hits on this website. Leading the hit parade are two patent and trademark infringement lawsuits in Maryland: Technology Patents v. Deutsche Telekom (for more about this lawsuit, click here, here, here, and here), and Nacre v...

Bouchat Sues Ravens, NFL Over "Flying B" Design

Posted on February 18, 2008
Summary: The twelfth lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in 2008 involves a familiar name to some in Baltimore: Frederick Bouchat.    #12:  Bouchat v. Baltimore Ravens LP, No. 1:08-cv-00397, filed February 14, 2008      The Baltimore Ravens changed their logo in 1999 to the raven bird with a "B," but before that, they used a "B" on a shield with wings and the word "Ravens," which the U...

Maryland IP Litigation 2008: Lawsuit Summaries Nos. 8-11

Posted on February 17, 2008
     Below are summaries of recent IP-related lawsuits filed in the the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in 2008 (source: Justia). The first summary involves a discovery matter relating to a patent lawsuit filed in the E...

Marylanders See Big Increase in Federal Trademarks Registered in 2007

Posted on February 16, 2008
     U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) searchable records show that for the period January through December 2007, the PTO registered 83 federal trademarks to Marylanders (based on a search of "owner address" records using TESS)...

Maryland IP Litigation 2008: Lawsuit Summary No. 7

Posted on February 13, 2008
     The following lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland pits brand and generic drug makers (source: Justia). #7: Forest Laboratories, Inc. v. Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., No. 1:2008cv00239, filed January 28, 2008; assigned to J...

Maryland IP Litigation 2008: Lawsuit Summary No. 6

Posted on February 13, 2008
     The sixth IP-related lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in 2008 involves a trademark dispute (source: Justia).  #6: Flagstar Bank, FSB v. Fundstar Financial, LLC, No. 8:2008cv00206, filed January 24, 2008; assigned to J...

Court Allows Discovery of Communications Between Trial and Opinion Counsel

Posted on February 12, 2008
     David Donoghue at the Chicago IP Lit. Blog reports today about a discovery matter in a Northern District of Illinois patent case: Se-Kure Controls, Inc. v. Diam USA, Inc., No. 06 C 4857, 2008 WL 169029 (N.D. Ill. Jan...

Maryland Judges To Discuss "Trial of a Patent Case"

Posted on February 09, 2008
     If you are interested in learning the nuts-and-bolts of trying a patent case, join Maryland U.S. District Court Judges Marvin J. Garbis and André M. Davis, other judges, and a large faculty of litigators, in Scottsdale, AZ, on February 28-29, 2008, for Trial of a Patent Case...

Sanctions Result in Summary Judgment of No Invalidity; No Liability for Letters Sent to Defendants' Customers

Posted on February 08, 2008
     A year ago, West Chester, OH-based Contech Stormwater Solutions sued Mount Airy, MD-based BaySaver Technologies, Inc. and AccuBid Excavation, Inc., for allegedly infringing its U.S. Patents Nos. 5,707,527 and 6,027,639 (see related post here)...

Internet Coverage of Patent Reform Increasing

Posted on February 07, 2008
     A search of Google© on February 4, 2008 (Monday) using the search terms "patent reform" and the date limiter "last 24 hours" returned "about 13,400" hits.  That compares to 15,400 hits for the entire previous week (same search terms, but using the date limiter "last week")...

Under Secretary of Commerce Dudas to Discuss Patent Reform Tomorrow

Posted on February 04, 2008
     The following Notice concerning patent reform was posted on the USPTO website today. Clearly, the Bush Administration is concerned about a potential vote on the Senate's version of the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (S.1145), which was placed on the Senate Calendar in late January...

Seagate's Progeny

Posted on February 02, 2008
     As promised in my earlier post regarding In re Seagate, 497 F.3d 1360 (Fed. Cir. 2007), below is a summary of cases citing the much talked about Federal Circuit opinion. This survey includes opinions published on or before January 31, 2008, but is not inclusive...

Waiving Attorney-Client Privilege: Patent Opinions Developed by In-House Engineers, Patent Agents and Attorneys

Posted on February 01, 2008
     By now, those who follow patent issues in this country will undoubtedly have heard of In Re Seagate Technology, LLC, 497 F.3d 1360 (Fed. Cir. 2007), in which the Federal Circuit heightened the standard for establishing willful patent infringement to a recklessness standard, and clarified the scope of the waiver of attorney-client privilege and work product immunity with regard to opinions of counsel relied on by defendants accused of willfully infringing...

Maryland IP Litigation 2008: Lawsuit Summary No. 5

Posted on January 29, 2008
     I received a Tec Stretch Ear Warmer over the recent holiday season, just in time for last week's cold spell. Made by Baltimore-based 180s, the Tec Stretch product combines ear warmer and headphones in one simple device, so you can listen to your MP3 player and protect your ears from the cold at the same time...

Update: Technology Patents LLC v. Deutsche Telekom AG

Posted on January 28, 2008
     My last update of the Technology Patents LLC v. Deutsche Telekom AG lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on Nov. 8, 2007, was five weeks ago. Since then, several of the 131 defendants have entered an appearance (or, more precisely, their lawyers have) with the court...

Maryland's Discovery Communications Looking For Talent

Posted on January 26, 2008
     Granted, this post isn't directly related to the subject matter of this blog, but since the worldwide headquarters for Discovery Communications is in Silver Spring, MD, and a lot of visitors to this blog are scientists, engineers, and other professionals, I thought I'd pass this along...

Motion to Stay Federal Action Denied; Parallel Proceedings in State and Federal Courts to Continue

Posted on January 24, 2008
Summary: The U.S. District Court for Distict of Maryland denied motion to stay on abstention grounds in favor of a pending state court action in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, pursuant to Colorado River Water Conservation Dist. v. United States, 424 U...

Patent Reform Predictions and More

Posted on January 23, 2008
IPO Predicts Senate May Attempt to Pass Patent Reform Bill in February According to the Intellectual Property Owners Association website earlier this week, the "IPO believes Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) will attempt to pass a revised version of S...

Maryland IP Litigation 2008: Lawsuit Summaries Nos. 1-4

Posted on January 20, 2008
     Below are summaries of the first four IP-related lawsuits filed in the the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in 2008 (source: Justia). These lawsuits involve allegations of patent, copyright, and trademark infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, defamation, and a host of other state law claims...

IP Database Highlights Maryland Technologies

Posted on January 17, 2008
     Maryland tops the nation in research and development spending at universities, government laboratories, and other private entities and institutions, so it should come as no suprise that Maryland has lots of intellectual property that is available for commercialization...

Patent Reform Coming Soon?

Posted on January 16, 2008
     Several sources (see 271 Blog, for example) are reporting that another obstacle facing patent reform was overcome yesterday when the Senate Judiciary Committee reported on S. 1145, the Patent Reform Act of 2007. According to the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO), the "106-page draft report explains in depth the provisions of the bill as approved by the Senate on July 19, 2007, but does not contain any new or compromise provisions...

Copyright Litigation in Maryland: 2007 Trends

Posted on January 12, 2008
     In 2007, the major music recording companies, led by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), filed more copyright lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland than any other group or individual...

2008 Advanced Patent Law Institute

Posted on January 10, 2008
     If you're in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area and would like to learn more about managing patent infringement litigation, don't forget about the 2008 Advanced Patent Law Institute being held in Alexandria, Virginia, starting today, January 10, 2008...

Trademark Litigation in Maryland: 2007 Trends

Posted on January 07, 2008
     Thirty-four plaintiffs filed 39 trademark infringement lawsuits in the District Court for the District of Maryland in 2007 (see a list of the lawsuits and the parties involved after the jump). The 39 lawsuits involved 63 defendants (individuals and entities)...

Patent Litigation in Maryland: 2007 Trends

Posted on January 03, 2008
    Twenty-six plaintiffs filed 24 patent infringement lawsuits in the District Court for the District of Maryland in 2007 (see a list of the lawsuits and the parties involved after the jump). The 24 lawsuits involved 181 defendants (individuals and entities) from all over the world...

Update: Technology Patents LLC v. Deutsche Telekom AG

Posted on December 21, 2007
     Several of you have asked for information about the status of the Technology Patents LLC v. Deutsche Telekom AG litigation (No. 8:2007cv03012; filed Nov. 8, 2007, in the District Court for the District of Maryland). Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, defendants have 20, 60, or 90 days to file an answer to Technology Patents' complaint, depending on whether they are U...

Guilford Pharmaceuticals: Two Acquisitions in Two Years

Posted on December 19, 2007
     Guilford Pharmaceuticals, Inc., was a well established Baltimore biotech/pharma company when it was acquired in 2005 by Minnesota-based MGI Pharma, Inc., in a deal reported to be worth about $177.5 million (announcement)...

Does Seagate Signal The End of Bifurcated Patent Trials, And Caution Against Procuring Opinions of Counsel?

Posted on December 17, 2007
     An IP360 email notice last week commented about a pending Central District of California case--Applied Medical Resources Corp. v. U.S. Surgical Corp., No. 03-cv-01267--in which the court (Judge Carney, in this case) reconsidered a defendant's summary judgment motion in view of In Re Seagate Technology, LLC, 83 USPQ2d 1 (Fed...

Maryland IP Litigation Cases for the Week of Dec. 3, 2007

Posted on December 12, 2007
     Below is a summary of the two IP-related cases filed in the the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland last week (source: Justia). Both lawsuits involve allegations of trademark infringement. Sage Dining Services, Inc...

More Copyright Legislation Introduced in House

Posted on December 11, 2007
     A few weeks ago I posted "Congress and Copyrights: A Busy Legislative Year," in which I summarized three Congressional bills targeting copyright infringement/infringers: The Intellectual Property Enhanced Criminal Enforcement Act of 2007 (H...

Court Dismisses Suit Challenging Peterlin Appointment

Posted on December 07, 2007
     The District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a lawsuit today brought by Gregory Aharonian and others against Carlos Gutierrez, Secretary of Commerce, in April 2007 after Margaret J.A. Peterlin was sworn in as Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)...

Nacre v. Silynx (or QuietPro v. QuietOps): Garnering Lots of Attention

Posted on December 05, 2007
     Of the many IP cases summarized on the Maryland IP Law blog recently, two have garnered the most attention from site visitors: Technology Patents LLC v. Deutsche Telekom, which I summarized in November, and Nacre v. Silynx Communications, which I discussed in October...

Number of Trademarks Registered to Maryland Entities Surge

Posted on December 04, 2007
Summary:  Number of applications down, but registrations up 41% over 2006 numbersThe first eleven months of 2007 saw an increase in the number of federal trademarks registered to Maryland entities and/or individuals, compared to the same period in 2006...