In August of 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a ruling in CyberSource v. Retail Decisions that held a piece of computer software as unpatentable because it did not fit any allowable subject matter. This decision was reached through an application of the test for processes to a claim that …
The fair use doctrine is codified in the Copyright Act of 1976. It protects the use of copyrighted material by parties who do not own rights to the copyrighted works if they are used for such purposes as education, parody, or commentary. However, many parties shy away from using materials that would be protected by …
U.S. legal holds present a conundrum that confronts the bar and bench with increasing frequency. It is the result of a clash between broad U.S. preservation obligations mandated by existing case law and stringent privacy and data protection laws in other jurisdictions, including European Union (“E.U.”) member states. The challenge requires a multinational litigant to …
Ineffective policing of bad patents remains a main focus of the academy with respect to Hatch-Waxman challenge settlements, but the potential of the challenge structure for weakening justified, good patents has gone relatively unnoticed. Currently, the most rational target for a generic challenger is a highly profitable patent, whether it is weak or strong. The …
Official guidelines must be promulgated in order to assist with case-by-case judicial admissibility determinations of genetic testing evidence in toxic tort litigation. Emerging technology, specifically advancements in genetic testing, could prove highly influential in toxic tort litigation. Genetic testing data can, in many cases, provide evidence of both (i) proof of exposure to a toxic …
Two recent trademark cases illustrate the best and worst of trademark law for the fashion industry. In Levi v. Abercrombie, the Ninth Circuit joined the Second Circuit in allowing a trademark dilution claim to stand where the junior mark was significantly different from the senior mark. This holding promotes an overwhelming advantage for designers who …
