A brand name is not merely a marketing decision. It is a long-term asset decision with deeply personal consequences. For founders, naming a brand after oneself can feel like the most natural-and powerful-choice. A personal name signifies authenticity, craftsmanship, and accountability. Consumers feel they are not just buying a product, but a person's vision, values, and reputation.
Mark Zuckerberg walked into court to defend Instagram from accusations it addicts children. But it was his entourage that drew the attention of the judge. At least two people flanking the Meta CEO on Wednesday wore Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses-AI-equipped eyewear that can record video. Judge Carolyn Kuhl immediately issued a warning. "If you have done that, you must delete that, or you will be held in contempt of the court," she said, according to CNBC. "This is very serious."
The Cybercab, for the uninformed, is Tesla's purpose-built vehicle for giving driverless rides. Right now, its capital-R Robotaxi service, which operates as a comically tiny fleet exclusively in Austin, Texas, uses existing Tesla Model Ys, not specialized cars (and its trademark is itself under peril due to yet more incompetence, as we'll explain later.) A prototype of the two-passenger, no-steering wheel Cybercab was unveiled at Tesla's "We, Robot" event over a year ago, and Musk claims it'll enter production in Q2 this year.
Ms Malone's use of the name Jo Malone' in connection with recent commercial ventures goes beyond that legal agreement and undermines Jo Malone London's unique brand equity. We respect Ms Malone's right to pursue new opportunities. But legally binding contractual obligations cannot be disregarded, and when those terms are breached, we will protect the brand that we have invested in and built over decades.
"Though we articulated a component-by-component analysis was unnecessary in Odetics, the patentee must still account for each element of the claimed structure in its equivalence analysis." - CAFC opinion The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) on Thursday issued a precedential decision finding Sony's Playstation controllers and consoles did not infringe Genuine Enabling Technology's (GET's) patent for computer input devices. GET alleged that Sony directly and indirectly infringed its U.S. Patent No. 6,219,730 via certain Playstation products.
Under the principles in SCA Hygiene, Petrella, and Brockamp, there is no room for the courts to displace Congress' specific policy choice on timeliness, even when 'the lack of a laches defense could produce policy outcomes judges deem undesirable.' The Supreme Court rejected equitable defenses of laches in infringement suits, reasoning that by enacting a statute of limitation, Congress left no statutory "gap" for equitable judgments on timeliness. See Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (2014), and SCA Hygiene Prods. v. First Quality Baby Prods (2017).
"Recent lawsuits involving Lululemon, Sol de Janeiro, and Smucker's show that courts are now being asked to define the limits of trade dress protection in industries where imitation is common and trend cycles are short." "Run, don't walk!" has become a familiar call across TikTok and Instagram, signaling that a new budget-friendly "dupe" has landed on store shelves. What was once quiet bargain-hunting has turned into a celebrated online trend, where creators openly compare low-cost look-alikes to premium products.
The Office de-designated Proppant Express Invests., LLC v. Oren Techs., LLC, IPR2017-01917, Paper 86 (PTAB Feb. 13, 2019); and Adello Biologics LLC v. Amgen Inc., PGR2019-00001, Paper 11 (PTAB Feb. 14, 2019). According to a USPTO email sent Tuesday, both decisions conflict with the decision in Corning Optical Communications RF, LLC v. PPC Broadband Inc., IPR2014-00440, Paper 68 (PTAB Aug. 18, 2015) (precedential).
The enormity of the problem cannot be understated. A Federal Circuit panel recently reached a final decision that, if not overturned, will destroy the U.S. patent system, and will ironically impact the most valuable patents disproportionately. The ruling was simple and continues a disturbing and inexplicable trend-a patent issued after more than six years in prosecution is presumed unenforceable as the result of prosecution laches.