B&I Wins Transfer of Copyright Dispute from Florida to Vermont

Partner Stacy Stitham has secured a transfer of a federal lawsuit filed by Exist Inc. against Brann & Isaacson client The Vermont Country Store from Florida to Vermont. The dispute centers on Vermont Country Store’s registered “ROCK FISH” fabric design copyright. After receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Vermont Country Store, Exist filed a declaratory judgment...

Spokeo Speaks — Again

In Robins v. Spokeo, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for Ninth Circuit has again allowed a case to go forward on a gossamer thread of alleged “harm,” despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s admonition that concrete harm must alleged.

A Rare Sight: East Texas Judge Grants Motion to Dismiss Patent Infringement Suit

The data are in. As we’ve previously discussed, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas outstrips all others for patent infringement litigation, with approximately 40% of all recent cases filed in that one court. The reasons plaintiffs—especially patent trolls—favor this district have been studied. Most recently, in an August 2015 article, “Forum...

Timing Is Everything: Alice in East Texas (Again)

Well, we warned you that Alice v. CLS Bank was going to remain a hot topic in 2016. Two more data points to support that theory have emerged, each of which, in a different way, relates to the proper timing of a judicial decision on the legal question of whether a patent’s claims are written...

Letter Request Requirement in East Texas Takes An Absurdist Turn

We’ve written before about the unique requirement some judges in the Eastern District of Texas impose on accused infringers, requiring them to obtain leave of court before filing a motion testing the patent–eligibility of an asserted patent under Alice v. CLS Bank. This requirement makes it harder for accused infringers to get a dispositive issue...

No Welcome Mat for Alice in East Texas After All?

A month ago, we highlighted the case of Clear With Computers v. Volvo Construction Equipment, in which Judge Gilstrap of the Eastern District of Texas granted a defense motion to dismiss for lack of patentable subject matter. We saw the application of Alice v. CLS Bank in a ruling on an early dispositive motion in...

The Alice Penny Drops In East Texas

As we wrote last month, the early stats suggest that Alice v. CLS Bank has changed the landscape of patent litigation, with a 69% win rate for accused infringers on motions seeking a judgment that an asserted patent is not directed to patentable subject matter. One of the bigger open questions is what reception Alice...