Posts Tagged: "contempt"

CAFC Reverses Contempt Finding for Disclosures of Confidential Discovery Information to Develop Joint Defense Strategy

On June 28, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a precedential decision in Static Media LLC v. Leader Accessories LLC reversing a contempt finding entered in the Western District of Wisconsin over alleged violations of a protective order from a design patent infringement case between Static and Leader. Circuit Judge Jimmie Reyna authored a brief dissent from the majority opinion, arguing that Leader’s disclosure of certain confidential information with another company sued by Static for the development of a joint defense strategy was a violation of the district court’s protective order.

Annie Sloan Wins Preliminary Injunction on Reverse Passing Off Claims Against Distributor

U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon of the Eastern District of Louisiana entered a preliminary injunction order against Jolie Home, LLC and other defendants accused of trademark infringement by Annie Sloan Interiors, the U.K.-based makers of Annie Sloan® Chalk Paint®. The preliminary injunction orders the defendants to cease their “reverse passing off” of Annie Sloan® products as Jolie Home products and their distribution of advertisements and labels for Jolie Home paints which claim to use the same formula as Annie Sloan® Chalk Paint® and used the trademarked phrase “chalk paint” in a non-fair use manner.

Trade Secrets: Contempt proceedings put miscreant in jail for failure to provide information about misappropriation

Generally, a breach of confidence under English law does not give rise to criminal liability (and the recently implemented Trade Secrets Directive only addresses civil remedies for misappropriation of trade secrets). Sometimes the conduct giving rise to the breach may constitute an offense in its own right (for example an offense under the Computer Misuse Act 1990) but in the absence of such a scenario sanctions will be limited to inter partes remedies. However, as recently seen, if an order for inter partes relief is breached, criminal sanctions may still be imposed following a finding of contempt of court.

Federal Circuit Hears TiVo v. Dish Oral Arguments En Banc

On Tuesday, November 9, 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard oral arguments in TiVo, Inc. v. EchoStar Corp. The case pits TiVo versus Dish, and any ruling from the Federal Circuit will necessarily define the extent to which a district court judge can rely on contempt proceedings to enforce an injunction rather than simply order a full blown new trial. In process the en banc oral argument in this case at the Federal Circuit did not substantially differ from the oral argument held at the Supreme Court the day earlier in the Costco copyright case, where the Supreme Court was struggling with the meaning of the phrase “lawfully made under this Title.” There are two phrases that will be at the center of resolving the TiVo case. The first is “fair ground of doubt,” and the second is “merely colorably different.”

TiVo vs. Dish at the Federal Circuit: Examining TiVo’s Brief

Several weeks ago TiVo filed its brief in the matter of Tivo, Inc. v. EchoStar Corp., which will be heard en banc by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Tuesday, November 9, 2010. The dispute between TiVo and EchoStar dates back to 2004 when TiVo sued EchoStar in the United States District Court for the…