London, U.K. – The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has ruled against Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly & Company in a patent dispute. Lilly had challenged the validity of the patent of Human Genome Sciences, Inc., of Rockville, Maryland that covers the gene sequence of a protein called Neutrokine-α. Lilly…
Washington, D.C. – The America Invents Act, also called the Leahy-Smith Patent Reform Act, was passed by the U.S. Senate last week. The bill was sent to President Obama’s desk, ready for his signature before it can become law. The President is expected to sign the bill. President Obama…
This case involves companies who each use the trademark BRANDT for selling agricultural equipment, but in different geographic areas. Trademark attorneys for Pitonyak Machinery Corporation claimed it acquired rights to the trademark BRANDT when it purchased several businesses in 2002 from a Brandt family in Carlisle, Arkansas. During discovery,…
Indianapolis, IN – Indiana, like eighteen other states, has a right to publicity law that can be described as the right to control the commercial use of one’s identity. The right to publicity, sometimes called personality rights, are state law rights, unlike most intellectual property rights, which are federal…
Indianapolis, IN – Trademark lawyers for Williams Industries Inc. of Shelbyville, Indiana filed a trademark lawsuit in the Southern District of Indiana seeking to invalidate trademark registration no. 3,081,577 and trademark registration no. 2,862,871 for the mark TRITAN DOUBLE WALL TRUMBLER, which have been registered with the US Trademark…
Indianapolis, IN – Patent lawyers for Boston Scientific Corporation of Natick, Massachusetts and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Guidant LLC of Indianapolis, Indiana and Cardiac Pacemakers LLC of St. Paul, Minnesota, filed a lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that they have not infringed Patent No. 4,407,288, IMPLANTABLE HEART STIMULATOR AND STIMULATION METHOD,…
The White House has published a White Paper proposing criminalization of many actions associated with intellectual property. It suggests greater rights and more severe penalties “so as to more effectively address the substantial harm caused by intellectual property crimes.” In summary, the revisions include: Longer prison sentences for theft…