A sign marks a Biogen facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Biogen MA Inc v. EMD Serono Inc
The high court denied a Biogen Inc petition challenging a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that its patent covering a multiple sclerosis treatment was invalid based on prior art. The Federal Circuit decision reinstated a jury verdict for Merck KGaA subsidiary EMD Serono Inc and Pfizer Inc, whose MS drug Rebif was accused of infringing the patent.
Case No. 20-1604. For Biogen: Jeffrey Lamken of MoloLamken; and Nicholas Groombridge of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. For Pfizer and Serono: Mark Perry of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
Naked TM LLC v. Australian Therapeutic Supplies
The Supreme Court also won’t take up a challenge to a two-to-one Federal Circuit decision allowing an Australian condom company to challenge a U.S. competitor’s federal trademark registration for the brand name “Naked” at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Case No. 20-1552. For Naked: Dennis Derrick, Suzanne Meehle of Meehle & Jay P.A. ATS didn’t appear in the Supreme Court case.
iLife Technologies Inc v. Nintendo of America Inc
The high court also let stand a Federal Circuit decision for Nintendo allowing it to escape a $10 million jury verdict for allegedly infringing a motion-detection patent owned by iLife Technologies Inc. The Federal Circuit had affirmed a Texas federal court decision that the patent was directed to a patent-ineligible abstract idea.
Case No. 20-1760. For iLife: Michael Wilson of Munck Wilson Mandala. For Nintendo: Kathleen Hartnett of Cooley
Zirvi v. Flatley
The court won’t hear a challenge to a ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that allowed Illumina Inc and others to escape claims brought by genetics researchers who said they misappropriated their trade secrets, finding the researchers waited too long to sue.
Case No. 20-1612. For the researchers: Eric Jaso of Spiro Harrison. For Illumina: Jay Alexander of Covington & Burling.
Marano v. Metropolitan Museum of Art
The high court also won’t hear an appeal of a 2nd Circuit ruling that New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art made fair use of photographer Lawrence Marano’s picture of Eddie Van Halen playing his famous “Frankenstein” guitar in an exhibition on its website.
Case No. 21-6. For Marano: James Freeman of the Liebowitz Law Firm. For the Met: Linda Steinman of Davis Wright Tremaine.
