Yellow Pages Group appealed from a $123,000 judgment entered against it, in favor of Yellow Pages Photos following a jury verdict in a copyright infringement trial in district court. Yellow Pages Photos cross appealed, raising several claims of error. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of Yellow Pages Group’s renewed motion for a judgment as a matter of law and also concluded that Yellow Pages Photos arguments on cross appeal lacked merit and thus did not warrant a new trial on damages.
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NFL Continues Challenge of “Disparaging” Marks in the Fourth Circuit
Are you ready for some football? In the midst of preparing for football season, the National Football Association (“NFL”) continues its fight to overcome cancellations of the Washington Redskins’ trademarks. The NFL is appealing a district court decision to the Fourth Circuit.
2015 John Cyril Malloy Intellectual Property Law Endowed Memorial Scholarship
The firm is proud to have participated in the selection of this year’s recipient of the “John Cyril Malloy Intellectual Property Law Endowed Memorial Scholarship” for a wonderfully qualified student, Stephanie M. Erickson, at the University of Miami School of Law.
If you would like to contribute to this scholarship, you may do so at https://advancement.miami.edu/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx?pid=196 (in “Designation,” click “Other” and enter full name of scholarship, as above).
Firm Attorneys Named “Super Lawyers” and “Rising Stars” in 2015 Florida “Super Lawyers” Magazine
Firm partners Jennie Malloy, Peter Matos, and John Cyril Malloy III were named “Super Lawyers” and associates Meredith Frank Mendez and Francisco Ferreiro were recognized as “Rising Stars” in the 2015 Florida Edition of “Super Lawyers” magazine. http://digital.superlawyers.com/superlawyers/flslrs15#pg1
Tech Companies Push for Rehearing to Reduce Damages in Apple v. Samsung
The latest chapter in the Apple v. Samsung saga, previously blogged about here, involves an amicus brief filed by several large technology firms in support of a rehearing on the amount of damages owed to Apple by Samsung. If granted, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will hear again arguments that those damages should be based on profits attributable to only the infringing portion of the Samsung device, rather than profits made on the entire device. If the Federal Circuit is persuaded, the decision could lower exposure for patent infringement across the industry.
Florida’s 2015 Patent Troll Prevention Act Signed into Law
Nine states, including Florida, have recently enacted “anti-patent troll” legislation in 2015, joining the seventeen states that passed similar legislation last year in 2014. Florida’s HB 439 ch. 501 part VII (“Patent Troll Prevention Act”), enacted in the 2015 session, prohibits bad faith assertions of patent infringement from being made, and provides a number of factors that allow a court to consider whether an allegation was made in bad faith. A determination of bad faith includes damages and reasonable attorney fees.
Federal Circuit Broadens the Category of Divided Patent Infringement in Akamai v. Limelight
In an unanimous decision on remand from the Supreme Court, the Federal Circuit issued its opinion in Akamai Technologies, Inc. v. Limelight Networks, Inc. (2015), which effectively broadened the category of divided patent infringement of a method claim under 35 U.S.C § 271(a), holding that when all steps of a method claim are not actually being performed by one party, but by multiple actors, all of the steps can be attributed to a single actor even where the parties are acting purely in an arms-length relationship with each other.