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Voluntary Work Held to be Work for Hire in World of Warcraft Suit

by Ali Shalchi In Lewis v. Activision Blizzard, Inc., No. 4:12-cv-01096-CW (N.D. Cal. Oct. 17, 2013), an employee of Blizzard brought suit against the company for copyright infringement, alleging ownership of voiceover work used in the popular World of Warcraft online video game. The key issue on Blizzard’s motion for…

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Unwired Planet v. Google: Court Reverses Decision Limiting Google to Prior Art References

Unwired Planet LLC (“Unwired Planet”) filed a patent infringement action against Google and it originally identified 124 claims from ten patents as its asserted claims against Google. Unwired subsequently reduced the number of its claims. At the August 20, 2013 case management conference, the parties offered different proposals for further…

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District Court Sua Sponte Orders Claims for Indirect Infringement and Willfulness Dismissed for Failure to Plead Pre-Suit Knowledge of Patent

Eclipse IP LLC (“Eclipse”) filed several patent infringement actions against a number of defendants, in which it alleged indirect infringement (both inducing and contributory) as well as willfulness. The district court sua sponte issued an order regarding the indirect infringement claims as well as the willfulness allegations. The district court…

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Apple v. Samsung: Court Orders Investigation into Potential Protective Order Violation by Samsung

As Apple and Samsung head toward yet another trial, Apple filed a motion for sanctions, accusing Samsung of violating the protective order in the case. Apple’s motion asserted that Samsung’s counsel had improperly shared information under the protective order with executives at Samsung. The court began its analysis with a…

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Damage Expert Stricken without Leave to Amend after District Court Determines That Expert Over Reached by Using Entire Market Value Rule

As this patent infringement action moved closer to trial, the parties filed various motions in limine, including defendant Fortinet Inc.’s motion to strike the report and expert testimony of Network Protection Sciences, LLC’s (“NPS”) damage expert. In its motion to strike, Fortinet contended that the damage expert’s analysis improperly based…

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Activision TV: District Court Expresses Concern over Nebraska Attorney General’s Cease and Desist Order and Grants Preliminary Injunction Precluding Enforcement

In the ongoing battle between Activision TV, Inc. (“Activision”) and the Attorney General for the State of Nebraska, Activision filed a preliminary injunction motion seeking to bar the Attorney General from enforcing a cease and desist order entered against Activision’s counsel. The district court had previously determined that the Attorney…

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WiLAN v. Alcatel-Lucent: Parties Agree to Dismiss Dispute and Vacate Claim Construction Order But District Court Declines to Vacate the Claim Construction Order

WiLAN USA, Inc. (“Wi-LAN”) filed a patent infringement action against Alcatel-Lucent USA Inc. (“Alcatel-Lucent”). After a lengthy claim construction order, the parties filed a joint motion to vacate the claim construction order and dismiss the pending lawsuit. The motion consisted of a single page and contained no points and authorities…

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Activision TV Obtains Preliminary Injunction Against Nebraska Attorney General: Court Permits Law Firm to Represent Activision in Patent Infringement Action Where Nebraska Attorney General Had Ordered Law Firm to Stop Patent Enforcement Efforts in Nebras

Activision TV, Inc. (“Activision”) filed a patent infringement action against Pinnacle Bancorp, Inc. (“Pinnacle”). Counsel for Activision, Farney Daniels, had previously sent letters to companies throughout the United States that Activision believed were infringing its patents. Five of these companies were in Nebraska. The letters requested information to determine if…

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Kimberly-Clark v. First Quality: Request to Require Defendant to Present Deposition Testimony in Plaintiff’s Case Denied Because It Would Interfere with Defendant’s Trial Presentation

As this patent infringement action proceed toward trial, plaintiff Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. (“Kimberly-Clark”) filed a request with the district court on an “extremely time-sensitive case management issue concerning the use of depositions at trial and deposition designations.” During a telephonic status conference, Kimberly-Clark requested that the district require the defendants…

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Robocast v. Apple and Microsoft: Preliminary Surveys Ordered Produced Even Where Expert Did Not Rely Upon Surveys and Had Deleted Them Before Creating His Expert Report

Robocast filed patent infringement actions against Apple and Microsoft. As expert reports were underway, Apple and Microsoft moved to compel undisclosed surveys that were commissioned by one of Robocast’s experts. As the Magistrate Judge explained, “Specifically, I am asked to resolve the parties’ dispute concerning certain undisclosed surveys commissioned by…

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