In a September 22 decision, District Judge David J. Novak denied the bulk of a motion to dismiss a suit alleging that a general contractor had infringed an architectural firm’s copyright on design plans for a brewery and tasting room to be built in Williamsburg. Michael Pellis Architecture PLC v. M.L. Bell Construction LLC, Civil Action No. 3:22CV470 (DJN), 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 169697 (E.D.Va. Sept. 22, 2023)
Intellectual Property
EDVA Judge Rules That Geolocation Patents Are Invalid Under 35 U.S.C. § 101
By Dabney J. Carr on
Posted in Court Procedure, Intellectual Property
On September 18, in identical opinions issued in separate cases against Google and Apple, EDVA District Judge Michael Nachmanoff ruled that four patents directed toward geolocation of mobile devices claimed patent-ineligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Geoscope Technologies PTE, LTD. v. Apple Inc., Case No. 1:22CV1373, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165795 (E.D.Va. Sept. 18, 2023); Geoscope Technologies PTE, LTD. v. Google LLC, Case No. 1:22CV1331, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165802 (E.D.Va. Sept. 18, 2023).
Fourth Circuit Now Permits Awarding Attorney’s Fees for Some Preliminary Injunctions, Bucking Precedent
Plaintiffs who secure a preliminary injunction may now be able to recover attorney’s fees in the Eastern District of Virginia, due to the Fourth Circuit’s departure from its previous position that such plaintiffs are not “prevailing parties” for purposes of recovering attorney’s fees.
Using a Company Witness as a Subject Matter Expert on a Company’s Products
By Dabney J. Carr on
It is common in commercial litigation for a company to offer an employee as a witness to testify about the design, capabilities and features of the company’s products or services. Usually, such a witness testifies as a fact witness offering testimony based on his or her personal knowledge under Fed. R. Evid. 602, rather than as an expert witness offering opinion testimony under Fed. R. Evid. 702.
EDVA Judge Holds That a Temporary Restraining Order Ends at the Close of Business on the Day of Expiration
By Dabney J. Carr on
Following up on our post on obtaining temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions in the EDVA, a recent decision by an EDVA judge clarifies that a motion to extend a temporary restraining order (TRO) filed after the close of business on the date the TRO expires is untimely because “the TRO had already expired at the time that the Plaintiff moved the Court” for an extension. XYZ Corporation v. The Unincorporated Associations Identified in Schedule A, Case No. 1:23C-cv-00673-PTG-JFA (E.D.Va. July 25, 2023).