Protecting Confidential Information Does Not Safeguard Trade Secrets

Business, innovation and proprietary information are often the cornerstones of a companies’ success. Companies invest significant time, resources, and expertise to develop and maintain their unique processes, formulas, and strategies that provide an edge over their competitors. However, just because the information is a valuable business assets does not automatically make it a trade secret and provide the foundation for a lawsuit over its unauthorized use. In the world of trade secret protection, information is either a “trade secret” (and protectable) or it is not a trade secret (and not protectable).
Despite attempts over the years to conflate the issue, there is no middle gound. Protecting Confidential Information does not make it a trade secret. To be protected as a trade secret companies must protect their valuable information as a secret.

Harnessing the Power of Intellectual Property: A Guide to Navigating IP License Agreement

In the dynamic realm of business, intellectual property (IP) stands as a cornerstone of innovation and competitive advantage. From groundbreaking inventions to captivating creative works, IP assets hold immense value, often serving as the lifeblood of successful enterprises. To fully realize the potential of their IP, companies often engage IP Attorneys to help Navigate IP license agreements, strategic partnerships that enable the transfer of IP rights for mutually beneficial outcomes.

Navigating the Evolving Landscape of Drafting Software Patents

In the ever-changing realm of Patent Law, drafting software patents have become an increasingly complicated area of practice. The recent decision in KOM Software Inc. v. NetApp, Inc. by the District of Delaware has reignited discussions surrounding the patentability of software under the Alice test, a two-step framework used to determine whether an invention falls within the categories of patent-eligible subject matter. The KOM Software decision highlights the importance of understanding the evolving landscape of software patents and the challenges associated with obtaining and enforcing patent protection in this area.

NCAA to Allow Student-Athlete Endorsements

NCAA lawsuit over Name, Image and Likeness Sprints Forward

College athletes won class action certification last week in a lawsuit accusing the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) of failing to compensate student althetes for use of their name, image and likeness (NIL), exposing the NCAA to damages of up to 4.5 billion.

Trademark Litigation over Tiny Trump Trademark Application

On November 1, 2023, the US Supreme Court will hear a trademark case that pits 1st Amendment Law against Trademark law and NIL rights. The case involves a challenge to a provision of the Lanham Act that prohibits the registration of trademarks of a person without their consent.

Trademark Lawsuit for Similiar Clothing Logo

In a trademark lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Sportswear company Wooter said that Dick’s Sporting Goods use of an infinity logo is virtually identical to its infinity-symbol and thus likely to cause customer confusion baseed on the overlapping clothing markets and is seeking $8 Mill in damages.

Celebrating Taco Tuesdays is now Free for all. Photo credit Chad Montano.

Taco Tuesday Trademark is Free for All

After a long legal battle, the phrase “Taco Tuesday” is now free for anyone to use as a result of drawn out litigation from Taco Bell. This is a victory for Taco Bell, which has been trying to make the phrase “Taco Tuesday” a generic term that anyone can use.

Copyright Infringement for Artificial Intelligence Software

In a landmark ruling, on September 25, 2023, a federal judge in Delaware denied summary judgment over a legal research software companies use of copyrighted material to train its artifical intelligence database.  The federal court ruled that it will be up to a jury to decide whether Ross Intelligence infringed Thomson Reuters’ copyrights by copying material from its legal research platform, Westlaw. The case has been closely watched by legal experts, as it could set a precedent for how copyright law applies to artificial intelligence (AI).