Law Reports

Sprint Nextel’s proposed takeover of Clearwire stands to give the carrier a substantial advantage over bigger rivals Verizon Wireless and AT&T when it comes to spectrum holdings. And if the deal ultimately closes, it could spark the two larger carriers to scramble for more airwaves. Clearwire’s board of directors this week approved Sprint’s modified offer [...]

President Barack Obama signed into law Dec. 18 the Patent Law Treaties Implementation Act of 2012, S. 3486, amending the Patent Act to implement two treaties: the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs, and the Patent Law Treaty.The treaties were originally signed by President Clinton in 1992, and [...]

Detailed pre-draft grades of National Football League prospects are copyrightable; however the incorporation of some of those grades into media articles was a protected fair use, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington determined Dec. 13 (National Football Scouting Inc. v. Rang, W.D. Wash., No. 3:11-cv-05762-RBL, 12/13/12).In addition to containing factual information about [...]

By Peter Menyasz OTTAWA–Regulations exempting microSD memory cards from the application of copyright levies applied to blank media will support the Canadian government’s commitment to promoting development and early adoption of technologies that support the digital economy, Industry Canada said Nov. 7. The MicroSD Cards Exclusion Regulations, issued under the Copyright Act, would ensure that [...]

A state statute prohibiting parties from using for advertising purposes the word “Texas” in combination with “workers’ compensation” or “workers’ comp” cannot be analyzed under the First Amendment through reference to legal paradigms established with respect to trademark infringement cases, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held Oct. 30 (Gibson v. Texas [...]

An auto dealership that purchased a pair of domain names linked to its bid to operate a new dealership, and use of the domains after a rival was awarded the project, may generate liability under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey ruled Oct. 19, denying the [...]

Collegesource Inc. v. AcademyOne Inc., E.D. Pa., No. 2:10-cv-03542, 10/25/12 Key Holding:A website’s use of a competitor’s trademarks as search engine keywords triggering the placement of advertisements was not trademark infringement because it was done in a way that was unlikely to lead to consumer confusion. By David McAuley An online educational services company’s purchase of a [...]

Key provision: To accelerate the resolution of intellectual property disputes, Brazil’s IP institute is setting up a mediation system with the help of WIPO. Potential impact: It is hoped that disputes will be resolved in months rather than years as at present. What’s next: Mediators are being trained and the new system will begin to [...]

Summary: The PTO issues a notice of proposed rulemaking to update its code of practitioner conduct using the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct as a basis. Due: Comments are due Dec. 17. By Tony Dutra The Patent and Trademark Office published a notice of proposed rulemaking Oct. 18 to replace the current PTO Code of Professional Responsibility. [...]

DC Comics v. Pacific Pictures Corp., C.D. Cal., No. 2:10-cv-03633-ODW-RZ, 10/17/12 Case Summary:A federal district court grants DC Comics summary judgment on the question of whether the successors of the original Superman artist can exercise termination rights, cancelling any prior assignments of rights to the publisher. Key Takeaway:An agreement executed in 1992, well after the 1978 [...]

Hand & Nail Harmony Inc. v. Guangzhou Shun Yan Cosmetics Co. Ltd., D. Nev., No. 2:12-cv-01212-JCM-PAL, 10/10/12 Key Holding: Trademark owner secures a broad injunction against Chinese manufacturers of counterfeit nail polish. By Tamlin H. Bason Counterfeit nail care products that were seized at a trade show were ordered destroyed after the U.S. District Court for the District [...]

U.S. prosecutors could meet Fed. R. Crim. P. 4(c)(3)(C)’s requirement to mail a criminal summons to Megaupload Ltd.’s last known address within the district court’s jurisdiction by mailing a copy to any extradited Megaupload officer who happened to be an alter ego of the company, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia [...]

Merck Eprova AG v. Gnosis S.p.A., S.D.N.Y., No. 1:07-cv-05898, 9/30/12 Case Summary: Egregious litigation conduct leads a judge to come down hard on a nutritional supplement maker that falsely claimed chemical purity. By Tony Dutra A maker of nutrition supplements made literally false statements in its product literature by claiming to make a pure isomer product when in [...]

Belkin International Inc. v. Kappos, Fed. Cir., No. 2012-1090, 10/2/12 Case Summary: A reexamination challenge at the PTO to a wireless router patent asserted against network equipment companies fails. Key Takeaway: The substantial new question of patentability hurdle must be challenged fully by the reexamination requester. By Tony Dutra A patent reexamination is limited to answering the substantial new [...]

As part of a Federal Trade Commission investigation into a settlement between Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Barr Laboratories, delaying entry of generic competitors to Boehringer’s Aggrenox® and Mirapex®, Boehringer and Barr are ordered to redact and produce certain documents requested by the FTC, according to a Sept. 27 order by the U.S. District Court [...]

By Tripp Baltz The American Payroll Association Dec. 17 urged the Obama administration to let employers continue using the 2012 income tax withholding rates and tables until the fiscal cliff negotiations are completed.

The Internal Revenue Service’s Small Business/Self-Employed Division released a memorandum Dec. 13 explaining how IRS should process cases when it has not received notice of a bankruptcy filing with sufficient time to file a timely proof of claim before the bar date expires.

By Bebe Raupe CINCINNATI–Legislation altering bank taxes (H.B. 510) cleared the Ohio General Assembly and moved on to the governor’s desk Dec. 12.

By Diane Freda Both political parties are looking at the charitable deduction as one of the benefits that might need to be reduced as part of the fiscal cliff negotiations going on now between Congress and the White House, a Senate Republican staffer said Dec. 11.

By Stefanie Trilling The Department of Labor will propose guidance on abandoned plans and lifetime income options “in the next couple of weeks,” Assistant Labor Secretary for the Employee Benefits Security Administration Phyllis C. Borzi announced Dec. 6.