Tessa Kroll
Subscribe to Tessa Kroll's PostsTessa Kroll focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation matters. She is a registered patent agent. Read Tessa Kroll's full bio.
Grubhub Relishes Victory Against Trademark Preliminary Injunction
By Tessa Kroll 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 Tessa Kroll 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 Tessa Kroll 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 Tessa Kroll 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 Tessa Kroll 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 Tessa Kroll 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 Tessa Kroll 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 Tessa Kroll 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 Tessa Kroll 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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ANDA Filing Alone Insufficient for Induced Infringement of Method Patent
By Tessa Kroll on Jan 5, 2023
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a district court’s findings of invalidity and noninfringement in a Hatch-Waxman case involving two sets of method patents directed to modulating dosages of pirfenidone, a drug used to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The Court found that the first set of patents were obvious over...
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