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AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Inc. v. Gilead Sciences, Inc.

(United States Federal Circuit) - Affirming the dismissal of a declaratory judgment action filed against the producer of several antiviral drugs used in the treatment of AIDS by an organization providing medical care to AIDS sufferers seeking to have patents declared invalid because the action failed to meet the requirements of the Declaratory Judgment Act.




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Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Iancu

(United States Federal Circuit) - Affirming the decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in an inter partes review proceeding of patents relating to boron-containing small molecules used to treat fungal infections, holding that all of the claims of a patent owned by a company were unpatentable for obviousness.




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Praxair Distribution, Inc. v. Mallinckrodt Hospital Products IP Ltd.

(United States Federal Circuit) - Affirming in part and reversing in part the inter partes review decision of the US Patent and Trademark Office Patent Trial and Appeal Bard holding claims for methods of distributing nitric oxide gas cylinders for pharmaceutical applications used in treating respiratory failure as unpatentable as obvious because, while the Board didn't err as to most of the rulings, it did as to one.




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Endo Pharmaceuticals Solutions v. Custopharm Inc.

(United States Federal Circuit) - Affirmed the bench trial finding that valid patents still existed in a longstanding pharmaceutical drug called Aveed after defendant Custopharm was sued for patent infringement by Endo Pharmaceuticals and Bayer after seeking FDA approval to produce a generic version of Aveed.




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Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC

(United States Federal Circuit) - Affirmed a finding of patent claim invalidity involving certain claims related to a drug distribution system for tracking prescriptions of sensitive drugs, such as those with addictive properties. In affirming, the Federal Circuit held that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board did not err and that its determination, on inter partes review, that the patents were invalid was obvious.




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Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.

(United States Federal Circuit) - Affirmed that tribal sovereign immunity could not be asserted in a patent proceeding. A pharmaceutical company involved in a dispute over an eye medication patent transferred the title of its patent to a Native American tribe, which then moved to terminate the patent proceeding on the basis of sovereign immunity. Concluding that tribal sovereign immunity cannot be asserted in inter partes review, the Federal Circuit affirmed the denial of the Tribe's motion to terminate the proceeding.




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US ex rel. Wood v. Allergan, Inc.

(United States Second Circuit) - Held that a False Claims Act lawsuit had to be dismissed because it was not the first-filed case accusing the defendant pharmaceutical company of certain improper Medicare and Medicaid billing practices. The plaintiff (relator) argued that his action should be allowed to proceed because the earlier action was no longer pending. Disagreeing, the Second Circuit held that a violation of the first‐to‐file bar, which prohibits a person from bringing a related qui tam action when one is already pending, cannot be remedied by amending or supplementing the complaint. The panel reversed and remanded.




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Khoja v. Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Reversed in part the dismissal of a securities fraud class action alleging that a biotechnology firm misrepresented to investors the status of a clinical drug trial. An investor brought this suit contending that the company and certain top executives violated Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit held that the district court erred in part in dismissing the complaint for failure to state a claim. The panel also ruled that the district court abused its discretion in judicially noticing certain facts and in incorporating certain documents into the complaint.




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Gustavsen v. Alcon Laboratories, Inc.

(United States First Circuit) - Affirmed the dismissal of a consumer complaint alleging that manufacturers of prescription eye drops deliberately designed their bottles to emit unnecessarily large drops in a ploy to force patients to waste the expensive medication and thus buy more of it. Moving to dismiss on preemption grounds, the manufacturers contended that the Food and Drug Administration would have to approve any modification of the medication's bottle. Agreeing, the First Circuit held that FDA regulations preempted the plaintiffs' state law claims seeking to force a change in the bottle design.



  • Consumer Protection Law
  • Health Law
  • Drugs & Biotech

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Lifewatch Services Inc. v. Highmark Inc.

(United States Third Circuit) - Reinstated a medical device seller's claim that certain Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance companies violated antitrust law by unreasonably restraining trade in the national market for outpatient cardiac monitors. The seller of a cardiac monitoring device contended that it was shut out of the market because the defendants conspired to deny insurance coverage for its product to shield themselves from patient demand for it. Holding that the seller stated a claim under section 1 of the Sherman Act, the Third Circuit reversed dismissal of the complaint and remanded for further proceedings.



  • Antitrust & Trade Regulation
  • Health Law
  • Drugs & Biotech

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University of California v. Broad Institute, Inc.

(United States Federal Circuit) - Affirmed a judgment of no interference-in-fact in a patent case involving the CRISPR-Cas9 system for the targeted cutting of DNA molecules. The Federal Circuit found no error in the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's conclusion of no interference-in-fact, in this case pitting the Broad Institute, Inc., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and others against the University of California, the University of Vienna, and others.




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Teamsters Local 404 Health Services and Insurance Plan v. King Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

(United States Second Circuit) - Held that it was proper to remand to New York state court a case in which a labor union health plan sought disclosure of a patent dispute settlement agreement between pharmaceutical companies and the generic manufacturer of the EpiPen. Affirmed the district court's remand order, in this special proceeding under New York law seeking pre‐action disclosure.




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Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.

(United States Supreme Court) - Held that an inventor's sale of an invention to a third party who is obligated to keep the invention confidential can qualify as prior art for purposes of determining the patentability of the invention. The dispute here involved two pharmaceutical companies that disagreed about whether a certain drug was under patent; one of the companies wanted to market a generic version of it. Justice Thomas delivered the unanimous opinion.




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Retractable Technologies, Inc. v. Becton Dickinson and Co.

(United States Fifth Circuit) - Held that a manufacturer of medical syringes that falsely advertised its products did not have to disgorge its profits. That remedy would not be equitable under the circumstances here. Affirmed a post-trial ruling, in this lawsuit brought by a competing syringe manufacturer that also involved antitrust claims.




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Alyssa Milano Promotes Debunked Jimmy Kimmel Video Maligning Mike Pence: 'F*ck the GOP and This Administration'

Actress and left-wing activist Alyssa Milano has promoted a deceptively edited video about Vice President Mike Pence that was created by late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel -- even though the video has been debunked and Kimmel has publicly apologized for it.





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RNC Launches 'Protect the Vote' to Fight Left's Vote-by-Mail Scheme

The Republican National Committee (RNC) launched a digital platform on Friday called "Protect the Vote" as a response to the left's increasing attempts to use the coronavirus pandemic to push their election agenda items, such as universal mail-in voting.




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Chechen Migrant Drags French Policeman Over 60 Feet to Escape Virus Check

A Chechen migrant was arrested in the commune of Montereau-Fault-Yonne after dragging a police officer 60 feet with his vehicle while trying to escape a Wuhan coronavirus lockdown checkpoint.






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VeriSign, Inc. v. XYZ.COM LLC

(United States Fourth Circuit) - In a suit brought by a company in the business of selling internet domain names and operates the popular .com and .net top-level domains, alleging its competitor made a series of statements touting the popularity of the .xyz domain and warning of a scarcity of desirable .com domain names which violated the Lanham Act's false advertising provisions, the district court's grant of summary judgment to defendant is affirmed where: 1) as to defendant's self-promoting statements, most of which concern its registration numbers, plaintiff failed to produce the required evidence that it suffered an actual injury as a direct result of defendant’s conduct; and 2) plaintiff did not establish that defendant's statements about the availability of suitable .com domain names were false or misleading statements of fact, as required for Lanham Act liability.




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Flo & Eddie, Inc. v. Sirius XM Radio, Inc.

(United States Second Circuit) - In a copyright infringement suit brought by the company that owns the recordings of the Turtles, a well-known rock band with a string of hits in the 1960s, on behalf of itself and a class of owners of pre-1972 recordings against largest radio and internet-radio broadcaster in the U.S., the district court's denial of defendant's motions for summary judgment and reconsideration is reversed where, in response to questions certified to the New York Court of Appeals, New York common law does not recognize a right of public performance for creators of pre-1972 sound recordings.




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Glassdoor, Inc. v. Super. Ct.

(California Court of Appeal) - In a dispute between a employer reviews website, brought by a video gaming company against the website operator, seeking the name of a Jane Doe reviewer who purportedly posted confidential information on the website about the employer in violation of a confidentiality agreement, the website operator's petition for a writ directing the trial court to set aside its order to reveal Doe's real name is granted where the employer failed to make a prima facie showing that Doe's statements disclosed confidential information in violation of the nondisclosure agreement.




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Mason v. Machine Zone, Inc.

(United States Fourth Circuit) - In a class action complaint against the developer of a mobile video game entitled 'Game of War: Fire Age', pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3), asserting a claim under Maryland's gambling loss recovery statute (Loss Recovery Statute), Md. Code Ann., Crim. Law section 12-110, alleging plaintiffs lost money participating in an unlawful 'gaming device,' a component of Game of War that allows players to 'spin' a virtual wheel to win virtual prizes for use within that video game, and seeking recovery of gambling losses that players incurred as a result of 'spinning' the virtual wheel, the district court's dismissal of the complaint is affirmed where the district court correctly concluded that plaintiff did not 'lose money' within the meaning of the Loss Recovery Statute as a result of her participation in the Game of War casino, and thus she failed to state a claim under Maryland's Loss Recovery Statute.




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Mavrix Photographs, LLC. v LiveJournal, Inc.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - In a copyright dispute arising out of photographs posted online on defendant's social media website, the district court's summary judgment that defendant was entitled protected by the safe harbor of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is reversed where: 1) the safe harbor set forth in 17 U.S.C. section 512(c) would apply if the photographs were posted at the direction of users; 2) defendant posted the photographs after a team of volunteer moderators, led by an employee of the defendant, reviewed and approved them; 3) the common law of agency applied to the defendant's safe harbor defense; and 4) there were genuine factual disputes regarding whether the moderators were the defendant's agents.




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Turner v. Hubbard Systems, Inc.

(United States First Circuit) - In a suit brought by a solo law practitioner alleging that defendant violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) when it issued a software license key that expired on May 31, 2011, despite the fact that he owned a permanent license to the software at issue, the district court's order adopting the magistrate judge's report and recommendation, denying plaintiff's motion to strike, and granting HSI's motion for summary judgment are affirmed where plaintiff failed to establish the necessary $75,000 amount in controversy.




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Elliot v. Google, Inc.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - In an action under the Lanham Act, seeking cancellation of the GOOGLE trademark on the ground that it is generic, the district court's summary judgment in favor of defendant Google is affirmed where: 1) a claim of genericness or 'genericide,' where the public appropriates a trademark and uses it as a generic name for particular types of goods or services irrespective of its source, must be made with regard to a particular type of good or service; 2) the district court thus correctly focused on internet search engines rather than the 'act' of searching the internet; and 3) the verb use of the word 'google' to mean 'search the internet,' as opposed to adjective use, did not automatically constitute generic use.




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Mastermine Software, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp.

(United States Federal Circuit) - In a patent action, construing the term 'pivot table' in relation to two of plaintiff's patents, the district court's 1) claim construction is affirmed as supported by intrinsic evidence; but its 2) indefiniteness determination is reversed because the claims' scopes are reasonably certain.




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Axiom Foods, Inc. v. Acerchem Int'l

(United States Ninth Circuit) - In a civil procedure action, arising from a copyright infringement action brought by plaintiffs, American companies in the natural foods industry, against defendant, a UK limited company, after defendant sent an email newsletter containing plaintiffs' logos to 343 email addresses, the district court's dismissal for lack of personal jurisdiction is affirmed where defendant's suit-related conduct did not create a substantial connection with California.




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Culliane v. Uber Technologies, Inc.

(United States First Circuit) - Reversed and remanded in a case involving the enforcement of arbitration clauses in online contracts. Plaintiffs filed suit against defendant alleging violations of Massachusetts consumer-protection statute. Defendant operates a ride-sharing service requiring customers to register using the Uber App. In the app is a page that has a button that will take you to Terms and Conditions, which a user is not required to accept and which contains an agreement to arbitrate any dispute. The district court granted defendant's motion to compel arbitration and dismissed the complaint. In reversing and remanding the First Circuit held that the terms of the agreement were not reasonably communicated to plaintiffs.




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Modisette v. Apple Inc.

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that Apple Inc. was not liable for a five-year-old girl's death and injuries to her family members that occurred when a driver using the FaceTime application on his iPhone crashed into her parents' car on a Texas highway. Affirmed dismissal of the complaint, concluding that Apple did not owe a duty of care and that the iPhone's design was not a proximate cause.




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Meador v. Apple, Inc.

(United States Fifth Circuit) - Held that Apple Inc. was not liable for a fatal car crash that happened when a distracted driver looked down to read a text message on her iPhone 5. The suit alleged that the iPhone caused the accident because it had no lockout mechanism. Affirmed dismissal of the complaint, holding that Texas law would not regard a driver's neurobiological response to a smartphone notification as a cause of a car crash.




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Moss v. Princip

(United States Fifth Circuit) - In a dispute over ownership of a lucrative YouTube channel, held that the district court had subject-matter jurisdiction and did not err in dismissing a nondiverse partnership as dispensable. Also affirmed a judgment entered on a jury verdict.




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Patel v. Zillow, Inc.

(United States Seventh Circuit) - Held that homeowners could not proceed with a lawsuit against the real estate website Zillow, which allegedly estimated their homes to have inaccurately low values, thus making it difficult for them to obtain favorable sales prices. Affirmed a dismissal of their unfair trade practice and other claims.




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HomeAway.com, Inc. v. City of Santa Monica

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Upheld a beach town's ordinance imposing restrictions on companies, such as Airbnb Inc., that host online platforms for short-term vacation rentals. The internet companies claimed that the ordinance impermissibly infringed their First Amendment rights or was preempted by federal law. Disagreeing, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of their lawsuit seeking to enjoin the ordinance.




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VHT, Inc. v. Zillow Group, Inc.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - In a copyright infringement lawsuit against the real estate website Zillow, reversed a judgment after a jury trial, in part. A photography studio claimed that Zillow violated its copyrights in photographs of homes.




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Erickson Productions, Inc. v. Kast

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Affirmed that a business owner contributorily infringed copyrighted photographs by displaying them on his website. However, remanded for further proceedings on whether the infringement was willful.




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BWP Media USA Inc. v. Polyvore, Inc.

(United States Second Circuit) - Revived a media company's claim that a popular website infringed its copyright in certain photographs of famous celebrities. The website, which enables users to create and share digital photo collages, has a clipper tool that lets users clip images from other websites. Reversed summary judgment in relevant part, in this case involving the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.




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Duguid v. Facebook, Inc.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Struck down as unconstitutional a 2015 amendment to the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act that created a debt-collection exception. The issue arose in a consumer lawsuit alleging that Facebook unlawfully sent text messages using an automated telephone dialing system (to alert users, as a security precaution, when their account was accessed from an unrecognized device). Reversed the dismissal of a proposed class action.




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White v. Square, Inc.

(Supreme Court of California) - The issue is whether or not California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act can be used to bring a claim against a business when the Plaintiff visits the business’s website with the intention of using its services only to be allegedly denied full and equal access to its services and then Plaintiff leaves without entering into an agreement with the service provider. The Court answered in the affirmative.




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Nick Heyward Announces His 2018 UK Tour Following The Release Of His New Album 'Woodland Echoes'

Following The Release Of His Critically Acclaimed New Album ‘Woodland Echoes’ That Entered At No. 4 In The Independent Album Charts, Nick Heyward Has Announced A UK Tour For 2018.




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French Singer And Songwriter Ned Has Released Her Debut UK Single 'Give Me More'

French Native Songstress Ned Released Her Debut UK Single ‘Give Me More’ On 6th April 2018




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French EDM Composer DP Releases New Album 'House Vol. 1'

The French Composer Of EDM Known Internationally As DP Has Released His Latest LP Record, “House Vol. 1”




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French Singer Ned Has Released The Video For Her Single 'Give Me More'

The Video Was Released On April 25th




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Atlantic Screen Music Marks 10th Year Anniversary By Acquiring Redfive Creative, A Noted, UK-Based Music Supervision & Sync Company

ASM Completes Its 150th Film Score And Retains Jonathan Firstenberg As North American Rep




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China Agritech, Inc. v. Resh

(United States Supreme Court) - Holding that a putative class member may not, in lieu of promptly joining an existing suit or promptly filing an individual claim, commence a class action anew beyond the time allowed by the applicable statute of limitations and reversing and remanding the Ninth Circuit's reversal of a District Court dismissal of an untimely class complaint.




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Walsh v. Defenders, Inc.

(United States Third Circuit) - Affirmed an order remanding a consumer class action to state court. The defendant home security equipment businesses had removed the case to federal court under the Class Action Fairness Act, but the plaintiffs showed that an exception to CAFA jurisdiction applied. The Third Circuit noted that under the local-controversy exception, a district court must decline to exercise jurisdiction over a class action involving a uniquely local controversy, as defined in the statute.




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True Health Chiropractic Inc. v. McKesson Corp.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Reversed the denial of class certification in an action where a healthcare company was accused of unlawfully sending unsolicited faxed advertisements in violation of the U.S. Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The district court denied the motion for class certification on the ground that individual issues would predominate over issues common to the putative class. On an interlocutory appeal, the Ninth Circuit disagreed and remanded for further proceedings.




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Franchise Tax Bd. Limited Liability Corp. Tax Refund Cases

(California Court of Appeal) - Reversed the denial of class certification in a case involving tax refund claims filed by limited liability companies (LLCs) which sought refunds of a levy they had paid pursuant to a California tax statute that was later determined to be unconstitutional. When the district court denied the LLCs' motion for class certification on multiple grounds including predominance and superiority, they appealed. Agreeing with the LLCs that this case was suitable for treatment on a classwide basis, the First Appellate District reversed and remanded for certification of a class or classes consistent with its opinion.




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Langan v. Johnson and Johnson Consumer Cos., Inc.

(United States Second Circuit) - Vacated the certification of a consumer class action alleging that Johnson & Johnson deceptively labeled several of its baby bath products as being natural when they were not. The district court had certified a class consisting of consumers who purchased the products in eighteen states. On appeal, the Second Circuit was not convinced that the district court had carefully considered the material differences in the state laws at issue before concluding that their similarities predominated over their differences, and therefore the appeals court vacated and remanded.