In a case that has already drawn considerable publicity, carpet giant Shaw Industries Group, Inc. (“Shaw”), of Dalton, Georgia, filed a complaint in the Northern District of Georgia against The Hershey Company, of Hershey, Pennsylvania, and Hershey Chocolate and Confectionary Corporation, of Wheat Ridge, Colorado (collectively, “Hershey”), asking the […]
Attorneys often worry that sending a license demand letter (or cease-and-desist letter) on behalf of a patentee will prompt an accused infringer to file a declaratory judgment action in its home forum, thus preempting the patentee’s choice of forum. This fear is the most significant factor behind patentees’ […]
“A declaratory action allows a party ‘who is reasonably at legal risk because of an unresolved dispute, to obtain judicial resolution of that dispute without having to await the commencement of legal action by the other side.’”[1] In the patent litigation context, declaratory judgment actions are frequently brought […]
On November 16, 2012, Atlanta-based Tie Down, Inc. (“Tie Down”) filed a declaratory judgment action against Demco, Inc. (“Demco”), based in Des Moines, Iowa, asking the Court to declare that its trailer hitch and integrated actuator products do not infringe Demco’s U.S Patent No. 7,690,673 (the ‘673 patent), entitled […]
Below, we update the status of four intellectual property cases that had been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division. Three of them have been terminated, and the fourth, while not terminated, includes a recent entry of a consent injunction.ARAC and […]
Abstracted below are four copyright cases filed in the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia in October 2012 – one in the Middle District, and three in the Northern District. In Effort to Not Blend In with Competition, Jordan Outdoor Enterprises Ltd. Brings Copyright Action […]
On October 3, 2012, Anvil International, LLC (“Anvil”) of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Mueller Water Products, Inc. (“Mueller”) of Atlanta, Georgia, filed a complaint against Victaulic Company (“Victaulic”) of Easton, Pennsylvania, in the Northern District of Georgia seeking a declaration that the claims of Victaulic’s U.S. Patent No. […]
What do hip-hop tracks, Christmas-themed works, and vampires have in common? Usually not much, but they are all subjects of copyright cases recently filed in the Atlanta Division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Three complaint filings occurred within three days of one another. Soulja Boy’s […]
(Updated September 13) The Northern District of Georgia docket has seen a flurry of intellectual property-related activity in the last two weeks. Below is a summary of recent filings: Vehicle Tracking Patent Suits On September 6, 2012, Telematics Corporation (“Telematics”) filed a complaint against CarrierWeb, LLC (“CarrierWeb”) of Smyrna, […]
The maker of Frontline® Plus and Heartgard® veterinary products has again turned to the judicial system to resolve disputes regarding its own advertisements, as well as those of its competitors. On August 13, 2012, Merial LLC (“Merial”) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern […]
Georgia IP Litigation 