Tessa Kroll
Subscribe to Tessa Kroll's PostsTessa Kroll focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation matters. She is a registered patent agent. Read Tessa Kroll's full bio.
If You Can’t Say a Secret under an NDA, Don’t Say It at All
By Tessa Kroll on Jul 27, 2023
Posted In Trade Secrets
Considering a trade secret misappropriation claim involving a business pitch that was not subject to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a district court’s summary judgment grant for the accused party, finding that it had not acquired the information through a confidential relationship. Novus Grp., LLC v....
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A Single Picture Database Is Worth a Thousand Statutory Damages Awards
By Tessa Kroll on Jun 22, 2023
Posted In Copyrights
In the latest appeal of a copyright infringement dispute, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the lower court’s finding that the copyright owner’s photographs were not part of a single compilation for purposes of awarding statutory damages. VHT, Inc. v. Zillow Grp., Inc., Case Nos. 22-35147; -35200 (9th Cir. June 7,...
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All’s Well That Edwell: Two Markets Can Be Substantially Different if Defined Narrowly Enough
By Tessa Kroll on Jun 8, 2023
Posted In Trademarks
Despite evidence of actual confusion and seemingly similar services, the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld a district court’s noninfringement finding concerning two nearly identical education-related marks because the parties targeted different goods and marketing channels. M Welles & Assocs., Inc. v. Edwell, Inc., Case No. 22-1248 (10th Cir. May 31, 2023)...
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Weeded Out: Mark for Drug Paraphernalia Described as “Essential Oil Dispenser” Refused Registration
By Tessa Kroll on May 18, 2023
Posted In Trademarks
Addressing the registrability of marks for cannabis-related products, the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board upheld an Examiner’s refusal to register marks for an “essential oil dispenser” based on extrinsic evidence that the dispenser was primarily used with cannabis extract. In re National Concessions Group, Inc., Ser. Nos. 87168058 and 87183434 (TTAB May 3, 2023) (Thurmon,...
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Stryking Noncompete Preliminary Injunction
By Tessa Kroll on Mar 9, 2023
Posted In Trade Secrets
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld a district court’s grant of a preliminary injunction restricting a former employee from working for conflicting organizations or communicating with a competitor’s counsel. Stryker Emp. Co., LLC v. Abbas, Case No. 22-1563 (6th Cir. Feb. 16, 2023) (Clay, Bush, JJ.; Sutton, C.J.) The Court found...
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ANDA Filing Alone Insufficient for Induced Infringement of Method Patent
By Tessa Kroll on Jan 5, 2023
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a district court’s findings of invalidity and noninfringement in a Hatch-Waxman case involving two sets of method patents directed to modulating dosages of pirfenidone, a drug used to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The Court found that the first set of patents were obvious over...
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Ordinary Observer Conducts Product-by-Product Analysis in View of Prior Art
By Tessa Kroll on Nov 3, 2022
Posted In Patents
In one of two concurrent opinions concerning the same design patent case, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated a district court’s entry of a preliminary injunction after concluding that the court had failed to properly consider the accused products separately and in view of the prior art when determining the plaintiffs’...
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Heads Up: Defendants Deserve Fair Notice of Preliminary Injunctions
By Tessa Kroll on Nov 3, 2022
Posted In Patents
In one of two concurrent opinions concerning the same design patent case, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated a district court’s grant of a preliminary injunction and an order extending the preliminary injunction to new defendants for lack of notice under Rule 65(a). ABC Corp. I v. P’ship & Unincorporated Ass’ns...
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Foreign Video-Hosting Website Can’t Escape Long Arm of the Law
By Tessa Kroll on Sep 15, 2022
Posted In Copyrights
Focusing on the first prong of the minimum contacts test (whether the foreign defendant purposefully directed its activities at the United States) the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court holding that it lacked specific personal jurisdiction over the operators of a Japanese-language video-hosting website and remanded the case for...
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Yes, and It Counts! Single Purchase in Forum Establishes Personal Jurisdiction over Infringer
By Tessa Kroll on Sep 1, 2022
Posted In Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed exercise of personal jurisdiction over a foreign online retailer for a trademark infringement claim where the trademark owner purchased the only allegedly infringing article sold in the forum. NBA Properties, Inc. v. HANWJH, Case No. 21-2909 (7th Cir. Aug. 16, 2022) (Ripple, Scudder, JJ.) NBA...
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