Intellectual Property Report
The Federal Circuit Revisits Minerva Surgical
Assignor estoppel is an equitable doctrine that can amount to an implied warranty of validity to prevent an assignor from assigning the rights to a patent — such as to an employer or an acquiring company — for value, and then later assert invalidity of the patent as a defense in a subsequent patent infringement suit. If the assignor were permitted to later assert that an assigned patent or patent application is invalid and unenforceable, the assignment would be ineffective as the assignor would have knowingly transferred little of value. The doctrine is rooted in “an idea of fair dealing” between the parties. Minerva Surgical Inc. v. Hologic, Inc. 141 S.Ct. 2298, 2302 (2021).
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Chanel’s Ongoing Trademark Battle with Luxury Resellers
Luxury fashion brands such as Gucci and Chanel are recognized across the world by their respective trademarks and logos which adorn their couture apparel and accessories. Products from these high fashion brands are often seen as a status symbol due to their high price point, which in turn make these products are highly sought after by consumers. Thanks to cost conscious consumers with an eye for luxury fashion, the secondhand luxury fashion market is booming. Bain’s luxury goods market study estimated that the secondhand luxury market reached $38 billion in 2021, and according to Forbes, that market grew five-times faster than the firsthand luxury market between 2017 and 2021. Much of this growth comes from online platforms specializing in the sale of pre-owned luxury goods.
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Prompt, Inexpensive Relief From Patent Infringement Available to Small Startups through Amazon’s APEX Process
Since Amazon opened up its virtual marketplace to third-party sellers in September 1999, it has become a launchpad for small business and independent entrepreneurs. But such fledgling ventures often are faced with competition from copyists who are able to undercut and outsell them before they get off the ground. Fortunately, Amazon offers its sellers various mechanisms for warding off this type of unfair competition, particularly where the seller owns intellectual property (“IP”) rights that are being infringed. This can be an extremely effective tool for small business and independent entrepreneurs at the early stages of their development, when establishing and maintaining market share and market presence are the most important.
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Recent Enforcement Proceedings Against Decentralized Autonomous Organizations and Liability Risk
The recent enforcement action against Ooki DAO sent a clear message that activities in the United States by decentralized autonomous organizations, or “DAOs,” will be subject to stricter scrutiny. As background, a DAO is an organizational structure with an objective that is maintained on a blockchain or distributed ledger. The objective can be any wide-ranging common goal shared by members of the DAO, including donating to charities, collecting art, operating as an investment fund, etc.
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*This article was previously published in The Journal of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence & Law in the March/April 2023 issue.
ITC Transparency Trend Highlights Best Practices for Filing Complaints
Patent litigants and counsel in the US International Trade Commission (ITC) know that virtually all complaints that allege a violation of section 337 result in the institution of an investigation. But it can be difficult for lawyers or parties who are not themselves participating in an investigation to understand the ITC’s evaluation of a complaint, and whether all the allegations in it will be part of the subsequent investigation.
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*This article was previously published in IAM on January 3, 2023.
December 2022 Intellectual Report Recap
In case you missed it, here is a video recap of our December 2022 Intellectual Property Report that looked at:
- District Court Ventures Into Non-Practicing Entity's Third-Party Litigation Funding
- A Potential Setback for Defendants in the Race to Final Judgment
- In re: Fedex: A Trend for Transfer Motions in Patent Cases?
- FTC's New "Unfair Methods of Competition" Policy Statement Declares Protection for Competitors, Not Just Competition
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