EXPERIENCE HENDRIX V. PITSICALIS

Experience Hendrix suit against Pitsicalis alleging that Pitsicalis was infringing trademarks in violation of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. 1051-1127, and that the trademark infringement also amounted to an unfair or deceptive trade practice proscribed by Washington’s Consumer Protection Act (WCPA), Wash. Rev. Code 19.86.010-19.86.920. Determining that Pitsicalis had Article III standing, the court concluded, inter alia, that the WPRA was constitutional as applied to the narrow set of non-speculative circumstances at issue in this case; Pitsicalis was liable under the Lanham Act for using domain names that infringed Experience Hendrix’s trademark “Hendrix”; and Paragraph 5 of the permanent injunction failed to state clearly the terms of the injunction and did not describe in reasonable detail the acts that were and were not restrained. Accordingly, the court reversed the district court’s determination that the Washington statute was unconstitutional and remanded Pitsicalis’s declaratory judgment claims pertaining to the WPRA with instructions to enter judgment on those claims in favor of Experience Hendrix; affirmed the grant of partial summary judgment on Experience Hendrix’s claim that Pitsicalis’s use of domain names infringed Experience Hendrix’s mark; vacated the permanent injunction and remanded so the district court could revise the language at issue; reversed the Rule 50(b)(3) decision to strike most of the jury’s award of damages under both the Lanham Act and the WPRA; affirmed the district court’s order granting a new trial on damages under both statutes; remanded for a new trial on such damages; vacated the district court’s award of attorney’s fees under the WCPA; and remanded the fee request for further proceedings.

Also, see Jimmy Hendrix Official Site

PATENT TERM EXTENSIONS – PTO PARTLY CORRECT AND PARTLY INCORRECT

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Novartis AG v. Lee
Docket: 13-1160 Opinion Date: January 15, 2014
Judge: Taranto
Areas of Law: Patents

In 1999, Congress provided for extensions of patent terms to compensate for certain application-processing delays caused by the Patent and Trademark Office; 35 U.S.C. 154(b)(1) makes a “Guarantee of no more than 3-year application pendency,” The statute provides that “the term of the patent shall be extended 1 day for each day” that the PTO does not meet certain response deadlines, for each day after the PTO fails to issue the patent within three years, subject to exclusions, and for each day of delay due to an interference, secrecy order, or successful applicant appeal. Novartis challenged PTO determinations of how much time to add to the otherwise-applicable term 18 of its patents. The district court dismissed claims regarding 15 patents as untimely. For the other three, the court rejected the PTO’s construction of the statutory provision. The Federal Circuit affirmed with respect to timeliness, but held the PTO was partly correct and partly incorrect in its interpretation of section 154(b)(1)(B). Novartis was entitled to most, but not all, of three patent term adjustment. Read full Opinion