Court Reduces $1.92 Million File-Sharing Jury Award to $54,000 By Dmitriy Tishyevich – Edited by Joey Seiler Capitol Records Inc. v. Thomas-Rasset, No. 06-1497 (D. Minn. Jan. 22, 2010) Order In June 2009 a jury returned a verdict against Defendant Jamie Thomas-Rasset after finding that she willfully infringed the copyrights of twenty-four songs by making them available through a file-sharing program.  The jury awarded Plaintiffs statutory damages of $80,000 for each willful infringement, resulting in a total verdict of $1.92 ... Read More...

Federal Circuit Affirms TTAB’s Refusal of South Carolina Baseball Logo Registration By Harry Zhou – Edited by Davis Doherty Univ. of S. Carolina v. Univ. of S. Cal., No. 2009-1064 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 19, 2010). Slip Opinion In a nonprecedential ruling, the Federal Circuit affirmed a decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board (“TTAB”) refusing the appellant’s (“South Carolina’s”) registration of its Carolina Baseball Logo mark and granting summary judgment against the appellant on its counterclaim for cancellation of ... Read More...

Federal Circuit Vacates Lower Court Ruling in Elevator Patent Case By: Helen (Ye) He – edited by Davis Doherty Schindler Elevator Corp. v. Otis Elevator Co., No. 2009-1146 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 15, 2010) Slip opinion The Federal Circuit vacated the District Court for the Southern District of New York’s grant of summary judgment of noninfringement in favor of Defendant Otis Elevator.  The Federal Circuit concluded that the district court constructed Schindler Elevator’s patent claims too narrowly by construing the terms ... Read More...

Supreme Court Issues a Stay to Prevent Broadcasting of Proposition 8 Case By Andrew Segna – Edited by Dmitriy Tishyevich Hollingsworth v. Perry (on application for stay), Case No. 09A648 (U.S., Jan. 13, 2010) Slip Opinion The Supreme Court granted a stay of the order issued by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California for a broadcast of the California lawsuit challenging Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution to define a valid marriage as only ... Read More...

Federal Circuit Rules Against PTO’s Interpretation of Patent Term Adjustments By Gary Pong – Edited by Dmitriy Tishyevich Wyeth and Elan Pharma Int’l Ltd. v. Kappos, No. 2009-1120 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 7, 2010). Slip Opinion The Federal Circuit affirmed the District Court for the District of Columbia, which had granted summary judgment for the plaintiffs, and held that they were “entitled to extended patent term adjustments under 35 U.S.C. § 154(b) due to the Patent and Trademark Office’s (“PTO’s”) delay ... Read More...