NDPaL Blog Team

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Firm/Organization: Perkins Coie LLP
Blogs: California Land Use & Development Law Report, Consumer Finance Legal Report, Consumer Protection Review, Derivatives & Repo Report, Food Litigation News, N.D.Pa.L., Privacy Quick Tips, Tech Risk Report, The Fintech Report, Virtual Currency Report

Latest Articles

Two orders recently issued regarding whether district court litigation should be stayed pending inter partes review.  In both cases, the IPR petition had been filed recently, and the institution decision had not yet issued—but the results could not have been more different.  Judge Tigar granted a stay in Uniloc USA, Inc. v. LG Electronics U.S.A. Inc. (Case No. 3:18-cv-06739, “Uniloc”).  Two floors down, Judge Orrick went the other way in J & K IP Assets,…
Defendant Shine Bathrooms had already been hit with an order for default judgment and double damages in a patent case brought by Robern, Inc.  And the hits keep coming for Shine, as it was recently ordered to pay over $250,000 in attorneys’ fees under the “exceptional case” standard of 35 U.S.C. § 285. Notably, Judge Seeborg awarded attorneys’ fees even though there had been no explicit finding of willfulness.  The opinion explains the relationship between willfulness…
The BRAF gene helps human cells produce enzymes for cellular metabolism and growth.  Mutated BRAF genes contribute to the proliferation of cancer cells.  In 2005, Plaintiff Plexxicon Inc. began making compounds that reduce the growth of cancer cells that have the mutated BRAF gene.[1]  The core compound, vemurafenib, was tested in patients with metastatic melanoma with results such as those illustrated in the before-and-after picture shown at right.[2]  Vemurafenib, sold under the brand name Zelboraf®,…
It is a “well-established rule that suits against alien defendants are outside the operation of the federal venue laws.”[1] Judge Gilliam stopped a declaratory judgment plaintiff’s attempt to initiate a parallel lawsuit in California when only the plaintiff’s foreign parent was sued in Texas. AU Optronics Corporation (“AUO”) was formed in 2001 in Taiwan when Acer Display Technology, Inc. merged with Unipac Optoelectronics Corporation.  In 2002, AUO was listed at the New York Stock Exchange, becoming the first manufacturer of pure…
After a jury verdict of willful infringement, almost $6,000,000 in patent-related damages, and a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Judge Freeman increased WOSS’s legal troubles by granting TRX’s motions for enhanced damages and attorneys’ fees.[1] Enhanced Damages.  Judge Freeman first granted TRX’s request for enhanced damages under 35 U.S.C. § 284 given its egregious behavior.  In making her determination, Judge Freeman considered the Read factors[2] and WOSS’s subjective intent. At trial, the jury found that WOSS willfully…
In an unusual sequence of events, Judge Freeman reconsidered and withdrew her previous ruling that plaintiff Fitness Anywhere LLC’s (“TRX”) Patent No. 7,806,814 (“’814 Patent”) was invalid. TRX accused defendant Woss Enterprises LLC’s (“Woss”) of infringing the ’814 Patent via sales of Woss’s resistant exercise bands.  In August 2016, Judge Freeman granted Woss’s motion for summary judgment that the ’814 Patent was invalid as obvious in light of U.S. Patent No. 7,044,896 (“’896 Patent”) and…
Each month we will be sharing the PC Food Litigation Index, a summary of latest class action filings in the food and beverage industry. This data is compiled by Perkins Coie based on a review of dockets from courts nationwide. Food litigation filings in July were in line with the year’s overall trend, pacing slightly ahead of 2017 numbers. The general false fact category of filings remains the largest, with several new filings in July.…
Proud to be a part of the Chamber of Digital Commerce’s newest whitepaper “Understanding Digital Tokens: Market Overviews & Guidelines for Policymakers & Practitioners” Special thanks to the Perkins team: Joseph Cutler, Michael Didiuk, Dax Hansen, Fred Fedynyshyn, Stephen Keen, Tom Ahmadifar and Michael Selig for contributions to the Chamber’s Token Alliance guidelines for policymakers. Click here to download the whitepaper.…
Olivia Garden was founded in Belgium in 1967 by husband and wife team Jean and Micheline Rennette (pictured left).  According to its website, Olivia Garden was and continues to be a pioneer in hairstyling, including introducing the first truly silent blowdryer in 1979 and the first ceramic-ionic combination brush in 2002. But Judge Gilliam brushed off Olivia Garden’s bid for patent and trade dress infringement damages when he granted Defendant Stance Beauty’s motion to…