Defendants Medallion Foods, Inc. and Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. scored a jury verdict against Plaintiff Frito Lay on a variety of infringement claims. The Frito Lay claims were for trademark infringement, trade dress infringement, unfair competition and dilution under the United States Trademark (Lanham) Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1051, et seq. (as amended); and for patent … More Frito Lay Scooped On Infringement Claims
Sounds simple enough, but finding evidence to prove actual copying is oftentimes elusive. A recent case published from 4th Circuit, BUILDING GRAPHICS v. LENNAR CORP, determined proof of access for copying protected materials as being a linchpin for copyright infringement. Plaintiff Building Graphics, Inc., a Charlotte based architecture firm, appealed from a Summary Judgment “SJ” … More Copyright Infringement Requires Copying
The saying used to be during my time at Andersen, then a Big 5 Global Professional Services firm, that the most valuable assets walked out the door every evening. With companies transitioning to our service economy at warp speed, this truism has never been more pervasive. Given the threats from a variety of sources including … More Social Media Data: The New Frontier
Clients often are concerned, and rightly so, about disclosing their ideas, plans, business models, etc. to potential partners and investors. Oftentimes I’m asked to prepare, or more often download one of the many forms online, a non-disclosure agreement “NDA.” This agreement usually sets forth various terms with regard to the use of any information or … More Non-Disclosure Agreement: So What’s The Point?
An interesting Electronic Commerce “EC” patent case was recently decided by the Court of Appeals Federal Circuit “CAFC” overturning a patent infringement verdict and vacating a $2.5 M damage jury award. The Plaintiff, Soverain, bought the patents and all rights to the Transact software electronic commerce platform “Transact” in a bankruptcy sale and sought to … More Prior Art Defeats Electronic Commerce Patent Claims
William Tennant 