IP Law 360

NOVEMBER 21, 2023

A federal judge has ordered a Michigan food wholesaler to face claims that it is illegally importing and selling a line of packaged nuts under a brand name trademarked by a rival importer and wholesaler.

Branding 40

Branding Brands Branding Trademark 40

IP Law 360

JULY 24, 2023

Michigan lawyers say they have been genuinely surprised so far this year by a host of decisions in both state and federal court, as judges tossed the decades-old framework for collective class action notifications and scrapped what was a major trade secrets trial loss for Ford.

Reporting 40

Reporting 40

IP Law 360

MARCH 21, 2023

A Michigan federal judge on Tuesday said a jury will have to decide whether a custard company squatted a competitor's website and deferred traffic to its own, saying there were too many questions of fact for him to grant summary judgment.

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IP Law 360

MAY 9, 2023

Furniture giant Herman Miller has won its bid to move an intellectual property dispute with the family of famed designer George Nelson from New York to Michigan federal court, where the company will face the family's claims they were victims of a scheme to steal their rights to Nelson's designs.

Intellectual Property 40

Intellectual Property Designs Design IP 40

IP Law 360

JUNE 30, 2022

Marijuana is illegal under federal law, so there's no need to keep arguing about whether Michigan pot seller Hempnotize LLC's logo violates the trademark of a nearby marijuana dispensary that is breaking national drug statutes, according to a motion to dismiss filed in Michigan federal court.

Trademark 40

Trademark Law 40

IP Law 360

DECEMBER 15, 2022

An Ohio mortgage company has accused another mortgage firm in Michigan of ripping off its name, saying in a federal lawsuit that numerous consumers confusing the two businesses have mistakenly complained to the Ohio firm about the other company's telemarketing practices.

Copying 40

Copying Business 40

IP Law 360

OCTOBER 7, 2021

A pro se inventor scored a victory in a long-running patent dispute against a Michigan trucking parts maker after a federal jury found that one of the company's mudflap products infringed his patented technology, although the jury refused to award triple damages or lost profits.

Inventor 40

Inventor Patent Technology 40

IP Law 360

APRIL 15, 2024

OnStar LLC has escaped an infringement suit alleging it infringed a wireless company's patent for tracking vehicles after a Michigan federal judge said the wireless company did not properly describe its patent or allege how OnStar was misusing the technology.

Technology 52

Technology Patent 52

IP Watchdog

JANUARY 23, 2023

District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. GM moved to transfer the case to Michigan, arguing that “the employees most knowledgeable about the design and development of the accused products and certain third-party component suppliers” are based there.

Patent Infringement 124

Patent Infringement Designs Design Technology 124

IP Law 360

APRIL 4, 2024

A panel of the Sixth Circuit has refused to revive an industrial control system designer's claims that a former business partner infringed his and his business's copyrighted software, backing a Michigan federal court's decision to exclude a critical expert witness.

Reporting 52

Reporting IP Business Designs 52

IP Law 360

APRIL 5, 2024

A company managing the works of famed astronomer Carl Sagan said it has the rights to the scientist's name and likeness, telling a Michigan federal judge that it has the standing to sue a software company for allegedly using Sagan's name without permission.

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JD Supra Law

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

Aside from the actual games on the field, the college football press has been fixated on one story over the past several weeks: the Michigan "sign stealing" controversy.

IP 62

IP 62

IP Law 360

MARCH 28, 2024

said a number of cannabis companies in Michigan have been selling a line of "Better Smoke" cannabis products that mimics the snack brand's century-old logo in a trademark infringement lawsuit filed Wednesday. Detroit-based Better Made Snack Foods Inc.

Branding 52

Branding Brands Branding Trademark 52

JD Supra Law

MARCH 26, 2024

ROYAL OAK, Michigan – Brooks Kushman recently secured a significant victory in an IPR dispute involving 4G wireless technology. Neo Wireless sued several automakers including Ford Motor Company for patent infringement. Ford and Volkswagen individually challenged the validity of U.S.

Patent Infringement 62

Patent Infringement Technology Patent 62

IP Law 360

FEBRUARY 14, 2024

A New York music licensor has hit a Detroit-area restaurant with a copyright suit over the unauthorized performance of three 1970s-era disco songs by artists like the Bee Gees and KC and the Sunshine Band, telling the Michigan court that it had reached out to the dining establishment over 50 times ahead of filing its claims.

Music 69

Music Copyright 69

IP Law 360

MARCH 21, 2024

on Wednesday urged a Michigan federal court to deny a tech company's request to boost an unfair competition award against Ford from less than half a million to $15 million because the tech company didn't challenge Ford's sales and profit data at trial. Ford Motor Co.

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IP Law 360

MARCH 13, 2024

Versata Software has urged the Federal Circuit to undo a Michigan federal judge's decision erasing a nearly $105 million trade secrets and breach of contract verdict it won against Ford, and argued that it was wrongly barred from presenting damages theories seeking up to $1.3

Contracts 52

Contracts 52

JD Supra Law

JANUARY 22, 2024

The witness list included NCAA President Charlie Baker, UCLA football player Chase Griffin, Commissioner of the Missouri Valley Conference Jeff Jackson, Arizona State University professor Victoria Jackson, Radford University volleyball player Meredith Page, and University of Michigan softball player Kaitlin “Keke” Tholl.

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43(B)log

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

Unusually, but soundly, the court proceeded to analyze the Michigan common law unfair competition claim separately. Michigan common law does not rely on the words of a statute, let alone a federal one.” The causes of action are similar for likely confusion/deception, but not for statutory standing.

False Advertising 59

False Advertising Advertising Advertising Business 59

Indiana Intellectual Property Law

AUGUST 13, 2021

Hammond, Indiana – Apparently, James E. Cross, the Plaintiff is the owner of three design patents for convertible t-shirt designs, U.S. Patent Nos. D/580,633, D/581,136 , and D/341,471 (collectively, the “Patents in Suit”).

Patent Infringement 52

Patent Infringement Design Patent Patent Designs 52

JD Supra Law

DECEMBER 7, 2023

District Court for the Western District of Michigan, found that Opti-Luxx, Inc. The jury, in a case in the U.S. Opti-Luxx”) willfully infringed two of Smartrend’s patents by importing and selling Opti-Luxx’s Direct Mount, LED Destination School Bus Signs in the United States. By: Brooks Kushman P.C.

Patent 68

Patent 68

IP Law 360

FEBRUARY 5, 2024

A Michigan federal judge on Monday said furniture company Herman Miller Inc. must face a suit filed by the family of George Nelson over the late designer's Bubble Lamp, saying "this opera is still in its opening act."

IP 52

IP Designs Design 52

IP Law 360

DECEMBER 12, 2023

Video game controller designer Haowei Yang secured a temporary restraining order from a Michigan federal court Tuesday that blocks Chinese company Shenzhen Hongfangrui from advertising and selling allegedly infringing game controller joysticks.

Advertising 59

Advertising Advertising IP Designs 59

IP Law 360

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

In this week's Off The Bench, the University of Michigan, Jim Harbaugh and the Big Ten ceased their hostilities in court and on the sidelines; two Pac-12 schools won control of the conference but then had that control temporarily paused; and MLB owners unanimously approved the Oakland Athletics' move to Las Vegas.

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Likelihood of Confusion

MARCH 8, 2024

David Donoghue reports on an interesting copyright issue blowing around Chicago, my home away from home: The Chicago Tribune‘s Ameet Sachdev reported that an ongoing copyright dispute may be coming to a head at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Randolph Street in Chicago, click here for the Tribune article.

Licensing 52

Licensing Reporting Copyright Derivative Work 52

JD Supra Law

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan before the Honorable Mathew F. Brooks Kushman helped Ford Motor Company (“Ford”) secure final judgment of $3 in what was once a $1.4 billion claim for trade secret misappropriation, patent infringement, copyright infringement and breach of contract. The matter, Versata Software, Inc.

Copyright Infringement 73

Copyright Infringement Contracts Patent Infringement Copyright 73

Velocity of Content

DECEMBER 5, 2023

Ellen Brooks K-12 School Improvement Coach and Educator Monroe Public Schools (MI) Ellen Brooks is a Michigan educator with classroom experience as a teacher in both lower and upper elementary classrooms.

Copyright 98

Copyright Art Art Law Licensing 98

IP Law 360

JANUARY 10, 2024

President Joe Biden released his first round of new judicial nominees of 2024 on Wednesday, which includes picks for district courts in the District of Columbia, Rhode Island, Illinois, California, Michigan and Virginia.

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IP Law 360

OCTOBER 12, 2023

food distributor likely will succeed on its claims that a British bakery is undercutting its business by selling products directly to grocery stores, a Michigan federal judge has said while temporarily ordering the bakery not to sell goods covered by the companies' agreement.

Business 74

Business 74

JD Supra Law

DECEMBER 4, 2023

Ex-employee’s golf outing with customer does not violate non-solicit - An auto parts manufacturer in Michigan sought a preliminary injunction against a former sales employee for violating his restrictive covenants, including a non-compete and a non-solicit.

Litigation 70

Litigation 70

IP Law 360

OCTOBER 19, 2022

counties where women received patents increased 32% between 1990 and 2019, with women having the strongest showing in Michigan, Texas, Connecticut, Massachusetts and California counties, according to a U.S. The number of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office report issued Wednesday.

Patent 98

Patent Reporting Trademark 98

IP Law 360

JANUARY 3, 2024

A Michigan federal judge on Tuesday dismissed Hong Kong-based manufacturer Nine HKG's suit against Ford Motor Co., after they reached a settlement to end claims Ford improperly restricted the use of its most recognizable logo and that Nine didn't pay Ford royalties under a licensing deal.

Settlement 52

Settlement Licensing 52

IP Watchdog

FEBRUARY 5, 2022

District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, holding that the lower court did not abuse its discretion or clearly err in its factual findings. The day the ‘087 patent issued, BlephEx sued Myco in the Eastern District of Michigan, alleging that Myco’s AB Max infringed claim 16 of the ‘087 patent. Myco Industries, Inc.

Patent Application 105

Patent Application Marketing Marketing Patent 105

IP Law 360

NOVEMBER 29, 2023

A Chinese game controller designer asked a Michigan federal judge Tuesday to force a competitor to take its colorful controllers off the market, saying the rival's allegedly infringing models have cut his sales almost in half.

Designs 52

Designs Design Marketing Marketing 52

IP Law 360

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

A shotgun shell company has accused high fashion company Hugo Boss of using unfounded trademark claims to block it from selling branded apparel through an online vendor in a new lawsuit filed in Michigan federal court.

Branding 52

Branding Brands Branding Trademark 52

IP Law 360

OCTOBER 31, 2023

A Michigan judge has granted a Michigan auto parts supplier's request to block a former worker and his competing company from using its pricing strategy information during an ongoing suit, finding that the pricing data was most likely a trade secret acquired in confidence.

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IP Law 360

JULY 10, 2023

Two of Aretha Franklin's sons vying for control of the late singer's estate on Monday tried to convince a Michigan state jury that a 2014 handwritten document favoring them is the Queen of Soul's last wishes, even if the document was found under a couch cushion.

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