Some lawyers hate motion practice. My father, for example, loved to be in trial but hated writing motions. I suspect that my mom wrote most of his motions, and maybe that's why I enjoy writing them. It's gotten to be more fun with AI -- I feel super-powered. In this week's SoCal IP Institute, I [...]
On Monday, July 27, we will consider the principal arguments in the pending 9th Circuit en banc rehearing of the Kat Von D copyright case. In addition, we’ll discuss a TTAB case that exposes a losing maintenance strategy for foreign owners of U.S. registrations based on Section 44(e) or Section 66. The plaintiff’s Petition for [...]
Two Recent Trademark Cases The Supreme Court takes a trademark case: RiseandShine Corp. v. PepsiCo., Inc., No. 24-1016 (U.S. 2026) (granting Cert.). Is the strength of a trademark an issue of fact,, a jury issue, or an issue of law for the judge? The Second Circuit is the only appellate court to hold the issue [...]
Two Recent Cases Please join us Monday, June 22, 2026 at noon online or in Westlake Village when we will discuss two recent cases. In a patent case at the Federal Circuit, GoTV Streaming, LLC v. Netflix, Inc., No. 2024-1669 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 9, 2026)(Opinion by Judge Tarantino reversing Judge Klausner of the Central Dist [...]
The Record Is the Record: Two Recent IP Decisions with a Common Thread A quintessential evidentiary record is one that allows you to pull pertinent facts, craft weighty arguments, and ultimately carry the day. Fact-finding, proper recordation of evidence, and making the right argument at the right time are crucial. Parties to a suit don't [...]
State of AI in Intellectual Property Law Copyright Law In the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Thaler v. Perlmutter was decided about one year ago on March 18, 2025. In that case, Dr. Stephen v. Thaler sought to register the copyright in the work "A Recent Entry into Paradise" [...]
Pokémon and Edge Games Fighting for their IP Lives The Edge of Reason Update January 23, 2206: It appears that Dr. Langdell has responded to this mention of the TTAB decision. You can see those comments below. In Mobigame v. Edge Games, Inc. (Cancellation No. 92075393) (decision here) an incredibly longstanding battle over the trademark [...]
AI and IP for Lawyers & Paralegals In our SoCal IP Institute meeting on Monday, October, 20 2025 we will discuss AI issues for IP lawyers. The PowerPoint slides may be found here. Michael Harris, a partner at SoCal IP, will lead the discussion.
A Duology of Intellectual Property Cases, Namely, Lashify v. ITC and In re Locus Link USA Please join us Monday, September 15, 2025, at noon where we will discuss one patent case and one trademark case. First, we will discuss the case of Lashify v. International Trade Commission, and second, the case of In re [...]
Surviving §101 and Keeping Trade Secrets...Secret Please join us Monday, August 18, 2025, at noon where we will discuss the recent decision made by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Powerblock, Inc. v. iFit, Inc., No. 24-1177 (Fed. Cir. 2025) where the court reversed the district court's determination that PowerBlock's patent [...]
