Intellectual Property Report
Patent Damages in a Globalized Economy (Brumfield v. IBG)
The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Brumfield v. IBG LLC made clear what the Supreme Court hinted at in WesternGeco LLC v. ION Geophysical : For any domestic act of infringement, a patent holder may request compensation for international harms. The Supreme Court had established this rule in WesternGeco for the recovery of lost profits in connection with infringement under Section 271(f), and the Federal Circuit recognized in Brumfield that there is no reason for reasonable royalties and other types of direct infringement to be treated differently.
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An Overview of How Third-Party Litigation Funders are Being Addressed by Courts and Policymakers
In recent years, third party litigation funding (TPLF) for patent cases has been on the rise, and the subject of increased discussion and scrutiny. One recent article conservatively estimated that funders are fronting around $2.3 billion annually while another source put it at $5 billion. This issue has caught the attention of judges, who are implementing new rules and sanctioning those who fail to comply. It has similarly caught the attention of policymakers, who are proposing and enacting legislation aimed at increasing transparency and addressing concerns about foreign involvement in United States legal proceedings.
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Easy Peasy-Federal Circuit Affirms Finding of Unclean Hands, Bars Patent Recovery
A recent precedential decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit serves as an important reminder of the fundamental principle that "he who comes into equity must come with clean hands."
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This article was previously published in the New York Law Journal on May 21, 2024.
Daily Journal Names Guy, Guske and Lamkin as 2024 "Top Intellectual Property Lawyers"
We are pleased to announce that the Daily Journal named partners Hop Guy, Sarah Guske and Rachael Lamkin on its list of ‘Top Intellectual Property Lawyers’ for 2024. This list is compiled from hundreds of nominations submitted by lawyers in California, with the editors selecting nominees based on the impact of their work in intellectual property.
To read the full article, click here.
This Month: Our Take on AI
Joseph Cahill
USPTO Releases Guidance for Practitioners on the Use of AI: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a notice providing detailed guidance on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in matters before the Office. Effective April 11, 2024, this guidance addresses the important issues practitioners must navigate when utilizing AI in the preparation and prosecution of patent and trademark applications. The USPTO acknowledges the benefits of AI, such as increased efficiency and improved quality, but also highlights risks including incomplete or inaccurate outputs and potential confidentiality breaches. The guidance emphasizes the need for human oversight and mandates that signatures on filings must come from natural persons. Parker Hancock elaborates on these developments in “USPTO Releases Guidance for Practitioners on the Use of AI.”
US Copyright Office Grants Limited Copyright to AI-Assisted Work: The US Copyright Office granted limited copyright protection to Elisa Shupe for her book “AI Machinations: Tangled Webs and Typed Words,” created with the assistance of an AI chatbot. Shupe’s copyright protection covers the selection, coordination, and arrangement of the AI-generated text, not the text itself. This decision aligns with the Copyright Office’s existing stance that requires human authorship for copyright protection. Parker Hancock details this development in “The US Copyright Office Takes a Cautious Step Forward on AI-Assisted Works.”
To read more on our Team's insights on AI and the impact on our world, click here.
May 2024 Intellectual Property Report Recap
In case you missed it, here is a video recap of our May 2024 Intellectual Property Report that looked at:
- The Pros and Cons of NIST's Proposed March-In Framework
- Patent Office Issues New Guidance on the Law of Obviousness
- Schedule A Cases Can Provide Quick, Cost-Effective Relief Against Widespread Intellectual Property Theft on Online Marketplaces
- The EU AI Act: Uncharted Territory for General-Purpose AI
- This Month: Our Take on AI
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