Jodi Benassi
Subscribe to Jodi Benassi's PostsJodi Benassi focuses her practice on litigation and investigations. Jodi has experience in federal court district actions in California, Texas, Florida and Michigan and actions before the US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). She has also conducted internal investigations on behalf of audit committees from high profile Fortune 500 organizations to Silicon Valley start-ups. Jodi Benassi's full bio.
A Clear Need: To Allege Misappropriation, Identify Trade Secret
By Jodi Benassi on Oct 29, 2020
Posted In Trade Secrets
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court’s grant of summary judgment, finding that the plaintiff had sufficiently pled trade secret misappropriation by identifying its trade secrets and how they were protected with sufficient particularity. InteliClear, LLC v. ETC Global Holdings, Inc., Case No. 19-55862 (9th Cir. Oct. 15, 2020)...
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Inventor Uses Abstention to Avoid Getting “Screwed”
By Jodi Benassi on Oct 22, 2020
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a declaratory judgment complaint related to patent validity under the federal abstention doctrine because the issue had been decided in state court. Warsaw Orthopedic, Medtronic Inc., et al. v. Rick C. Sasso, M.D., Case No. 19-1583 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 14, 2020) (Newman,...
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Jersey Boys Don’t Cry: No Copyright Protection for Facts “Based on a True Story”
By Jodi Benassi on Sep 16, 2020
Posted In Copyrights
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s grant of judgment as a matter of law finding that the musical Jersey Boys did not infringe a copyright held in an autobiography of band member Tommy DeVito. Donna Corbello v. Frankie Valli, et al., Case No. 17-16337 (9th Cir. Sept. 8,...
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Liability for Copyright Infringement Attaches if Conduct Exceeds Scope of License
By Jodi Benassi on Sep 2, 2020
Posted In Copyrights
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit revived a software owner’s copyright infringement suit because the district court erred in granting summary judgment of no infringement by failing to analyze whether the accused infringer exceeded the scope of a copyright license. Oracle America, Inc., et al. v. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, Case No....
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Buzz-sawed: Give Copyright Credit or Face Statutory Damages, Fees, Costs
By Jodi Benassi on Aug 26, 2020
Posted In Copyrights
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a district court’s award of statutory damages where the defendant knowingly distributed a photograph without first getting permission to use the photograph. Gregory Mango v. BuzzFeed, Inc., Case No.19-446 (2nd Cir. Aug.13, 2020) (Park, J.). Gregory Mango, a freelance photographer, sued BuzzFeed, an online media...
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Without Personal Jurisdiction or Causal Relationship, Wheels Come Off Misappropriation Claim
By Jodi Benassi on Jul 30, 2020
Posted In Trade Secrets
Without addressing the merits of the claim, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a trade secret misappropriation action based on lack of personal jurisdiction, finding no causal relationship between the competitors’ dealings in Illinois and the asserted claims. J.S.T. Corporation v. Foxconn Interconnect Technology Ltd., et...
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Federal Circuit Extends Arthrex to Ex Parte Re-Examination Proceedings
By Jodi Benassi on Jul 15, 2020
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded a decision issued by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), holding that its decisions in Arthrex and VirnetX also apply to ex parte examinations at the PTAB. In re: Boloro Global Ltd., Case Nos. 19-2349, -2351, -2353 (Fed. Cir. July 7, 2020)...
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GOOGLES Wins Right to Sue Google
By Jodi Benassi on Jul 9, 2020
Posted In Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated and remanded a district court’s dismissal of a trademark dispute for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, noting that the dispute arose under contractual standing, which is not a jurisdictional issue. SM Kids, LLC v. Google LLC, Alphabet Inc., Case No. 19-cv-2547 (2d Cir. June 25,...
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Munchkin Is Luv-n This Win
By Jodi Benassi on Jun 17, 2020
Posted In Patents, Trademarks
Reversing an award of attorney’s fees, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that a district court abused its discretion in making an exceptional-case determination where patent and trademark infringement claims were reasonable. Munchkin, Inc. v. Luv N-Care, LTD., Admar International, Inc., Case No. 19-1454 (Fed. Cir. June 8, 2020) (Chen, J.). Munchkin...
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Trademark Claim for Profit Damages Means No Jury Trial
By Jodi Benassi on Jun 11, 2020
Posted In Food, Beverage & Agribusiness, Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a denial of a jury trial demand in a trademark infringement lawsuit where only a claim of disgorgement of profits was at issue. JL Beverage Company, LLC v. Jim Beam Brands Co., Beam Inc., Case No. 18-16597 (9th Cir. May 27, 2020) (Wallace, J.) (Friedland, J., concurring)....
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