Tessa Kroll

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Tessa Kroll focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation matters. She is a registered patent agent. Read Tessa Kroll's full bio.

Lost Connection: Preliminary Injunction Against Unreleased Product Is a No-Go


By on Feb 15, 2024
Posted In Patents

Addressing a preliminary injunction motion directed to a competitor’s yet-to-be-released product, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit determined that the district court did not abuse its discretion in finding that the patent holder failed to establish irreparable harm based on speculative evidence. SmartSky Networks, LLC v. Gogo Bus. Aviation, LLC, Case No....

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Grubhub Relishes Victory Against Trademark Preliminary Injunction


By on Sep 28, 2023
Posted In Trademarks

Upholding the denial of a preliminary injunction motion in a trademark infringement dispute, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit concluded that the district court did not err in finding that the trademark owner failed to show a likelihood of success on its reverse confusion theory. Grubhub Inc. v. Relish Labs LLC, Case...

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Hit Rewind: Analogous Art and Field of Endeavor


By on Sep 21, 2023
Posted In Patents

Addressing the Patent Trial & Appeal Board’s application of the field of endeavor and reasonably pertinent tests for determining analogous art, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that the Board should not have required a petitioner to precisely articulate the relevant field of endeavor for the patent and prior art using...

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Petitioner Reply May Include New Evidence if Responsive to Patent Owner and Based on Original Legal Contentions


By on Aug 24, 2023
Posted In Patents

Addressing the issue of new invalidity theories offered during inter partes review (IPR) proceedings, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that a petitioner does not improperly offer new theories when it merely expands on previously raised arguments and responds to a patent owner’s assertions without advancing a “meaningfully distinct [invalidity] contention.”...

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New Claim Construction in Patent Owner’s Post-Initiation IPR Response? Sure, Charge Away


By on Aug 17, 2023
Posted In Patents

Addressing the issue of new claim constructions presented by a patent owner after the institution of inter partes review (IPR) proceedings, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that a petitioner is entitled to argue and present evidence under the new construction so long as it relies on the same prior art...

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If You Can’t Say a Secret under an NDA, Don’t Say It at All


By on Jul 27, 2023
Posted In Trade Secrets

Considering a trade secret misappropriation claim involving a business pitch that was not subject to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a district court’s summary judgment grant for the accused party, finding that it had not acquired the information through a confidential relationship. Novus Grp., LLC v....

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A Single Picture Database Is Worth a Thousand Statutory Damages Awards


By on Jun 22, 2023
Posted In Copyrights

In the latest appeal of a copyright infringement dispute, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the lower court’s finding that the copyright owner’s photographs were not part of a single compilation for purposes of awarding statutory damages. VHT, Inc. v. Zillow Grp., Inc., Case Nos. 22-35147; -35200 (9th Cir. June 7,...

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All’s Well That Edwell: Two Markets Can Be Substantially Different if Defined Narrowly Enough


By on Jun 8, 2023
Posted In Trademarks

Despite evidence of actual confusion and seemingly similar services, the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld a district court’s noninfringement finding concerning two nearly identical education-related marks because the parties targeted different goods and marketing channels. M Welles & Assocs., Inc. v. Edwell, Inc., Case No. 22-1248 (10th Cir. May 31, 2023)...

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Weeded Out: Mark for Drug Paraphernalia Described as “Essential Oil Dispenser” Refused Registration


By on May 18, 2023
Posted In Trademarks

Addressing the registrability of marks for cannabis-related products, the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board upheld an Examiner’s refusal to register marks for an “essential oil dispenser” based on extrinsic evidence that the dispenser was primarily used with cannabis extract. In re National Concessions Group, Inc., Ser. Nos. 87168058 and 87183434 (TTAB May 3, 2023) (Thurmon,...

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Stryking Noncompete Preliminary Injunction


By on Mar 9, 2023
Posted In Trade Secrets

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld a district court’s grant of a preliminary injunction restricting a former employee from working for conflicting organizations or communicating with a competitor’s counsel. Stryker Emp. Co., LLC v. Abbas, Case No. 22-1563 (6th Cir. Feb. 16, 2023) (Clay, Bush, JJ.; Sutton, C.J.) The Court found...

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