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Intellectual Property

Aug 15, 2018

National Grange Again Victorious in the Eastern District of California

California Grange Summary Judgement

On August 13, 2018, Judge Shubb of the Eastern District of California awarded sweeping relief to SGR client the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry (the “Grange”), the nation’s oldest agricultural fraternal organization.  For years, California has been the epicenter of a heated battle between the Grange and the former leader of its chartered California chapter. The court’s award of summary judgment, the latest of a string of victories in favor of the Grange, confirms that the history and goodwill of the California State Grange, as well as copyrighted content produced by the organization, is the intellectual… Read more

Jul 16, 2018

SGR Partner Bruce McDonald Joined Leading Representatives of the Russian Pharmaceutical Industry

SGR Partner Bruce McDonald with Leading Representatives of the Russian Pharmaceutical Industry

St. Petersburg International Legal Forum, St. Petersburg, Russia, May 17, 2018 (L to R) Dmitry Chagin, Chairman,  Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers of the Eurasian Economic Union; Anna Guseva, Partner, Ernst & Young; Zakhar Galant, Russian Ministry of Health; Vitaliy Kastalskiy, Managing Partner, AK Patent Group; and Bruce McDonald, Partner, Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP On May 17, 2018, SGR partner Bruce McDonald joined leading representatives of the Russian pharmaceutical industry at the invitation of the Russian Ministry of Health for a discussion of legislative and policy proposals by the government calling for a restriction in the scope of patent protection for pharmaceutical… Read more

Jun 21, 2018

SGR’s Kirsch to Present at the European Patent Office in The Hague, Netherlands

Speaker at European Patent Office

SGR’s Greg Kirsch, partner and Head of the firm’s Intellectual Property Department, has been invited to make a presentation at the European Patent Office (EPO), in the Hague, Netherlands, on July 5, 2018. The EPO, established in 1977 and operating under the European Patent Convention, in parallel with but separate from the European Union, is a major regional authority that receives and reviews patent applications, and grants patents for its member countries.  Patents granted by the EPO can thereafter be nationalized in any and all of the member countries, and are thereafter enforceable in such countries.  Along with the US… Read more

Jun 5, 2018

SGR Partner Bruce McDonald Published in Two Peer-Reviewed Journals

SGR Partner Bruce McDonald

SGR Partner Bruce McDonald is the lead author on two articles appearing in peer-reviewed journals involving international intellectual property and legislative initiatives in the Russian Federation to restrict the scope of patent and data protection in the pharmaceutical sector.  One of the articles is in the current issue of the AIPLA Quarterly Journal and appears here; the Russian-language parallel text is available here.  The other article deals with regulatory data protection and is appearing in the current issue of The International Lawyer, a publication of the American Bar Association Section of International Law, and is available here; the Russian-language parallel text… Read more

May 31, 2018

New Developments: Disappearing Data: WHOIS Blackout

Courtroom: ICANN Suing for Use of WHOIS Data

Further to our IP alert on May 22, two important developments have taken place in the last few days. First, on Friday, May 25 ICANN filed a legal action in Germany against EPAG, a German ICANN accredited registrar, seeking a ruling by the court on the continued ability of the registrar to collect WHOIS data and preserve it for access by those entities having a legitimate purpose. This action, intended to preserve WHOIS data, will be monitored by many intellectual property owners and associations and appears to be the first legal measure taken in order to ensure the continued ability… Read more

May 10, 2018

SGR Partners, Kirsch and Long, Recognized in Georgia by Chambers USA for Intellectual Property

Ranked in Chambers USA

SGR is pleased to announce that two of its Intellectual Property attorneys were selected for inclusion in the 2018 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. The prestigious legal guide, published annually by London-based Chambers & Partners, identifies leading lawyers and law firm practices based on interviews conducted by Chambers researchers with thousands of attorneys and their clients. Chambers USA recognized SGR in Georgia in the area of Intellectual Property. Gregory J. Kirsch was recognized for Intellectual Property (Georgia) (Band 3). Mr. Kirsch is a Partner and the Head of the Intellectual Property Practice of SGR. Mr. Kirsch serves as patent… Read more

Apr 19, 2018

Take-Two Tattoos – No Slam Dunk

Basketball Dunk - Take-Two violates copyrighted tattoos

Judge Laura Taylor Swain recently denied a motion for judgment on the pleadings filed by Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., a video game developer, publisher, and marketer, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, 2K Games, Inc. (together “Take-Two”). The lawsuit accuses Take-Two of committing copyright infringement due to its use of various tattoos (registered with the U.S. Copyright Office), in a popular series of basketball simulation video games. The tattoos at issue, in this case, are displayed on LeBron James, Eric Bledsoe and Kenyon Martin, all of whom are inked with these same tattoos in real life. Take-Two’s motion asserted that the case… Read more

Apr 18, 2018

National Grange Victorious in Vacating Satisfaction of Judgment

Gavel and Money

On April 17, 2018, the Eastern District of California set aside a partial satisfaction of judgment at the request of client the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry (the “National Grange”) when it came to light that an attorney fee award had been improperly paid with monies belonging to the National Grange’s chartered California chapter. Jim Bikoff and Bruce McDonald argued for the plaintiff at the April 16 hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Shubb. Two years prior the National Grange had been awarded attorneys’ fees of approximately $240,000 based on Defendant California Guild’s deliberate and willful violation… Read more

Apr 12, 2018

Ninth Circuit Affirms ‘Blurred Lines’ Infringement Verdict in 2-1 Opinion

Recording Studio Microphone: Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke

On March 21, 2018, a federal appeals court upheld a jury’s finding that Robin Thicke’s song “Blurred Lines” infringed on the copyright of Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up.” Pharrell Williams, Robin Thicke, and Clifford Harris, Jr.’s song “Blurred Lines” was the world’s best-selling single in 2013. The family of Gaye, who died in 1984, sued Thicke and Pharrell, along with their label, alleging that “Got to Give It Up” was copied without permission. In March 2015, a jury ruled that the song did infringe upon the copyright of Marvin Gaye’s song. The outcome at the trial level was… Read more