All-but-self-help Archives - Jafari Law Group | California Employment Litigation & Patent Lawyers

Copyright, Patent, or Trademark: Which One Is Right for You?

April 10 2017

Intellectual property law is notoriously complicated, so it’s no wonder that the defining issues can be confusing. Intellectual property, in general, refers to ownership of goods that are intangible or that can’t be held – creations of the mind – and are, therefore, harder to protect. Once you understand the basic distinctions between copyrights, …

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Why You Need a Lawyer for Your Patent Application – The Benefits of Early IP Protection

February 23 2017

Intellectual property – or IP – is a very complicated area of law. New ideas are typically protected in the form of patents, trade secrets, trademarks, and copyrights. While U.S. law allows for individuals to file patent applications themselves, it is advisable to retain the services of an experienced intellectual property and patent attorney. Our …

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"Write Once, Run Anywhere" – POS Patent Infringement Lawsuit Reversed on Appeal

December 10 2014

In this POS patent infringement lawsuit, CardSoft sued VeriFone and others asserting infringement of its software patents. Both companies are in the point of sale (POS) industry that consumers recognize as credit card readers, and also the industry that Apple is seeking to gain market share in with its new concept of Apple Pay. At …

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Incomplete Disclosures Lead to Unenforceable Patents: American Calcar, Inc. v. American Honda Motor Co.

November 28 2014

On September 26, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a lower court’s findings that several patents asserted against Honda, were invalid as a result of inequitable conduct during prosecution. According to the Court’s findings, an eager inventor acted with intent to deceive the United States Patent and Trademark Office …

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Public performance under the Copyright Act

November 16 2014

This past summer the Supreme Court ruled against Aereo, Inc. in the case of American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. v. Aereo, Inc.[1] The decision hinged on the meaning behind two critical terms of the Copyright Act (17 U.S.C.): “perform” and “publicly”. The Court first had to decide whether the actions by Aereo constitute a performance as …

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Message to Patent Trolls: Lose & You Will Pay Attorney’s Fees

November 04 2014

The American system is unlike many others when it comes to paying the attorney’s fees of the winner in litigation. Patent cases have always been a little different in that the relevant statutes allowed for the district court judge to consider a fee motion in favor of the winner in a patent infringement suit. Until …

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Buysafe, Inc. v. Google, Inc.- Another Business Method Patent Invalidated

September 05 2014

On September 3, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a lower court’s finding that the claims to a patent owned by buySAFE, Inc. are invalid under 35 U.S.C. section 101. Perhaps more significantly, the Court of Appeals used the approach recently affirmed by the United States Supreme Court in …

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$147.2 Million Jury Award against Blackberry Overturned

August 24 2014

On August 22, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s findings that Research In Motion Limited and Research In Motion Corporation (BlackBerry) did not infringe U.S. Patent No. 6,970,917 (“’917 patent”), owned at the time of suit by MFormation Technologies, Inc. and mFormation Software Technologies, Inc. (MST). After a jury trial …

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One Plus One Does Not Equal New. The Federal Circuit Invalidates I/P Engine’s Patents

August 15 2014

I/P Engine brought a patent infringement lawsuit against Google and several other defendants for infringing on several of its patents. The patents at issue relate to a method for filtering Internet search results. The patents’ main operational features determine the relevance of an Internet search by, for example, extracting text from a web page (known …

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$30 Million Verdict Against Google Overturned Due (in part) to Prior Art Admissions in Patents

August 15 2014

On August 15, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in I/P Engine, Inc. v. AOL, Inc. et al, reversed a lower court’s decision granting I/P Engine, Inc. an award for over $30 million in damages against Google, AOL, and Target for patent infringement. The Appeals Court’s reversal was based on …

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In Patent Infringement One Word Makes all the Difference

August 08 2014

In 2005, a pharmaceutical corporation named ScriptPro obtained a patent on a device relating to an automated prescription container dispensing system that automatically fills and labels pill bottles. See Scriptpro, LLC v. Innovation Associates, Inc., 2013-1561, 2014 WL 3844192, at * 1 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 6, 2014); COLLATING UNIT FOR USE WITH A CONTROL CENTER …

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Suing Competitors for Patent Infringement or Filing a Citizen Petition with the FDA May Violate Antitrust Laws

August 08 2014

In addressing whether a competitor’s patent infringement suit and filing of a Citizen Petition with the Federal Drug Administration can result in the violation of antitrust laws, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court’s finding that the patentee’s assertion of the validity of its patents was a sham. The court …

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