Case Notes

RECENTLY FILED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW CASES
[October 1, 2009, through October 9, 2009] | 

September 3, 2009 through September 4, 2009 | 

Cases week of August 18, 2009 through August 28, 2009 | 

Second Circuit

• » Copyright Damages and IP Insurance Coverage
• » Do We Have a Settlement? | 
  Omega Engineering, Inc. v. Omega, S.A., 432 F.3d 437 (2d. Cir. 2005)

Third Circuit

• » A Case Must Be Truly Exceptional to Warrant Attorneys’ Fees Under the Lanham Act
  Green v. Fornario, 486 F.3d 100 (3rd Cir. 2007)
• » Trademark Law: Alternative Holding of TTAB Has Preclusive Effect under the Doctrine of Collateral Estoppel
  Jean Alexander Cosmetics, Inc. v. L’Oreal USA, Inc., 458 F.3d 244 (3rd Cir. 2006)
• » Eleventh Circuit Places its Stamp on the Good Faith Requirement for the Fair-Use Defense To Trademark Infringement
  International Stamp Art, Inc., v. United States Postal Service, ----F.Supp.3d----, 2006 WL 1982685 (11th Cir. July 18, 2006)
• » No Trademark Infringement Where Ownership Has Not Been Established
  Doebler’s Pennsylvania Hybrids, Inc. v. Taylor Doebler, III, et al.
• » Court Has No Jurisdiction Over DJ Action When Parties Have History of Resolving Differences Amicably
  The NutraSweet Co. v. Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
• » No reverse consumer confusion between CHASE FREEDOM credit card and Urban Television Network’s FREEDOM CARD | 
  Freedom Card, Inc. v. JPMorgan Chase & Co., 432 F.3d 463 (3d Cir. 2005)
• » Garden Rock Sculpture Held Sufficiently Creative to Be Copyrightable | 
  Kay Berry, Inc. v. Taylor Gifts, Inc., 421 F.3d 199 (3d Cir. 2005)

Fourth Circuit

• » Fourth Circuit Update | 
  Maryland, Inc. v. First Care P.C., 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 588 (January 11, 2006)
  Lamparello v. Jerry Falwell, 420 F.3d 309 (4th Cir. 2005)

Fifth Circuit

• » Lyrick Studios, Inc. v. Big Idea Productions, Inc. | 
  420 F.3d 388 (5th Cir. 2005)
• » Test Masters Educational Services Inc. v. Singh | 
  428 F.3d 559 (5th Cir. 2005)

Seventh Circuit

• » Seventh Circuit Rejects Fair Use Defense In File Sharing Case | 
  BMG Music v. Gonzalez, 430 F.3d 888 (7th Cir. December 9, 2005)

Eighth Circuit

• » 8th Circuit Holds That Federally Registered Service Mark Need Not Refer Only To Services to Be Protectable
  Mid-State Aftermarket Body Parts, Inc. v. MQVP, Inc., 466 F.3d 630 (8th Cir. 2006)
• » 8th Circuit Holds Software Must Be Registered As Nondramatic Literary Work to Qualify For Protection under the Computer Software Rental Amendments Act
  Action Tapes, Inc. v. Mattson, 462 F.3d 1010 (8th Cir. 2006)
• » 8th Circuit Finds No Likelihood of Confusion Between Registered Mark and Disney’s Use Of Mark As Part Of A Movie Storyline | 
  Davis, et al. v. The Walt Disney Co., et al., 430 F.3d 901 (8th Cir. 2005)

Tenth Circuit

• » No Such Thing As Form Over Substance: Requirement of Requesting a District Court Transcript for Appeal
  Buck v. Brackett, 181 Fed. Appx. 712 (10th Cir. 2006), unpublished
• » “Well-Pleaded Complaint” Rule Controls Subject Matter Jurisdiction for Copyright Claims
  1mage Software, Inc. v. Reynolds & Reynolds Co., 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 21491 (10th Cir. Aug. 23, 2006)
• » Risks of a Non-Appealability Clause in Patent Royalties Contract
  MACTEC, Inc. v. Gorelick, 427 F.3d 821 (10th Cir. 2005)
• » Willful Trademark Infringement: Shedding Light on the Intent Required for an Award of Profits | 
  W. Diversified Servs., Inc. v. Hyundai Motor Am., Inc., 427 F.3d 1269 (10th Cir. 2005)

Eleventh Circuit

• » The Eleventh Circuit Considers Whether the Equitable Defense of Laches Applies to Copyright Infringement Claims Filed Within the Statute of Limitations
  Peter Letterese and Associates, Inc. v. World Institute of Scientology Enterprises, International, et al., 533 F.3d 1287 (11th Cir. July 8, 2008)
• » Eleventh Circuit Affirms Partial Summary Judgment for Defendant on a Claim of Direct Trademark Infringement and Refuses to Construe the Plaintiff’s claim for Direct Infringement as one for Contributory Infringement
  Optimum Technologies, Inc. v. Henkel Consumer Adhesives, Inc., 496 F.3d 1241 (11th Cir. August 22, 2007)
• » 11th Circuit Reverses Prior Decision and Grants Publishers the Right to Issue Digital Compilation of Print Works
  Greenberg v. National Geographic Society, 488 F.3d 1331 (11th Cir. June 13, 2007)

Federal Circuit

• » Federal Circuit Eliminates Point of Novelty Test in Design Patent Cases
  Egyptian Goddess v. Swisa
• » Sea Change in Willful Infringement
  In re: Seagate Technology, LLC, Misc. Docket No. 830, 2007 WL 2358677 (August 20, 2007)
• » The Scope of the Waiver of the Attorney Client Privilege and Work Product Immunity Doctrine that Results from the Assertion of the Advice-of-Counsel Defense
  In re EchoStar Communications Corp., Docket Nos. 803 and 805, 2006 WL 1149528 (Fed. Cir. May 1, 2006)

District Courts

• » The Middle District of Florida Determines Plaintiff’s Invented Process is Not Patentable Under the Federal Circuit’s Recent Decision in In re Bilski
  Every Penny Counts, Inc. v. Bank of America Corporation, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53626, Case No. 2:07-cv-042 (M.D. Fla. 2009)
• » The Southern District of Florida Applies New Precedent From the Federal Circuit and Rejects the Novelty Test in Determining Patent Invalidity or Infringement
  International Seaway Trading Corp. v. Walgreens Corp., et al., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6240 (S.D. Fla. 2009)
• » The Southern District of Florida Considers Whether Attorney Fees Are Tied Inseparably to Statutory Damages under the Copyright Act
  Luken v. Int'l Yacht Council, Ltd., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70535 (S.D. Fla. 2008)
• » A Florida District Court Holds as a Matter of Law That There is no Likelihood of Confusion Between the Use of the Term “Ironman” in Connection with a Reality Dating Television Series and the Trademark “Ironman” for Triathlons
  World Triathlon Corporation v. Dawn Syndicated Productions, Case No. 8:05-CV-983-T-27EAJ, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72544 (M.D. Fla. September 28, 2007)
• » Georgia Court Holds that the Use of a Rap Recording without Compensation and without Express Permission Does Not Constitute Copyright Infringement
  Wilchcombe v. TeeVee Toons, Inc., Civ. Action No. 1:04-CV-1775-MHS, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6205 (N.D. Ga. Jan. 26, 2007)
• » Florida District Court Holds that 50 Cent’s Sampling of the Hip Hop Chant “Go, It’s Your Birthday” Does Not Constitute Copyright Infringement
  Lil’ Joe Wein Music, Inc. v. Curtis James Jackson, p/k/a 50 Cent, Shady Records, Inc., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78367 (D.C. Fla. Oct. 27, 2006)
• » Swatch v. New City Inc.
  2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75814 (D.C. Fla. Sept. 11, 2006)
• » Federal Court Outlaws Multiple Uses of Same Team Name in Professional Football League
  Montana Professional Sports, LLC v. Leisure Sports Management, Inc., ---F.Supp.2d----, 2006 WL 289111 (M.D. Fla. Feb. 7, 2006)
• » Home Depot Found Not Liable for Damages Resulting from Misidentification of Flooring Products | 
  Optimum Technologies, Inc. v. The Home Depot USA, Inc., 2005 WL 3307508 (N.D. Ga. Dec. 5, 2005)

Supreme Court

• » U.S. Supreme Court Decides Patent Exhaustion Case
  Quanta Computer, Inc. et al. v. LG Electronics, Inc. (June 9, 2008)
• » Supreme Court Broadens Safe Harbor Provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 271(e)(1) | 
  Merck KGaA, v. Integra Lifesciences I, Ltd., 125 S. Ct. 2372, 162 L. Ed. 2d 160 (June 13, 2005)
• » Supreme Court Reverses Federal Circuit on Rule 50 Motions | 
  Unitherm Food Systems, Inc. v. Swift-Eckrich, Inc., 2006 WL 151970 (Sup. Ct. Jan. 23, 2006)