Case Summaries
[05/06]
Estate of Coll-Monge v. Inner Peace Movement
In an action for trademark infringement and related claims, summary judgment for defendants-non-profits is reversed in part and remanded where: 1) the district court erred in holding that a non-profit corporation cannot be a related company whose use of the trademark is controlled by the mark's registrant; and 2) there remain disputed issues of fact regarding both the doctrine's applicability in this case, and the capacity in which testator registered the marks with the USPTO.
[04/29]
Aktieselksabet AF 21. November 2001 v. Fame Jeans, Inc.
In an action brought opposing a trademark application, summary judgment for applicant is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) the district court may consider all relevant issues brought by either party regardless of whether they were brought before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB); 2) the district court incorrectly applied a heightened threshold for a complaint; 3) under Section 2(d) an intent-to-use applicant prevails over any opposer who began using a similar mark after the intent-to-use filing date; 4) opposer provided sufficient facts to establish constructive use of the trademark; 5) opposer's allegations of bad faith intent to use the trademark were sufficient to give notice of the claim; and 6) dismissal of opposer's allegation of common law fraudulent misrepresentation was proper.
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[03/27]
TSMC N. Am. v. Semiconductor Mfg. Int'l Corp.
In an action seeking to enjoin proceedings instituted in Beijing People's High Court in China pursuant to choice of law and forum selection provisions in a purported "settlement agreement" between the parties, denial of a motion for an antisuit injunction is affirmed in light of international comity and judicial restraint considerations.
[02/29]
Heritage Mktg. & Ins. Servs., Inc. v. Chrustawka
In action for breach of contract, conspiracy to defraud, defamation, tortious interference with economic advantage, and violation of the California Trade Secrets Act, summary adjudication on five causes of action based on the expiration of the statute of limitations is affirmed as Code of Civil Procedure section 351 did not toll the various limitations periods.
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[05/07]
B & H Med., L.L.C. v. ABP Admin., Inc.
In an antitrust case involving the legality of an agreement which established an exclusive network of preferred providers to supply types of medical equipment to enrollees in certain health-benefits plans offered to Chrysler, Ford, and state employees and retirees, a judgment and sanctions against plaintiff whose application to the network was rejected are affirmed, and appellate sanctions imposed, where: 1) plaintiff's antitrust claims lacked any conceivable merit; 2) a challenge to a discovery order failed; and 3) sanctions imposed below were not an abuse of discretion, and further, appellate sanctions were warranted.
[05/01]
Michigan Div. - Monument Builders of N. Am. v. Michigan Cemetery Ass'n
In an antitrust action involving allegations of anticompetitive behavior in the market for burial monuments in the state of Michigan, dismissal of the charges is affirmed and denial of sanctions against the plaintiff vacated and remanded for further proceedings where: 1) plaintiff's definition of the geographic market as each individual cemetery lot was too narrow as a matter of law; and 2) the district court failed to provide an adequate reason for the denial of sanctions against plaintiffs.
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[05/08]
Lucent Techs., Inc. v. Gateway, Inc.
In a patent case pertaining to alleged infringement by Microsoft and Dell of two patents owned by plaintiff-Lucent, summary judgment of non-infringement as to one patent is vacated and remanded where the district court's construction of the term "terminal device" was erroneous. Summary judgment of non-infringement as to another patent is affirmed as the district court's construction of the phrase "each successive iteration including the steps of" was proper.
[05/07]
Solomon Techs., Inc. v. Int'l Trade Comm'n
In proceedings involving imports and sales of certain Toyota hybrid vehicles, an order finding no violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 and refusing to enter an order excluding Toyota's products is affirmed on the basis of noninfringement, although the circuit court declines to resolve the construction of a "continuously variable" limitation.
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[12/26]
McNeil Nutritionals, Inc. v. Heartland Sweeteners, LLC
In a trade dress infringement action brought by the marketer of the artificial sweetener Splenda against defendants, who package and distribute sucralose as store brands to a number of retail grocery chains, alleging their product packaging is confusingly similar to Splenda's, denial of plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction is affirmed in part, but reversed in part as to certain boxes and bags where plaintiff demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits with respect to the third element of trade dress infringement, as there was a likelihood of confusion between those products' trade dresses and the analogous Splenda trade dress.
[09/12]
General Motors Corp. v. Urban Gorilla, LLC
In trademark dispute over steel "body kits" designed to make a truck look like a military-style vehicle, denial of plaintiff GM's motion for preliminary injunction is affirmed where the district court did not abuse its discretion in finding that GM failed to make a strong showing of a likelihood of success on the merits that the "body kits" infringe upon and dilute GM's trade dress rights in its Hummer line of vehicles.
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[05/09]
Baran v. Beaty
In a case involving a mother who removed her minor son from Australia, denial of father's petition for return of the minor pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and the International Child Abduction Remedies Act of 1988 is affirmed where: 1) based on evidence of the father's propensity for violence, the district court did not err in concluding that returning the minor to Australia would expose him to a grave risk of psychological harm; and 2) because the court was not presented with any proposed undertakings that could ameliorate the risk of harm to the child under the circumstances presented, the court did not abuse its discretion in denying the petition for return.
[05/08]
Royal Ins. Co. of Am. v. Orient Overseas Container Line Ltd.
In an action brought by Ford and its cargo insurer against defendant-ocean carrier for damages arising from the loss of cargo during a transatlantic voyage, partial summary judgment for defendant and third-party defendants is reversed where the district court erroneously interpreted the bill of lading to apply Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA) instead of the Hague-Visby Rules, and additional briefing and fact-finding may be required before the liability limitation may be appropriately applied. (Amended opinion)
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[04/15]
Warner Bros. Int'l Television Distrib. v. Golden Channels & Co.
In a breach of contract case, involving the breach of an agreement between a cable television broadcaster and a company licensing programming, a judgment in favor of the licensing company is reversed and remanded for a damages determination where, contrary to the ruling below, neither party breached. Instead the parties just failed to reach agreement on a new term, and continued performance was conditional on agreement.
[03/28]
Aristocrat Techs. Australia Pty, Ltd. v. Int'l Game Tech.
The district court committed no error in its analysis of the means-plus-function limitation in this case involving an electronic slot machine patent when it described the two competing claim constructions proposed by the parties, and made clear that there was virtually no difference between them. Computer-implemented means-plus-function claims require disclosure of a corresponding algorithm, rejecting appellant's contention that no algorithm is necessary.
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[05/08]
Royal Ins. Co. of Am. v. Orient Overseas Container Line Ltd.
In an action brought by Ford and its cargo insurer against defendant-ocean carrier for damages arising from the loss of cargo during a transatlantic voyage, partial summary judgment for defendant and third-party defendants is reversed where the district court erroneously interpreted the bill of lading to apply Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA) instead of the Hague-Visby Rules, and additional briefing and fact-finding may be required before the liability limitation may be appropriately applied. (Amended opinion)
[05/07]
Solomon Techs., Inc. v. Int'l Trade Comm'n
In proceedings involving imports and sales of certain Toyota hybrid vehicles, an order finding no violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 and refusing to enter an order excluding Toyota's products is affirmed on the basis of noninfringement, although the circuit court declines to resolve the construction of a "continuously variable" limitation.
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[05/09]
Sierra Club v. Flowers
In an action challenging a grant of certain "Clean Water Act" ("CWA") mining permits by the Army Corps of Engineers in Florida, summary judgment for plaintiffs is vacated and remanded where the district court: 1) appeared to have predetermined the answer to the ultimate issue based on its own conclusions that mining in the area at issue was a bad thing; 2) analyzed the permitting process with that answer in mind regardless of what the agency concluded and what evidence supported the agency's conclusion; and 3) therefore applied the improper standard of review under the Administrative Procedure Act.
[05/08]
Bolvito v. Mukasey
Petition for review of an order of removal is denied where an IJ did not err as a matter of law when he determined that petitioner could not claim an earlier priority date based on her mother's change of status to lawful permanent resident since petitioner could no longer be considered a child of the principal alien at that time the change of status occurred.
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[05/08]
Lucent Techs., Inc. v. Gateway, Inc.
In a patent case pertaining to alleged infringement by Microsoft and Dell of two patents owned by plaintiff-Lucent, summary judgment of non-infringement as to one patent is vacated and remanded where the district court's construction of the term "terminal device" was erroneous. Summary judgment of non-infringement as to another patent is affirmed as the district court's construction of the phrase "each successive iteration including the steps of" was proper.
[05/07]
Solomon Techs., Inc. v. Int'l Trade Comm'n
In proceedings involving imports and sales of certain Toyota hybrid vehicles, an order finding no violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 and refusing to enter an order excluding Toyota's products is affirmed on the basis of noninfringement, although the circuit court declines to resolve the construction of a "continuously variable" limitation.
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[05/06]
U.S. v. Armstead
Convictions for felony willful copyright infringement for private financial gain are affirmed over allegations that the government failed to produce sufficient evidence that DVDs sold had an aggregate value of more than $2,500 in "retail value" as used in section 2319(b)(1).
[04/28]
Litecubes, LLC v. N. Light Prods., Inc.
In a patent and copyright infringement case, denial of a motion to dismiss by the defendant-appellant for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and the denial of a judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) is affirmed where: 1) the district court need not consider whether the alleged patent infringement occurred in the U.S. in order to determine subject matter jurisdiction; 2) the extraterritorial limits of the Copyright Act apply to the elements of the claim, and not to the question of subject matter jurisdiction; 3) the court predicts that Eighth Circuit law would find that the term "sale" should be interpreted consistently in copyright and patent law; and 4) there was sufficient evidence for the jury verdict and the denial of a JMOL.
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