Tessa Kroll

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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Ordinary Observer Conducts Product-by-Product Analysis in View of Prior Art
By Tessa Kroll on Nov 3, 2022
Posted In Patents
In one of two concurrent opinions concerning the same design patent case, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated a district court’s entry of a preliminary injunction after concluding that the court had failed to properly consider the accused products separately and in view of the prior art when determining the plaintiffs’...
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Heads Up: Defendants Deserve Fair Notice of Preliminary Injunctions
By Tessa Kroll on Nov 3, 2022
Posted In Patents
In one of two concurrent opinions concerning the same design patent case, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated a district court’s grant of a preliminary injunction and an order extending the preliminary injunction to new defendants for lack of notice under Rule 65(a). ABC Corp. I v. P’ship & Unincorporated Ass’ns...
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Foreign Video-Hosting Website Can’t Escape Long Arm of the Law
By Tessa Kroll on Sep 15, 2022
Posted In Copyrights
Focusing on the first prong of the minimum contacts test (whether the foreign defendant purposefully directed its activities at the United States) the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court holding that it lacked specific personal jurisdiction over the operators of a Japanese-language video-hosting website and remanded the case for...
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Yes, and It Counts! Single Purchase in Forum Establishes Personal Jurisdiction over Infringer
By Tessa Kroll on Sep 1, 2022
Posted In Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed exercise of personal jurisdiction over a foreign online retailer for a trademark infringement claim where the trademark owner purchased the only allegedly infringing article sold in the forum. NBA Properties, Inc. v. HANWJH, Case No. 21-2909 (7th Cir. Aug. 16, 2022) (Ripple, Scudder, JJ.) NBA...
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Too Little Too Late: No Tenable Misappropriation Claim Based on 11-Year-Old Prototype
By Tessa Kroll on Aug 11, 2022
Posted In Trade Secrets
In a dispute between an employer and a former employee, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgment against an employer asserting trade secret misappropriation and breach of implied-in-fact contract claims relating to an 11-year-old prototype developed by a former employee. The Court also affirmed the...
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Breach of Confidentiality Claim Survives Motion to Dismiss under Anti-SLAPP Law
By Tessa Kroll on Jul 28, 2022
Posted In Trade Secrets
The Court of Appeals of Texas (Fourth District) upheld a trial court’s order denying a motion to dismiss a breach of confidentiality agreement claim pursuant to the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA), which is designed to protect people from strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP). Harper v. Crédito Real Bus. Cap., Case No. 21-0212 (Tex....
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No Harm, No Foul: No False Advertisement Where Trade Association Failed to Show Injury
By Tessa Kroll on Jun 30, 2022
Posted In Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a home inspector association on a false advertising claim brought by a competitor, finding no evidence of injury or harm and explaining that harm could not be presumed merely from the fact that the parties...
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Counterfeit Dealer Gets Smoked in Trademark Preliminary Injunction Proceeding
By Tessa Kroll on Jun 2, 2022
Posted In Copyrights, Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a preliminary injunction barring the defendant from selling counterfeit e-cigarette and vaping products bearing the plaintiff’s logo because the plaintiff’s psychoactive products were legal and could support a valid trademark. AK Futures LLC v. Boyd St. Distro, LLC, Case No. 21-56133 (9th Cir. May 19,...
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