Paul Devinsky
Subscribe to Paul Devinsky's PostsPaul Devinsky advises clients on patent, trademark and trademark litigation and counseling, as well as copyright counseling. He is also active in intellectual property (IP) licensing, transactions and due diligence, as well as post-issuance US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) proceedings such as reissues and inter partes review, covered business method patent review and post grant review, and appellate (Federal Circuit) advocacy. Read Paul Devinsky's full bio.
Implied Copyright License to Photographs of Artist Formerly Known as Prince
By Paul Devinsky on Sep 15, 2022
Posted In Copyrights
The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld a ruling that a marketer had an implied copyright license to distribute marketing materials containing digital copies of photographs of the late musical artist Prince. Beaulieu v. Stockwell, Case No. 21-3833 (8th Cir. Aug. 30, 2022) (Gruender, Benton, Grasz, JJ.) Allen Beaulieu was Prince’s personal...
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Thee I Dismiss: No Love for Failure to Add Necessary Party
By Paul Devinsky on Sep 8, 2022
Posted In Trademarks
After concluding that a trademark owner’s case for failure to add a necessary party was untenable, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal of the case because the necessary party enjoyed sovereign immunity and could not be added. Lee et al. v. Anthony Lawrence Collection, L.L.C. et al.,...
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Prior Art Citation to Inventors’ Report Not “By Another” for § 102(e)
By Paul Devinsky on Aug 25, 2022
Posted In America Invents Act, Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that a prior art patent’s summarization of a report authored by the inventors of a patent challenged under inter partes review (IPR) did not constitute a disclosure “by another” under pre-America Invents Act § 102(e). LSI Corp. v. Regents of Univ. of Minnesota, Case No....
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Recapture Rule Applies to Subject Matter Surrendered to Overcome § 101 Rejection
By Paul Devinsky on Aug 18, 2022
Posted In Patents
Affirming a Patent Trial & Appeal Board (Board) decision, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held, for the first time, that the rule prohibiting recapture of subject matter surrendered during prosecution applies to subject matter surrendered to overcome a § 101 patent eligibility rejection. In re McDonald, Case No. 21-1697 (Fed. Cir....
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Claim Construction Error Fuels Remand
By Paul Devinsky on Aug 4, 2022
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded a district court’s noninfringement decision, finding that the district court improperly construed the asserted claims as requiring a dual-fuel system. Ethanol Boosting Sys., LLC v. Ford Motor Co., Case No. 21-1949 (Fed. Cir. July 18, 2022) (Moore, Hughes, JJ.) (Newman, J., dissenting) (non-precedential)....
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Split Federal Circuit Reverses Contempt Order, Sanctions Award in Protective Order Dispute
By Paul Devinsky on Jul 7, 2022
Posted In Patents
A split panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a district court’s contempt order and sanctions award, finding that there was a fair ground of doubt regarding whether the defendant’s counsel’s disclosure to a third party under a joint defense agreement constituted a violation of a protective order (PO). Static...
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A Primer on Practice at the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board
By Paul Devinsky on Jun 30, 2022
Posted In Trademarks
In a precedential decision rendered in an opposition proceeding, the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board (Board) took the lawyers for each side to task for ignoring Board rules in presentation of their case, but ultimately decided the case on a likelihood of confusion analysis. The Board found that the parties’ marks and goods were “highly...
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Faked It? Your Contract Won’t Make It
By Paul Devinsky on Jun 16, 2022
Posted In Trade Secrets
The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a district court ruling denying a defendant’s motion to enforce an arbitration clause in a software license agreement that the defendant’s employee entered into using a fake company name at the defendant’s direction. CCC Intelligent Sols. Inc. v. Tractable Inc., Case No. 19-1997 (7th Cir....
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Drink Up, but Not with Lehman Brand
By Paul Devinsky on Jun 9, 2022
Posted In Trademarks
In the context of an opposition proceeding, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a Trademark Trial & Appeal Board (Board) refusal to register a trademark based on likelihood of confusion with a famous but expired mark, notwithstanding the applicant’s assertion of abandonment of the mark by the original registrant. Tiger Lily...
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Hit the Brakes: Experimental Use, Enhanced Damages Determinations Require Redo
By Paul Devinsky on May 12, 2022
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed and remanded a district court decision regarding experimental use under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) and the application of enhanced damages based on an allegedly flawed noninfringement and invalidity opinion. Sunoco Partners Mktg. & Terminals L.P. v. U.S. Venture, Inc., Case Nos. 20-1640; -1641. (Fed. Cir....
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