Our weekly SoCal IP Institute meeting on Monday, October 28, 2013 will be a discussion of trademark infringement and copyrights in space. Brief synopses appear below.

Ibormeith IP, LLC v. Mercedes-Benz, Case No. 2013-1007 (Fed. Cir. 10/22/2013) (available here). Plaintiff Ibormeith held a patent which aided in alerting drivers when they were becoming sleepy at the wheel. Ibormeith sued Mercedes-Benz for infringing its patent. The claims asserted were means-plus-function claims and the district court held that the claims were indefinite because the disclosure did not disclose a structure that corresponded to the means-plus-function limitations. Ibormeith appealed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Mercedes-Benz that Ibormeith’s patent was indefinite.

Angelica Textile Services, Inc. v. Jaye Park, Case No. D062405 (Cal. Ct. of Appeal 4th District 10/15/2013) (available here). Plaintiff is a large scale laundry business that sells linens to health care facilities. Plaintiff sued the defendant alleging numerous causes of actions, including a claim under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. The trial court granted defendants summary judgment motion on all of plaintiff’s non-UTSA claims finding that those claims were preempted by UTSA. Following a jury trial, the court held that defendants had not misappropriated any information as none of the information was a trade secret under the UTSA. The plaintiff appeals the district court’s ruling granting summary judgment in favor of the defendants with respect to the non-UTSA claims.

All are invited to join us in our discussion during the SoCal IP Institute meeting on Monday, October 28, 2013 at Noon in our Westlake Village office. This activity is approved for 1 hour of MCLE credit. If you will be joining us, please RSVP to Noelle Smith by 9 am Monday morning.