Source: http://www.gehrkelaw.com/2008/11/index.html
Timestamp: 2017-09-25 09:44:36
Document Index: 156571548

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 505', '§ 1117', '§ 102', '§ 103', '§ 101', '§ 101', 'Application No. 08']

November 2008 - Intellectual Property News and Reports
Halicki Films, LLC v. Sanderson Sales & Mktg.
Plaintiffs, Denice Shakarian Halicki, Original Gone in 60 Seconds, LLC, and Halicki Films, LLC collectively, the “Plaintiffs” or “Halicki”), appeal from so much of a November 14, 2005 summary judgment of the United States District Court for the Central District of California as granted defendants’ — Unique Motorcars, Inc. and Unique Performance, Inc. (collectively, the “Unique Defendants”); and Carroll Shelby International, Inc., Carroll Shelby Licensing, Inc., Carroll Shelby Motors, Inc., Carroll Shelby Distribution, International, Inc., and Carroll Shelby Hall Trust (collectively, the “Shelby Defendants” and collectively with the Unique Defendants, the “Defendants”) — motion for summary judgment dismissing Plaintiffs’ claims for: (1) copyright infringement; (2) common law trademark infringement; (3) federal unfair competition; and (4) declaratory relief. The District Court found that Plaintiffs lacked standing to assert the foregoing claims. For the reasons that follow, we hold that the District Court erred in (1) its refusal to use extrinsic evidence submitted by Plaintiffs to aid in its interpretation of an agreement between the parties, finding that the extrinsic evidence did not show that the agreement was reasonably susceptible to Plaintiffs’ interpretation; (2) its interpretation of disputed language in an agreement between Halicki and a corporation, not a party to this action; (3) its application of the wrong legal standard in concluding that Plaintiffs did not have statutory standing to assert their claims for trademark infringement and unfair competition; and (4) its conclusion that Plaintiffs did not have statutory or Article III standing to assert their claims for declaratory relief. We therefore vacate the District Court’s grant of summary judgment dismissing Plaintiffs’ copyright, common law trademark infringement, unfair competition, and declaratory relief claims and remand the case for further proceedings.
The Shelby Defendants appeal from the District Court’s denial of their motion for attorneys’ fees under both the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 505, and the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a). Because none of Halicki’s claims are frivolous or unreasonable, we affirm the District Court’s conclusion that the Shelby Defendants are not entitled to attorneys’ fees.
Posted at 01:15 PM in Copyright, Trademark Case Law | Permalink
In Re Basell Poliolefine Italia S.P.A.
Basell Poliolefine Italia, S.P.A. (“Basell”) appeals from two decisions of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (“Board”) resulting from a Director-ordered reexamination of U.S. Patent 6,365,687 (“the ’687 patent”). The Board affirmed the rejections of all the claims of the ’687 patent as unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §§ 102(b) and 103(a) and the doctrine of obviousness-type double patenting. Because the Board did not err in concluding that the pending claims were barred under the doctrine of obviousness-type double patenting, we affirm.
Posted at 01:10 PM in Patent Case Law -- US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit | Permalink
E.S.S. Entertainment 2000, Inc. v. Rock Star Videos, Inc
Considering all of the foregoing, we conclude that Rockstar’s modification of ESS’s trademark is not explicitly misleading and is thus protected by the First Amendment. Since the First Amendment defense applies equally to ESS’s state law claims as to its Lanham Act claim, the district court properly dismissed the entire case on Rockstar’s motion for summary judgment.
Posted at 10:24 AM in Trademark Case Law | Permalink
DBC, LLC (“DBC”) appeals from a final decision of the United States Patent and Trademark Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (“the Board”), which affirmed the examiner’s rejection of all pending claims as obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103. Ex parte DBC, No. 2007-1907 (B.P.A.I. Aug. 24, 2007) (“Decision”). Because substantial evidence supports the Board’s determination that the claims would have been obvious, and because DBC has waived challenging the appointment of the administrative patent judges who presided over its appeal, we affirm.
Posted at 10:21 AM in Patent Case Law -- US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit | Permalink
Bernard L. Bilski and Rand A. Warsaw (collectively, "Applicants") appeal from the final decision of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences ("Board") sustaining the rejection of all eleven claims of their U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 08/833,892 ("′892 application"). See Ex parte Bilski, No. 2002-2257, 2006 WL 5738364 (B.P.A.I. Sept. 26, 2006) ("Board Decision"). Specifically, Applicants argue that the examiner erroneously rejected the claims as not directed to patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101, and that the Board erred in upholding that rejection. The appeal was originally argued before a panel of the court on October 1, 2007. Prior to disposition by the panel, however, we sua sponte ordered en banc review. Oral argument before the en banc court was held on May 8, 2008. We affirm the decision of the Board because we conclude that Applicants' claims are not directed to patent-eligible subject matter, and in doing so, we clarify the standards applicable in determining whether a claimed method constitutes a statutory "process" under § 101.
Dr. Kenneth Alonso appeals a decision of the United States Patent and Trademark Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (“Board”) sustaining in part the examiner=s final rejection of claim 92 of U.S. Patent Application No. 08/469,749 (“’749 Application”). In its decision, the Board reversed the examiner’s rejection of claim 92 for lack of enablement and sustained the rejection as invalid for lack of adequate written description. Ex parte Alonso, No. 2006-2148 (B.P.A.I. July 25, 2007) (“Decision”). We affirm.