Intellectual Property

Expert Analysis

• Song Stays Pretty Much The Same For ASCAP, BMI

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice's decision to keep the core of the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees intact sidesteps a closely watched, hotly contested issue that has captured the eyes, ears and keyboards of music industry titans and digital music entrepreneurs alike — whether to permit “partial withdrawals,” says Daniel Vitelli of Constantine Cannon LLP.

• Unwanted Baggage: Some Lessons On Successor Liability

  

  If you buy the assets of a company, have you also acquired the liabilities for infringement associated with those assets? Sandra Edelman and Kaleb McNeely of Dorsey & Whitney LLP offer takeaways from a New York federal court decision addressing this issue in Energy Intelligence Group v. Cowen.

• Why High Court Hasn't Reviewed Structural Obviousness Test

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Halo decision rejecting the Federal Circuit’s use of a rigid test raises the question of why the court has not accepted any challenge to the two-step analytical approach to structural obviousness of new pharmaceutical compound claims, says Francis C. Lynch, a retired partner in Goodwin Procter LLP’s intellectual property group.

• 3 Ways To Avoid Antitrust Issues When Launching A Redesign

  

  The antitrust laws are intended to encourage greater innovation, but the courts have held that some product redesigns may be anti-competitive. Where’s the line? The courts offer no easy answers, says Sean Gates of Charis Lex PC.

• 9 Tips For Becoming A Legal Pundit In The Media

  

  Have you ever been reading your morning paper or watching the nightly news, and found yourself wondering, “How did that lawyer get on TV? I could do that.” If you’ve decided you want to start putting yourself or your law firm in the public light but feel at a loss about how to start, there are several steps you can take to get yourself noticed, says Annie Scranton at Pace Public Relations.

• US Olympic Committee Raises Social Media IP Questions

  

  Over the last few weeks, the United States Olympic Committee has sent letters to companies that sponsor athletes, warning them against infringing USOC intellectual property in hashtags such as #Rio2016 or #TeamUSA. The use of trademark law to suppress hashtags about the Olympic Games may be distasteful, but it is legally sound, says Richard Posell of JAMS.

• The Defend Trade Secrets Act And Copyright Preemption

  

  Where the facts surrounding trade secret misappropriation might give rise to a challenge based on federal copyright preemption, a claim under the Defend Trade Secrets Act — as opposed to a claim under state law exclusively — should ensure that the trade secret claim survives a preemption challenge, says John Williamson of Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP.

• Law Firm Employees Can Better Defend Against Cyberthreats

  

  In a recent survey of 150 legal firms, it was revealed that “careless employees” was the No. 1 cybersecurity concern for firms by a wide margin. Law firms are smart to be worried about the risks their employees — from the interns to the partners — can pose, usually unintentionally, says Tom DeSot, chief information officer of Digital Defense Inc.

• We Need Another Phillips To Explain 'Plain Meaning'

  

  There are four basic questions about “plain meaning” patent claim construction on which the Federal Circuit is divided or appears to have diverged from the U.S. Supreme Court. These are not trivial, academic disagreements. How a particular panel answers these questions often will dictate how it will decide a claim construction dispute on appeal, says John Vandenberg of Klarquist Sparkman LLP.

• Preparing Corporate Witnesses: A Primer

  

  Proper selection, preparation and presentation of corporate witnesses can be critically important to achieving a favorable outcome in court. Brian Bagley and Scott Marrs of Akerman LLP offer a checklist of best practices for selecting and preparing corporate witnesses.