Intellectual property law

Intellectual property law

Regents of the University of California ("Regents") and Broad Institute were engaged in a patent interference proceeding involving the adaptation of CRISPR systems to edit eukaryotic DNA. Both parties were engaged in extensive testing related to editing eukaryotic DNA during the time of the invention, and both filed multiple patent applications that became the subjects of the patent interference proceedings.

The Ninth Circuit kicked off 2026 with a major copyright decision in the long-running Top Gun dispute, affirming summary judgment for Paramount in the lawsuit over Top Gun: Maverick. In this episode of The Briefing, Weintraub Tobin shareholders Scott Hervey and Tara Sattler break down the Ninth Circuit's reasoning and why it matters for studios, writers, and anyone adapting real-world stories.

The campaign argues that in the race for dominance in the new GenAI technology, some of the world's wealthiest tech companies, along with private equity-backed ventures, have engaged in a "massive rip-off" of creative content without authorization or compensation. According to the campaign, this practice "imperils U.S. jobs, economic growth and global 'soft power' supported by the U.S. creative industries." The campaign warns that this widespread infringement erodes the foundation of the U.S. entertainment industry and disincentivizes the creation of new works.

Yesterday, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published the results of a joint study detailing the close connection between illicit trade in counterfeits and labor exploitation. The joint study shows clear, repeated associations between the intensity of counterfeit trade and abusive labor conditions, strongly suggesting that such conditions structurally enable the production and distribution of counterfeits.

In a recent Tradespace and Above the Law survey, two-thirds of companies that draft patents in-house described IP as a value driver, while 71 percent of companies that outsource drafting viewed IP as a cost. When drafting and prosecution move inside, IP teams work closer to engineers and product leaders. This proximity improves invention quality, strengthens claim strategy, and aligns patent decisions with product direction, market timing, and business priorities.

"While not the basis of today's decision, I note that inter partes review may be discretionarily denied on the basis that a petitioner is a sovereign." - USPTO Director John Squires U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director John Squires on January 15 issued a Director Review decision, which he then designated as informative on January 16, in favor of Micron Technologies, vacating two Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decisions granting institution of inter partes review (IPR) for Yangtze Memory Technologies.

January: the season of fresh starts-when we swear we'll finally hit the gym, drink more water, and unearth last year's journal from beneath a mountain of good intentions. Maybe, just maybe, we'll put down our phones long enough to soak up some actual daylight. In the business world, January offers the perfect opportunity for a different kind of resolution: the one that keeps your competitors from getting their hands on your secret sauce or eggnog recipe (or any other trade secret) all year long.

The enormity of the problem cannot be understated. A Federal Circuit panel recently reached a final decision that, if not overturned, will destroy the U.S. patent system, and will ironically impact the most valuable patents disproportionately. The ruling was simple and continues a disturbing and inexplicable trend-a patent issued after more than six years in prosecution is presumed unenforceable as the result of prosecution laches.

"Plaintiff has established that Defendant crashed its website, slowed it, and damaged the servers, and Defendant admitted to the same by way of default," the ruling said.

Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey has trademarked his image and voice including his famous catchphrase: All right, all right, all right from the movie Dazed and Confused in an attempt to forestall unauthorised use by artificial intelligence. The Wall Street Journal reported that McConaughey has had eight separate applications approved by the US Patent and Trademark Office in recent weeks, including film clips of the actor standing on a porch and sitting in front of a tree,

The Board's Trial Practice Guide explains that 'one petition should be sufficient to challenge the claims of a patent in most situations' and 'multiple petitions by a petitioner are not necessary in the vast majority of cases.'

This week on IPWatchdog Unleashed, , I sat down with prolific inventor Gil Hyatt, exploring his innovative journey and aspirations to leave a lasting legacy. Gil, known for his significant contributions to the field of electrical engineering and microcomputers, shared insightful anecdotes about his early days, his pioneering work in artificial intelligence, and his ambitions to benefit future generations. The Journey of an Inventor The path of Gil Hyatt was seemingly pre-destined.

"Recent lawsuits involving Lululemon, Sol de Janeiro, and Smucker's show that courts are now being asked to define the limits of trade dress protection in industries where imitation is common and trend cycles are short." "Run, don't walk!" has become a familiar call across TikTok and Instagram, signaling that a new budget-friendly "dupe" has landed on store shelves. What was once quiet bargain-hunting has turned into a celebrated online trend, where creators openly compare low-cost look-alikes to premium products.

This week in Washington IP news, the House Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax, and Capital Access examines how well creditors are able to identify small businesses that are eligible for additional capital. Elsewhere, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) hosts the third event of the 2023 Women's Entrepreneurship Symposium. Also, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) discusses the future of manufacturing innovation in Germany and the United States.

In fact, when prompted strategically by researchers, Claude delivered the near-complete text of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, The Great Gatsby, 1984, and Frankenstein, in addition to thousands of words from books including The Hunger Games and The Catcher in the Rye. Varying amounts of these books were also reproduced by the other three models. Thirteen books were tested.

In addition to telling Renee's story about how she found her way into the intellectual property world, and through our sometimes-comical banter, we together explore what it really takes to build, sustain, and continuously reinvent an entrepreneurial company like IPWatchdog. What emerged was a practical roadmap for entrepreneurship, invention, navigating platform risk, one focused on the necessity of constantly being ready to pivot as old business models start to show signs of age and ultimately falter.

Under the principles in SCA Hygiene, Petrella, and Brockamp, there is no room for the courts to displace Congress' specific policy choice on timeliness, even when 'the lack of a laches defense could produce policy outcomes judges deem undesirable.' The Supreme Court rejected equitable defenses of laches in infringement suits, reasoning that by enacting a statute of limitation, Congress left no statutory "gap" for equitable judgments on timeliness. See Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (2014), and SCA Hygiene Prods. v. First Quality Baby Prods (2017).

The Federal Circuit heard oral argument today in Apple Inc. v. Squires, 24-1864, a long-running challenge to the USPTO's Fintiv discretionary denial framework. Apple, Cisco, Google, and Intel argue that the NHK-Fintiv rule should have been adopted through notice-and-comment rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) rather than through precedential Board designations.