On June 19, 2017, the Supreme Court in Matal v. Tam unanimously held that a portion of 15 U.S.C. § 1052(a), the Lanham Act provision that prohibits the registration of trademarks that may “disparage . . . persons, living or...more
6/21/2017
/ Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Government Speech Doctrine ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
SCOTUS ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Viewpoint Discrimination
This week, the Supreme Court in Kokesh v. SEC unanimously held that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) equitable disgorgement remedy is subject to a five-year statute of limitations because it is a “penalty”...more
In a highly anticipated opinion significantly narrowing the first prong of the patent venue statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b), the Supreme Court in TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC unanimously held that a domestic...more
5/25/2017
/ Forum Selection ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Primary Residence ,
Principal Place of Business ,
SCOTUS ,
State of Incorporation ,
TC Heartland LLC v Kraft Foods ,
Venue
On December 6, 2016, in an opinion written by Justice Alito, the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Salman v. United States, a closely-watched insider trading tipping case. Salman builds upon...more
On June 16, 2016, Justice Thomas, writing for a unanimous Court in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar,examined the circumstances under which an “implied false certification” can trigger liability...more
If you read one thing ...
- The Supreme Court discarded the Federal Circuit’s heightened Seagate standard for awarding enhanced damages under the Patent Act.
- The new standard increases the chance of an...more
If you read one thing...
- SCOTUS declines to adopt broad or categorical rules governing use of representative evidence in class actions, holding instead that the use of such evidence will depend on the purpose for...more
The U.S. Supreme Court found middle ground in Omnicare this week, holding that issuers’ statements of opinion issued in registration statements can be the basis for liability under Section 11 if either the speaker does not...more
On October 6, 2014, the Supreme Court declined to review the 11th Circuit’s decision in U.S. v. Esquenazi, et. al., leaving standing the appellate court’s expansive definition of “foreign official” under the Foreign Corrupt...more
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court saved securities class-action plaintiffs from their worst nightmare and upheld the fraud-on-the-market presumption of reliance in securities class actions filed under Section 10(b) of the...more
On June 23, 2014, in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA et al., No. 12-1146 (and related cases), the Supreme Court held that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may require certain greenhouse-gas emitters to install...more
On June 19, in Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int’l et al., No. 13-298, the Supreme Court unanimously held that a party may not patent “generic computer implementation” of an abstract business idea. Relying on the Court’s...more
On June 2, 2014, in Limelight Networks, Inc. v. Akamai Technologies, Inc., et al., No. 12-786, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected the Federal Circuit’s conclusion that a defendant can be liable for inducing infringement...more
On June 2, 2014, in Nautilus, Inc. v. Biosig Instruments, Inc., No. 13-369, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected the Federal Circuit’s test for determining indefiniteness of a patent claim as “lack[ing] the precision that §...more
On May 19, 2014, in a six-to-three decision written by Justice Ginsburg, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the doctrine of laches did not bar either legal or equitable relief in a copyright case that was brought within the...more
Yesterday, the Supreme Court announced its much-anticipated decisions concerning a district court’s authority to award attorney fees in “exceptional” patent cases under 35 U.S.C. § 285. Those two decisions provide greater...more
Yesterday, in a five-to-four decision written by Chief Justice Roberts, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the aggregate limits restricting the total contributions individual donors could make to candidates, political action...more
The Supreme Court announced this week that it would review the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to regulate “greenhouse gases” (GHGs) under the Clean Air Act. While the Court accepted six petitions for...more