Jodi Benassi
Subscribe to Jodi Benassi's PostsJodi Benassi focuses her practice on litigation and investigations. Jodi has experience in federal court district actions in California, Texas, Florida and Michigan and actions before the US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). She has also conducted internal investigations on behalf of audit committees from high profile Fortune 500 organizations to Silicon Valley start-ups. Jodi Benassi's full bio.
Specificity matters: Eighth Circuit rejects broad trade secret claims
By Jodi Benassi on Jul 23, 2026
Posted In Trade Secrets
The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed a district court’s summary judgment against a trade secret plaintiff, finding that the plaintiff’s broad descriptions of confidential business information failed to identify its alleged trade secrets with sufficient specificity. Wilbur-Ellis Company v. Gompert, et al., Case Nos. 25-1577; -1682 (8th Cir. July 7, 2026)...
Continue Reading
A $40 million jury instruction error sends trade secret dispute back to trial
By Jodi Benassi on Jul 23, 2026
Posted In Trade Secrets
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a jury damages award, a permanent injunction, and an attorneys’ fee award in a trade secret misappropriation case, finding that the district court improperly instructed the jury on which party bore the burden of proving whether the asserted trade secrets were “readily ascertainable through proper...
Continue Reading
Code, copies, and consequences: $185 million verdict uninstalled!
By Jodi Benassi on Mar 26, 2026
Posted In Patents
Addressing patent eligibility, infringement, willfulness, enhanced damages, and the limits of patent damages tied to foreign software sales, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated a $185 million jury award after finding that damages based on foreign sales were improperly included because the accused software copies were made and installed abroad. Trs....
Continue Reading
Tree-mendous award: Damages expert royalty opinions are lit
By Jodi Benassi on Mar 5, 2026
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a damages verdict amounting to tens of millions of dollars. The Court found that the patentee’s damages expert correctly apportioned value to the patented feature and rejected challenges to her methodology. Willis Electric Co., Ltd. v. Polygroup Ltd., Case No. 24-2118 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 17,...
Continue Reading
Case exterminated too soon: DTSA and CFAA claims survive
By Jodi Benassi on Feb 5, 2026
Posted In Trade Secrets
The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit partially reversed and partially affirmed a series of district court rulings arising from alleged corporate espionage between competitors in the pest control industry. The decision clarifies the scope of recoverable “loss” under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) after Van Buren and underscores that causation...
Continue Reading
Expert had firm grip on Rule 702
By Jodi Benassi on Jan 29, 2026
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed an exclusion of expert testimony and grant of judgment as a matter of law, finding that the district court improperly conflated admissibility with credibility and weight of the evidence. Barry v. DePuy Synthes Companies, et al., Case Nos. 023-2226; -2234 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 20, 2026)...
Continue Reading
Sedona Conference releases draft model DTSA jury instructions
By Jodi Benassi on Dec 18, 2025
Posted In Trade Secrets
The Sedona Conference published the first comprehensive draft Model Jury Instructions for the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA) and invites public comment through January 17, 2026. The draft instructions, which have been three years in development, aim to provide clear, consensus-driven guidance on the key issues that juries must resolve in DTSA cases,...
Continue Reading
Vague definitions deflate tire trade secret claims
By Jodi Benassi on Dec 18, 2025
Posted In Patents, Trade Secrets
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court’s judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) that the plaintiff failed to prove misappropriation of five alleged trade secrets related to self-inflating tire (SIT) technology and separately rejected the plaintiff’s claim for correction of inventorship of defendant’s patent related to the alleged...
Continue Reading
When patent law meets free speech: Anti-SLAPP appellate jurisdiction
By Jodi Benassi on Oct 30, 2025
Posted In Trade Secrets
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit determined that it had jurisdiction over an interlocutory appeal from a district court’s denial of a California anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) motion in a trade secret and inventorship case, finding such a denial was immediately appealable under the collateral order doctrine. On the merits,...
Continue Reading
The smoke has cleared – and so has your invalidity defense
By Jodi Benassi on Sep 25, 2025
Posted In America Invents Act, Patents
The US District Court for the Northern District of Iowa issued an instructive decision clarifying the scope of statutory estoppel under the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) following post-grant review (PGR) proceedings before the Patent Trial & Appeal Board. Intirion Corp. v. College Products, Inc., Case No. 23-cv-4023-CJW-KEM (N.D. Iowa Sept. 16, 2025) (Williams, J.)...
Continue Reading
