One LLP » Infringement Nation

Levi’s Jeans Stitching Trademark Claim Marches On

One LLP — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:43:18 +0000

Levis and Abercrombie have had a long-running battle over the stitching of their jeans.

Software Patents

One LLP — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 16:07:48 +0000

The Federal Circuit finally issued its long-anticipated decision in a high-profile software patent lawsuit called CLS Bank v. Alice Corp.

Electronic Arts Copyright Lawsuit Continues

One LLP — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:45:42 +0000

The Ninth Circuit reversed the dismissal of a copyright lawsuit against Electronic Arts recently.

Up, Up & Away – Superman Copyright Saga Winds Down

One LLP — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 17:49:36 +0000

Image taken by Keven Law, Los Angeles, CA and under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License, Wikimedia Commons. In the long-running Superman litigation, the Ninth Circuit has addressed large parts of the dispute.

Federal Trade Secrets

One LLP — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 17:08:21 +0000

Image - les petits secrets, 1872, Public Domain courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. The net effect of the law is that employers have a stronger federal remedy in their arsenal to address employee or competitor trade secret violations.

$60 Million Trademark Verdict Reversed

One LLP — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 16:49:17 +0000

The Ninth Circuit reversed Judge Real in a federal trademark case. After the plaintiff secured a $60 million verdict, the Ninth Circuit vacated the judgment and reversed. Specifically, the court found that Judge Real misstated the law to the jury in several respects regarding fraudulent trademark registrations, and also failed to instruct the jury on the legal basis to challenge an “incontestable” mark.

Trade Secret Experts and Damages

One LLP — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 16:47:04 +0000

In Management & Engineering Technologies, Inc. v. Information Systems Support, Inc., the plaintiff filed suit for trade secret misappropriation based upon the defendant’s use of the plaintiff’s profit margin and general expense rate information. The jury found that such data could constitute a trade secret because the information was maintained in a vault, was password protected and was marked “confidential.”

Software and Copyrights

One LLP — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 17:54:24 +0000

Copyrights in software often trigger work for hire and employer-employee agency questions because of the fact that so much software development occurs within corporation or through 1099 independent contractors.

Scenes a Faire and Dangerous Driving

One LLP — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 21:30:53 +0000

Under the doctrine of scenes a faire, a court will protect a copyrighted work from infringement if the expression embodied in the work necessarily flows from a commonplace idea. Scenes a faire has been literally translated to “scenes which ‘must’ be done.”

Software & Copyright, Employees and Works for Hire

One LLP — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 15:39:47 +0000

The Ninth Circuit recently applied in the software context the rule that absent a written agreement to the contrary, the employer is the author of a work made for hire. Copyrights in software often trigger work for hire and employer-employee agency questions because of the fact that so much software development occurs within corporation or through 1099 independent contractors.