Federal Circuit revives soda trademark battle over “ZERO”
Royal Crown Co., Inc. v. The Coca-Cola Co., No. 16-2375, June 20, 2018, Fed. Cir.

Supreme Court allows patent owner to recover lost foreign profits
WesternGeco LLC v. ION Geophysical Corp., No. 16-1011, June 22, 2018, U.S.

Shot down
Photogs lose DMCA case over metadata removal
Stevens v. CoreLogic, Inc., No. 16-56089, June 20, 2018, 9th Cir.

Phonetic alphabet fails patent-eligibility test
In re Wang, No. 17-1827, June 20, 2018, Fed. Cir.

Supreme Court patent update

Inter partes review survives constitutional challenge

Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, No. 16-712, April 24, 2018, U.S.

SAS Institute, Inc. v. Iancu, No. 16-969, April 24, 2018, U.S.

 D.C. Circuit tunes in to streaming content copyright issues

Spanski Enterprises, Inc. v. Telewizja Polska, S.A., No. 17-7051, March 2, 2018, D.C. Cir.

All tied up

Court splits over trade dress, trademark claims

adidas America, Inc. v. Skechers USA, Inc., No. 16-35204, May 10, 2018, 9th Cir.

 Why the Federal Circuit voted against a ballot verification patent

Voter Verified, Inc. v. Election Systems & Software LLC, No. 2017-1930, April 20, 2018, Fed. Cir.

Can licenses limit competitors’ use?
Copyright ruling hits third-party software support providers
Oracle USA, Inc. v Rimini Street, Inc., No. 16-16832, -16905, Jan. 8, 2018, 9th Cir.

Breaking news
Selling access to clips of copyrighted programming isn’t fair use
Fox News Network, LLC v. TVEyes, Inc., No. 15-3885, Feb. 27, 2018, 2d Cir.

How the on-sale bar can threaten a patent
The Medicines Co. v. Hospira, Inc., No. 14-1469, Feb. 6, 2018, Fed. Cir.

Giving trade dress infringement claim a shot
Leapers, Inc. v. SMTS, LLC, No. 17-1007, Jan. 10, 2018, 6th Cir.

Case closed
Federal Circuit confirms expansion of liability for divided patent infringement
Travel Sentry, Inc. v. Tropp, No. 16-2386, Dec. 19, 2017, Fed. Cir.
Akamai Technologies, Inc. v. Limelight Networks, Inc. (Akamai V), Nos. 2009-1372, 2009-1380, 2009-1416, 2009-1417. Aug. 13, 2015, Fed. Cir.

Will innocent, immaterial inaccuracies defeat copyright registration?
Roberts, II v. Gordy, No. 16-12284, Dec. 15, 2017, 11th Cir.

What makes a patent invalid due to “indefiniteness?"
The role of functional language in patent applications
BASF Corp. v. Johnson Matthey Inc., No. 16-1770, Nov. 20, 2017, Fed. Cir.
Nautilus, Inc. v. Biosig Instruments, Inc., No. 13-369, June 2, 2014, S.Ct.

Bar fight
Court knocks down prohibition against immoral or scandalous marks
In re Brunetti, No. 15-1109, Dec. 13, 2017, Fed. Cir.
Matal v. Tam, No. 15-1293, June 19, 2017 (U.S.)

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Train in vain
Patents for mass transit fare systems struck down
Smart Systems Innovations, LLC v. Chicago Transit Authority, No. 16-1233, Oct. 18, 2017, Fed. Cir.; Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int’l, 573 U.S. __, 134 S.Ct. 2347 (2014).

Who owns the copyright of stock photos?
DRK Photo v. McGraw-Hill Global Education Holdings, LLC, No. 15-15106, Sept. 12, 2017, 9th Cir.

Proving infringement of system patents
Court rejects jury’s infringement finding in phone case
Intellectual Ventures LLC v. Motorola Mobility LLC, No. 16-1795, Sept. 13, 2017, Fed. Cir.

Federal Circuit clarifies surname test for trademarks
Earnhardt v. Kerry Earnhardt, Inc., No. 16-1939, July 27, 2017, Fed. Cir.

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Whose home is it?
House designs avoid copyright infringement
Design Basics, LLC v. Lexington Homes, Inc., No. 16-3817, June 6, 2017, 7th Cir.

Beat it
Heart disease diagnostic method isn’t patent-eligible
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation v. True Health Diagnostics LLC, No. 16-1766, June 16, 2017, Fed. Cir.

Why facts matter when using the fair use defense in trademark cases
Marketquest Group, Inc. v. BIC Corp., No. 15-55755, July 7, 2017, 9th Cir.

Failure to prove obviousness revives patent application
In re Stepan Co., No. 16-1811, Aug. 25, 2017, Fed. Cir.