Justia Intellectual Property Opinion Summaries

A holding company and its North Carolina insurance agency subsidiary, which function as intermediaries between clients and insurance carriers, experienced significant employee dissatisfaction after a shift in commission structure and a pay freeze in early 2020. This led to multiple employees, including both producers and account managers, leaving over several months to join a direct competitor, a new agency formed by a former employee. The departing employees had signed agreements with non-solicitation and confidentiality clauses. During their departures, some employees forwarded company documents to personal accounts, and, after litigation began, engaged in extensive deletion of electronic evidence.Previously, in Guilford County Superior Court, the plaintiffs had sued a former producer, with most claims dismissed except for breach of employment agreement, and that suit was later settled. In the current litigation, after discovery, both sides sought partial summary judgment in the North Carolina Business Court (Superior Court for Complex Business Cases). The Business Court granted summary judgment in part for both parties, including a grant of adverse inference against defendants for spoliation of evidence, but did not specify how that inference would apply to each claim.The Supreme Court of North Carolina reviewed the interlocutory appeal. It affirmed the adverse inference ruling but remanded for the Business Court to clarify its specific application. The Court reversed the Business Court’s summary judgment that two client lists could not be trade secrets, holding there were genuine issues of fact. It clarified the standard for misappropriation of trade secrets under state law, requiring evidence of a specific opportunity to acquire trade secrets without authorization. The Court remanded claims related to trade secrets, enforcement of non-solicitation provisions (pending factual findings on the scope of the employer and affiliates), and certain computer fraud claims for further proceedings. Summary judgment for defendants on unjust enrichment was affirmed, and the Business Court was directed to issue a written opinion for claims it disposed of in a summary order. The disposition was thus affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further proceedings. View "Rel. Ins., Inc. v. Pilot Risk Mgmt. Consulting, LLC" on Justia Law

Ford retained Versata to develop specialized software to manage its vehicle configuration processes, resulting in two main products: Automotive Configuration Manager (ACM) and Materials Cost Analytics (MCA). The parties entered into a licensing agreement in 2004, which eventually expired in 2014 without renewal. Ford then released its own software, PDO, which Versata alleged incorporated its proprietary trade secrets from ACM and MCA. Disputes arose when Ford sought a declaratory judgment of non-infringement and non-misappropriation, while Versata counterclaimed, alleging trade secret misappropriation under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) and the Michigan Uniform Trade Secrets Act (MUTSA), as well as breach of contract.The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan excluded Versata’s damages expert’s testimony regarding trade secret damages, limiting Versata to a reasonable royalty model based solely on the parties’ prior licensing history. At trial, the jury found Ford liable for misappropriating three ACM trade secrets and breaching the licensing agreement, awarding Versata $22,386,000 for trade secret misappropriation and $82,260,000 for breach of contract. However, the district court subsequently reduced these awards: it set trade secret damages to zero, citing insufficient evidence regarding the time required for Ford to independently develop the misappropriated trade secrets, and reduced breach of contract damages to $3, finding Versata’s evidence insufficient to support the jury’s calculation.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated the district court’s judgment on trade secret damages and remanded for a new trial, holding that Versata was entitled to seek unjust enrichment damages under both the DTSA and MUTSA, and that the district court erred in precluding consideration of alternative damages models. The Federal Circuit also reversed the reduction of the breach of contract damages, reinstating the jury’s $82,260,000 award, and affirmed the denial of Ford’s motion for judgment as a matter of law on trade secret misappropriation liability. View "VERSATA SOFTWARE, LLC v. FORD MOTOR COMPANY " on Justia Law

An engineer who had worked for more than two decades at a manufacturing company resigned after a demotion and accepted a leadership position at a competitor. As he was leaving, the company discovered that he had potentially printed several documents containing confidential information about its products. Although forensic analysis could not confirm that he actually printed these documents, the company concluded he had taken trade secrets and sued him and his new employer, alleging breach of a confidentiality agreement and misappropriation of trade secrets. The company sought a preliminary injunction to prevent disclosure of the alleged secrets and to restrict the engineer’s work with the competitor.The United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio denied the preliminary injunction. The district court ruled that the company failed to meet its burden by not providing “clear and convincing” evidence for each of the four required factors for a preliminary injunction: likelihood of success on the merits, risk of irreparable harm, risk of harm to others, and the public interest. The court treated each factor as a separate prerequisite, each requiring clear and convincing proof.The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reviewed the district court’s decision for abuse of discretion, clarifying that the district court had committed a legal error. The appellate court held that the correct approach is to weigh all four preliminary injunction factors together in a sliding-scale analysis, not to require clear and convincing evidence for each factor individually. It explained that a heightened standard of proof is not mandated unless required by statute, the Constitution, or in rare cases involving unusually coercive government action, none of which applied here. The Sixth Circuit reversed the district court’s decision and remanded the case for reconsideration under the appropriate standard. View "PCC Airfoils, LLC v. Daugherty" on Justia Law

Two companies, both joint owners of several patents related to warm-mix asphalt paving, entered into a licensing agreement in 2008 granting an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing license to another company (and, after a reorganization, its successor). The agreement allowed the licensee to manufacture, use, sell, and sublicense the patented products, but required that sublicensing terms be subject to the patent owners’ prior review and approval (not to be unreasonably withheld). The patent owners retained certain rights, including the right to sue for infringement (with shared or independent control depending on the circumstances), receive royalties, and veto sublicenses. The patent owners also kept limited rights to practice the invention for research and to use products purchased from the licensee.In 2024, the patent owners sued two defendants, alleging infringement of the six patents. The defendants moved to dismiss for lack of Article III standing. The United States District Court for the District of Delaware granted the motion, finding that the patent owners had transferred away all exclusionary rights through the license, and that their retained right to sue was not sufficient for constitutional standing. The district court relied on previous decisions holding that a bare right to sue, separated from other substantial patent rights, did not confer standing.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed. The Federal Circuit held that the patent owners retained an exclusionary right sufficient for Article III standing, namely the right to sue for infringement that was not rendered illusory by the licensee’s rights. The court concluded that the combination of the right to sue, the right to veto sublicenses, and the continuing royalty interest demonstrated a concrete, non-illusory exclusionary interest. The case was remanded for further proceedings. View "A.L.M. HOLDING COMPANY v. ZYDEX INDUSTRIES PRIVATE LTD. " on Justia Law

The case concerns a man who sued several parties after negative posts about him appeared in a large Chicago-based Facebook group where women share experiences about local men. The posts, made in late 2023, included a woman he briefly dated recounting her unpleasant experiences, attaching a screenshot of a profane text message he sent her after their breakup. Other posts by unidentified users included supportive comments and, in one instance, a link to a news article about a criminal case involving someone with a different name and appearance. The plaintiff alleged these posts caused him reputational, economic, and emotional harm.In the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the defendants—including the former date, her parents (for allegedly allowing use of their internet connection), the group’s administrators, and Meta Platforms—moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim. The court granted the motions, finding the claims legally insufficient and dismissing the case with prejudice. The plaintiff appealed and voluntarily dismissed claims against unidentified “Jane Doe” defendants to preserve diversity jurisdiction.The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reviewed the district court’s dismissal. The appellate court affirmed, holding that the plaintiff failed to state plausible claims under the Illinois Right of Publicity Act because none of the defendants used his likeness for a commercial purpose. The court also found the “doxing” claim insufficient, as there were no plausible allegations of intent or recklessness regarding harm or stalking. Defamation and related claims failed because the allegedly defamatory material could be innocently interpreted or lacked special damages. The court also concluded that the appeal as to the woman and her parents was frivolous and ordered the plaintiff and his attorneys to show cause why sanctions should not be imposed for bringing a meritless appeal and for submitting briefs containing fictitious quotations and misstatements of law. The court awarded costs to other appellees and referred attorney conduct to state disciplinary authorities. View "D'Ambrosio v Meta Platforms, Inc." on Justia Law

The case concerns a patent dispute involving a company that owns a patent for a unified electronic banking system. After most of the patent’s claims were found unpatentable in an inter partes review (IPR) before the Patent and Trademark Office, only four claims remained. The company then sued a bank in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleging infringement of these remaining claims. The allegations were supported by claim charts and references to the bank’s online services.The district court first struck the original complaint as a “shotgun pleading” and allowed an amended complaint. The amended complaint was also challenged by the defendant, who argued that the remaining claims were invalid for obviousness and, alternatively, for claiming ineligible subject matter, and that the infringement allegations were inadequate. The district court dismissed the case with prejudice, finding the asserted claims invalid for obviousness as they did not add anything patentably distinct from those already invalidated in the IPR, and also held that infringement was not adequately pleaded. The court denied leave to further amend the complaint and subsequently awarded attorneys’ fees to the defendant under 35 U.S.C. § 285, finding the case “exceptional,” and imposed sanctions on plaintiff’s counsel under 28 U.S.C. § 1927 for alleged bad faith litigation.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the complaint, upholding the finding that the patent claims at issue were invalid for obviousness. However, the appellate court reversed the awards of attorneys’ fees and sanctions, holding that the record did not support a finding that the case was exceptional or that counsel acted in bad faith, as required by the respective statutes. Each party was ordered to bear its own costs. View "MCOM IP, LLC v. CITY NATIONAL BANK OF FLORIDA " on Justia Law

Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, holder of patents for pharmaceutical compositions involving epoprostenol, alleged that Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s proposed generic drug infringed its patents by manufacturing a bulk solution with a pH of 13 or higher, as claimed in the patents. The dispute centered on whether Mylan’s bulk solution met this pH threshold, either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents. Actelion argued that pH should be measured at the solution’s actual (refrigerated) temperature, while Mylan maintained that its product’s pH, when measured at industry standard temperature, did not meet the claimed threshold.The United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia held a bench trial after remand from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which had previously vacated a judgment based on incorrect claim construction. On remand, the district court construed “a pH of 13 or higher” to mean a pH measurement of 12.98 or higher at standard temperature (25±2°C), relying on both intrinsic and extrinsic evidence. The court found no literal infringement, as Mylan’s bulk solution did not meet this threshold at standard temperature. It also ruled that Actelion was barred from asserting infringement by an equivalent due to prosecution history estoppel and the disclosure-dedication rule, and that Actelion had not proven equivalence.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed claim construction de novo and factual findings for clear error. The court affirmed the district court’s claim construction, finding that “a pH of 13 or higher” refers to standard-temperature measurement, supported by industry standards and patent evidence. It also upheld the district court’s application of prosecution history estoppel and the disclosure-dedication rule, barring Actelion’s equivalents argument. The judgment for Mylan was affirmed. View "ACTELION PHARMACEUTICALS LTD v. MYLAN PHARMACEUTICALS INC. " on Justia Law

Bissell, Inc. and Bissell Homecare, Inc. accused Tineco Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. and related entities of importing and selling wet dry surface cleaning devices that allegedly infringed certain claims of two U.S. patents concerning surface cleaning apparatuses. After the complaint was filed with the United States International Trade Commission, Tineco introduced redesigned versions of the accused products, which were also evaluated for infringement. The key patent claims at issue involved limitations related to a battery charging circuit being disabled during a self-cleaning mode.An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) at the International Trade Commission conducted an evidentiary hearing. The ALJ found that Tineco's original products infringed the asserted patent claims but that the redesigned products did not, as they did not meet the requirement that the battery charging circuit remain disabled during the automatic cleanout cycle. The ALJ also found that Bissell’s domestic industry products practiced the relevant claim limitations, and that all accused products met other disputed limitations. The Commission adopted the ALJ’s findings and issued a limited exclusion order barring importation of only the original infringing products.On appeal, in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Bissell challenged the finding of non-infringement for the redesigned products, while Tineco cross-appealed on domestic industry findings and certain infringement determinations. The Federal Circuit affirmed the Commission’s Final Determination, holding that substantial evidence supported the findings that Tineco’s redesigned products did not infringe the relevant patent claims, that Bissell’s domestic industry products met the asserted limitations, and that the accused products satisfied the “brushroll within the recovery pathway” and “suction nozzle” limitations. The court affirmed the exclusion order for the original products and denied relief on all appeals. View "BISSELL, INC. v. ITC " on Justia Law

Trojan Battery, a well-established manufacturer of golf cart batteries with valuable trademark rights in the “TROJAN” name and related marks, sued Golf Carts of Cypress and Trojan EV. The defendants, owned by the same individual, began selling golf carts under the “TROJAN-EV” brand, which led to alleged confusion among dealers and customers about the origin or affiliation of the products. Trojan Battery sent a cease-and-desist letter, but the defendants continued their use of the TROJAN-EV mark. The evidence showed that both companies operated within the golf industry, used similar advertising channels, and targeted the same customer base.The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas held a bench trial. The district court found the defendants liable for trademark infringement and unfair competition under the Lanham Act and Texas law, based on a likelihood of confusion between the marks. The court awarded Trojan Battery the defendants’ profits as a remedy and issued a permanent injunction against further infringement. The district court also rejected the defendants’ post-trial motions and denied their request to amend the findings of fact and conclusions of law. Defendants appealed these rulings.The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reviewed the case. It affirmed the district court’s liability judgment and the award of profits, finding no clear error in the determination that there was a likelihood of confusion and that disgorgement of profits was warranted. However, the appellate court vacated the permanent injunction, holding that it was overbroad because it extended beyond the golf cart and battery markets, where confusion was likely, to unrelated products and markets. The case was remanded for the district court to narrow the scope of the injunction. View "Trojan Battery v. Golf Carts of Cypress" on Justia Law

A volunteer affiliated with a nonprofit focused on innovation requested documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). The request sought information related to an adversary proceeding before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), particularly concerning the panel of judges assigned, changes to the panel, and drafts of the written decision. The proceeding involved a motion for recusal due to a judge’s stock ownership and subsequent reassignment of panel members. The FOIA request specifically targeted documents reflecting the identities and opinions of involved judges, membership of the Circulation Judge Pool, legal bases for judge participation, and information about stock holdings.The PTO produced about 1,500 pages of documents but withheld drafts of decisions and related communications, citing FOIA Exemption 5, which covers predecisional and deliberative documents. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia reviewed cross-motions for summary judgment and ruled in favor of the PTO, finding that the withheld documents were both predecisional and deliberative. The court rejected arguments that the communications constituted unlawful ex parte communications or government misconduct, determining there was no basis under FOIA to compel disclosure. The court also concluded that the plaintiff’s broader claims were not appropriately raised in a FOIA action.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s judgment. The appellate court held that the PTO properly withheld the drafts and related communications under Exemption 5, finding them categorically predecisional and deliberative. The court further determined that intra-agency circulation of draft opinions among judges did not constitute ex parte communications and that FOIA does not provide a government misconduct exception for Exemption 5. View "Malone v. United States Patent & Trademark Office" on Justia Law