Case Summaries

Patent

[09/04] Janssen Pharmaceutica, N.V. v. Apotex, Inc.
In an action arising from alleged infringement of plaintiff's patent for the drug Risperdal, dismissal of defendant's counterclaims for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction is affirmed where no actual and continuing injuries to defendant existed regarding: 1) its ability to promptly launch its generic risperidone product and compete in the market immediately upon the expiration of plaintiff's patent; 2) delay of approval of its noninfringing generic risperidone product; and 3) patent uncertainty resulting from the coverage of a covenant-not-to-sue.

[09/04] In re Swanson
In a case regarding the reexamination of a patent for a method of quantitatively analyzing small amounts of biological fluids, a Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences decision affirming the examiner's rejection of certain claims is affirmed where: 1) a request for an ex parte reexamination of an issued patent upon a "substantial new question of patentability" was not barred by a prior court decision upholding the validity of a claim; and 2) substantial evidence supported the board's conclusion that there was a substantial new question of patentability in this case sufficient to warrant reexamination.

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Intellectual Property

[09/04] Empresa Cubana Del Tabaco v. Culbro Corp.
In a case arising from a dispute over the ownership of the COHIBA mark on cigars sold in the U.S., denial of motion directing U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to dismiss pending petitions to cancel defendant's registration of the trademark, is affirmed where the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the relief requested.

[09/03] Omega v. Costco Wholesale Corp.
In a copyright infringement action under 17 U.S.C. sections 106(3) and 602(a), grant of summary judgment for defendant is reversed and remanded where non-counterfeit goods were first sold outside the U.S. and then imported for sale in the U.S. without the copyright holder's authorization, thus the first sale doctrine, section 109(a), does not apply.

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Trademark

[09/04] Empresa Cubana Del Tabaco v. Culbro Corp.
In a case arising from a dispute over the ownership of the COHIBA mark on cigars sold in the U.S., denial of motion directing U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to dismiss pending petitions to cancel defendant's registration of the trademark, is affirmed where the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the relief requested.

[08/28] Venture Tape Corp. v. McGills Glass Warehouse
In a Lanham Act claim of liability for infringement of the registered trademarks "Venture Tape" and "Venture Foil", judgment in favor of plaintiff-manufacturer and award of equitable share of defendant-retailer's profits are affirmed where: 1) defendant admitted that his purpose in using the Venture marks was to lure customers to his website; and 2) the profits award was sufficiently substantial to serve the purposes of recovering a "rough measure" of the likely harm incurred, preventing infringer's unjust enrichment, and deterring further infringement, without being unduly large or burdensome.

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Trade Secrets

[08/19] In Re Cygnus Telecomm. Tech., LLC, Patent Litig.
In a patent dispute over computerized callback systems designed to lower the cost of overseas telephone calls, summary judgment of invalidity and dismissal of trade secret appropriation claims are affirmed where: 1) plaintiff was not collaterally estopped from appealing the invalidity finding despite not having named all defendants in its appeal; 2) plaintiffs produced no evidence disputing a statement by the inventor regarding the date on which he had reduced the invention to practice; 3) sales of a device that embodied the patent claims subjected the patent to invalidation despite that device's not being ready for sale on a commercial scale; and 4) the statute of limitations barred plaintiff's claim for misappropriation of trade secrets.

[07/29] In re: Carco Elec.
In a dispute between competing bidders in the acquisition of debtor's production facilities during bankruptcy proceedings, an appeal from a protective order limiting the disclosure of the bidders' respective trade secrets during discovery is dismissed for lack of appellate jurisdiction where the order was neither final nor appealable under the limited scope of the collateral order doctrine.

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Copyright

[09/03] Omega v. Costco Wholesale Corp.
In a copyright infringement action under 17 U.S.C. sections 106(3) and 602(a), grant of summary judgment for defendant is reversed and remanded where non-counterfeit goods were first sold outside the U.S. and then imported for sale in the U.S. without the copyright holder's authorization, thus the first sale doctrine, section 109(a), does not apply.

[08/13] Penguin Group (USA) Inc. v. Steinbeck
In an action under the Copyright Act, summary judgment for defendants, on the grounds that a notice purporting to terminate a 1938 agreement granting licenses for publications of certain Steinbeck works was valid, is reversed where: 1) a subsequent agreement entered into in 1994 terminated and superseded the 1938 agreement; 2) the notice of termination was therefore invalid; and 3) the 1994 agreement remains in effect.

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