IP Insider

Protecting Fashion Product Designs Under the Lanham Act

Darren W. Saunders, a partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, and Alpa V. Patel, an associate with the firm, write that in the absence of fashion-specific legislation, fashion companies have turned to trademark/trade dress law. However, unlike copyright and design patent laws intended to reward artistic achievement and originality, trademark law is intended to prevent consumer confusion. As a result, proof of a trademark violation can be far more burdensome.

Majority of 2012 Patent Litigation Filed by 'Patent Trolls'

More than half of the patent litigation cases filed in the U.S. in 2012 were brought by companies whose sole purpose is to license patents—so-called "patent trolls"—according to a new study.

Reality May Thwart Purpose of SHIELD Law

According to attorney William Trueba Jr., patent litigation usually involves dedicating resources early in the case; a fact that may thwart the intent of the SHIELD Act.

A Step in the Right Direction for SEP Litigation

A Federal Trade Commission agreement with Google Inc. could profoundly impact IP litigation involving standard essential patents.

St. Louis University GC at the Center of Odd Copyright Fight

Tensions between the president of Saint Louis University and its faculty made an unexpected turn into the realm of copyright law—and the university's general counsel is at the center of the storm.

Novartis Defeat Revives Debate Over Patents' Life Span

When India's Supreme Court ruled that Novartis AG's cancer drug Gleevec was not sufficiently innovative to merit a patent, the decision revolved around a practice the pharmaceutical industry refers to as "life-cycle management" and which public health advocates call "evergreening."