Insights

Short answer: In Yonay v. Paramount Pictures Corp., the Ninth Circuit held that Top Gun: Maverick did not infringe the copyright in the 1983 article “Top Guns” because the film did not copy protectable expression. The court also held that Paramou… Read More

The March 25, 2026 House oversight hearing on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) underscored a practical point for businesses: patent and trademark policy at the agency remains in motion. The hearing focused on proposed Patent Trial and App… Read More

On January 29, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed summary judgment of noninfringement in favor of Hulu in a dispute involving streaming-media technology. In practical terms, the court concluded that no trial was needed b… Read More

The Federal Circuit has upheld a ruling by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB, or the Board) that certain claims of Viasat Inc.’s data error-correction patent are unpatentable as obvious. Viasat owns U.S. Patent No. 8,966,347 (the “’347 pa… Read More

The Federal Circuit has affirmed a ruling by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board) that the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) correctly found claims in an Estech Systems IP LLC patent covering quality improvements to voice over inter… Read More

The New York Times Company has filed suit against Perplexity AI, claiming the company engaged in “large-scale, unlawful copying and distribution of The Times’s copyrighted content.” The Times says it filed suit after making multiple requests ov… Read More

Billboard reports that the estate of Johnny Cash has sued Coca-Cola for using a soundalike singer in an ad that plays between college football games as part of its “Fan Work Is Thirsty Work” campaign. The singer in the ad is Shawn Barker, a profe… Read More

The Federal Circuit has denied Motorola’s petition for mandamus relief challenging decisions by the former US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) director. The case is In Re Motorola Solutions, Inc. As the court summarized, At the request of Mo… Read More