Kathleen Lynch
Subscribe to Kathleen Lynch's PostsKathleen (Kat) Lynch focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation and trademark enforcement matters. Read Kat Lynch's full bio.
Robbing Peter to Pay Paul? Supreme Court to Consider Scope of Lanham Act “Defendant’s Profit” Award
By Kathleen Lynch on Jul 11, 2024
Posted In Cert Alert, Trademarks
The Supreme Court has agreed to consider the breadth of a damages award in a long-running trademark dispute between two real estate companies. Dewberry Group, Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers, Inc., Docket No. 23-900 (Supr. Ct. June 24, 2024). Dewberry Group and Dewberry Engineers both offer commercial real estate services in the same geographic area. The...
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Family Feud: Counterclaims Too Little, Too Late
By Kathleen Lynch on Jun 27, 2024
Posted In Copyrights
The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a district court’s ruling that aggrieved family members’ counterclaims for various intellectual property matters were long overdue and subject to a laches defense. Sumrall v. LeSEA, Inc., Case No. 23-2833 (7th Cir. June 12, 2024) (Scudder, Pryor, St. Eve, JJ.) During Lester Frank Sumrall’s life,...
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Hot Mess? Second Circuit Douses Injunction Based on Weak Mark
By Kathleen Lynch on May 2, 2024
Posted In Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed a district court’s grant of preliminary injunction for abuse of discretion based on an erroneous evaluation of the strength of the “inherently descriptive” marks at issue. City of New York v. Henriquez, Case No. 23-325 (2d Cir. Apr. 16, 2024) (Livingston, CJ; Walker, Carney, JJ.)...
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Strong Signal: Personal Jurisdiction Over Foreign Defendant Based on Confluence of Factors
By Kathleen Lynch on Mar 21, 2024
Posted In Copyrights
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit concluded that a district court had personal jurisdiction over a foreign defendant’s website that purposefully targeted a US-based audience. DISH Network, LLC v. Bassam Elahmad, Case No. 23-20180 (5th Cir. Mar. 8, 2024) (Willett, Wilson, Ramirez, JJ.) (per curiam). DISH Network sued Bassam Elahmad, a German...
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Gentlemen, Start Your Engines: Even Bland Works Support Copyright
By Kathleen Lynch on Mar 7, 2024
Posted In Copyrights
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed an award of profit disgorgement and attorneys’ fees in a copyright infringement case, holding that even “workaday” or “humdrum” subject matter can support a valid copyright. Premier Dealer Servs. Inc. v. Allegiance Adm’rs LLC, Case No. 23-3394 (6th Cir. Feb. 26, 2024) (Sutton, C.J.; Clay,...
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Struggling to Master the Alice Two-Step: Search Result Display Ineligible for Patent Protection
By Kathleen Lynch on Jan 18, 2024
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a lawsuit involving two software patents directed toward enhancements to search result displays, finding that both patents claimed subject matter that is ineligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101. IBM v. Zillow Group, Inc., Case No. 22-1861 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 9, 2024)...
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TikTok: Federal Circuit Follows Fifth Circuit, Transfers Case for Witness Convenience
By Kathleen Lynch on Dec 21, 2023
Posted In Patents
In the first mandamus decision applying the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s new transfer motion guidelines under 28 U.S.C. 1404(a), the Federal Circuit followed suit and transferred a case for witness convenience. In re Samsung Elecs. Co., Ltd., Case No. 2023-146 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 14, 2023) (nonprecedential) (Prost, Hughes, Stoll, JJ.) (per...
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TikTok Makes It Out of West Texas to Sunny Northern California
By Kathleen Lynch on Nov 16, 2023
Posted In Copyrights
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a writ of mandamus ordering the transfer of a case, finding that the district court’s denial of the motion to transfer “was so patently erroneous” that the extreme measure was appropriate. In re TikTok, Inc., Case No. 23-50575 (5th Cir. Oct. 31, 2023) (Smith, Southwick,...
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No Money, Mo’ Problems: Speculative Damages Award Cannot Stand
By Kathleen Lynch on Oct 26, 2023
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a district court’s claim construction and jury instructions but reversed a premature judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) on obviousness and an imprecise damages award. Cyntec Company, Ltd. v. Chilisin Electronics. Corp., Case No. 22-1873 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 16, 2023) (Moore, Stoll, Cunningham, JJ)...
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Rimini, Meeny, Miny, Moe: Ninth Circuit Affirms Most PI Violation Findings, Reverses Others
By Kathleen Lynch on Sep 7, 2023
Posted In Copyrights
Addressing the boundaries of a permanent injunction awarded to a major software developer, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit largely agreed that the defending developer was in contempt for violating the order but reversed on certain issues where the district court overextended the injunction. Oracle USA, Inc. v. Rimini St., Inc., Case...
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