Congress to Consider New 'Patent Troll' Legislation
On February 27, Congressional Representatives Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, and Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, introduced a proposed bill intended to curb litigation initiated by Non-Practicing Entities (NPEs), or...
View ArticleThe Ninth Circuit Clarifies Safe Harbor Rules in Veoh Victory
Last week, the Ninth Circuit further clarified the scope of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (“DMCA”) safe harbor provision for online content providers. See UMG Recordings, Inc. v. Shelter...
View ArticleTime For The White House To Step In? Patchwork State Fracking Regulations...
With a growing number of states demanding disclosure of its fracking recipes, the oil and gas industry is fighting to plug what it views as government-mandated leaks in its trade secrets...
View ArticleUPDATE: California Bill Requiring Fracking Chemical Disclosure Advances In...
California is one step closer to requiring energy companies to disclose to state regulators the chemicals they use in hydraulic fracturing, also known as “fracking.”...By: Siddhartha Venkatasen
View ArticleCYBERSECURITY UPDATE: New Rules Require Defense Contractors To Protect...
The U.S. Department of Defense issued final rulemaking on November 18, 2013 that will require DOD contractors to protect from attack confidential technical information on their computer systems, and to...
View ArticleU.S. v. Yeh Illustrates The Challenges In International Trade Secrets Cases
On March 14, 2014, a Texas jury acquitted former Texas Instruments (“TI”) employee Ellen Chen Yeh on all counts brought against her arising from her admitted downloading of Texas Instruments...
View ArticleRuling in Eastern District of Texas Sets the Stage for the Federal Circuit to...
Versata Software, Inc. et al. v. SAP America, Inc. et al., Case No. 2:07cv153-RSP (E.D. Tex.) - Versata v. SAP has been a dispute that the patent bar has followed with interest because it spawned the...
View ArticleRoses Are Red, Violets Are Blue, Giving Someone Trade Secrets Injures the...
How do two companies end up liable for nearly $50 million in damages relating to confidential, trade secret materials? Like many romances gone awry, this tale arose from actions taken under cover of...
View ArticleSnow Joke: The Weather Channel Zaps Trade Secrets Misappropriation Claims
We have written before about business collaborations gone sour that lead to trade secret misappropriation lawsuits. In a recent example, The Weather Channel convinced a court to wash away claims that...
View ArticleShedding Light on How to Plead Inequitable Conduct
Order Denying Motion to Dismiss. iLife Technologies Inc. v. AliphCom, Case No. 14-cv-03345-WHO - Pleading inequitable conduct—fraud on the Patent Office (PTO) by withholding or misrepresenting material...
View ArticleInside Job – Judge Labson Freeman Applies the CFAA Restrictively
Koninklijke Phillips N.V., et. al. v. Elec-Tech Int’l Co., Ltd., et al.,, Case No. 14-cv-02737 (BLF) (March 20, 2015) - Plaintiff Koninklijke Phillips N.V. (Phillips) and its subsidiary Phillips...
View ArticleMarch 2015 Recap
March 2015—like January and February—saw decisions on a variety of fronts from ND Cal judges. ND Cal judges demonstrated their willingness to apply the Supreme Court’s decisions in Nautilus and Alice...
View ArticleJudge Donato Refuses to Let the Tail Wag the Dog
Order Directing Entry of Partial Judgment Under FRCP 54(b), Largan Precision Co., Ltd., v. Genius Electronic Optical Co., Ltd., Case No. 13-cv-02502-JD (Judge James Donato). In a recent order directing...
View ArticleSecuring your Network: Claiming Contacts as Trade Secrets
The paradigmatic trade secret is something that is obviously technical, such as source code or the formula for Coke. Though trade secrets protection is not limited to technical trade secrets, it can...
View ArticleNo Bond for You: Patentee Not Entitled to Bond or Preliminary Injunction...
Order Granting Motion to Stay, Security People, Inc. v. Ojmar US, LLC, 14-cv-04968 (Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr.) - A recent opinion analyzes what relief, if any, a patentee is entitled to when its...
View ArticleLeave the Baggage Behind: Deciding How Much Party Background Is Admissible
Order on Motions in Limine, Finjan, Inc. v. Blue Coat Systems, Inc., Case No. 13-cv-03999 (Judge Beth Freeman) - Litigators know that, at trial, what you’re not allowed to say can sometimes be just as...
View ArticleNo Amendments and No Stay
Adaptix v. ZTE Corporation, et al. (Magistrate Grewal) - Magistrate Grewal recently issued two orders in related cases between plaintiff Adaptix and various defendants. In the first order, he denied...
View ArticleTrade Secret Sauce: Trade Secrets, Not Copyright, Protect Chefs
While they say that a grand jury could “indict a ham sandwich,” the First Circuit recently reminded chefs that you can’t copyright a chicken sandwich. Specifically, a former employee of a Puerto Rican...
View ArticleRECAPPING THE NEW RULES – Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure...
As we posted earlier this month, amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“Rules”) are effective December 1, 2015. The amendments apply to newly filed cases, as well as pending cases...
View ArticleSummary of December 2015 Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ("Rules") that took effect on December 1, 2015, are expected to impact numerous aspects of civil litigation, including service of process, discovery...
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