(United States Fifth Circuit) - Held that an education services company could not proceed with its Lanham Act lawsuit against a school district for using its marks in the course of operating a summer reading program. Affirmed summary judgment for the school district, finding that the allegedly infringing marks created no likelihood of confusion as a matter of law.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Affirmed the dismissal of a trademark infringement lawsuit brought by a financial services company, holding that the use of its trademarks by a publishing company constituted nominative fair use.

(United States Supreme Court) - Held that an inventor's sale of an invention to a third party who is obligated to keep the invention confidential can qualify as prior art for purposes of determining the patentability of the invention. The dispute here involved two pharmaceutical companies that disagreed about whether a certain drug was under patent; one of the companies wanted to market a generic version of it. Justice Thomas delivered the unanimous opinion.

(United States Supreme Court) - Held that the Copyright Act authorizes federal district courts to award a prevailing party only the six categories of costs specified in the general costs statute. A software manufacturer that obtained an infringement judgment against another company argued that the Act's reference to "full costs" meant that a court could award it costs beyond the six categories. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected this argument for additional costs in an opinion delivered by Justice Kavanaugh.

(United States Supreme Court) - Held that a copyright claimant may not commence an infringement suit until the Copyright Office registers the copyright. The plaintiff, a news organization that sued a news website for infringement, argued that the relevant date should be when the Copyright Office receives a completed application for registration, even if the Register of Copyrights has not yet acted on that application. The U.S. Supreme Court disagreed, in a unanimous opinion delivered by Justice Ginsburg.

(United States Second Circuit) - Held that the defendants were entitled to an award of attorney fees in a Copyright and Lanham Act lawsuit after they prevailed by asserting a collateral estoppel defense. Affirmed the award of fees.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Revived a textile company's copyright infringement claims accusing certain competitors of illegally copying its floral lace designs. Reversed dismissals.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Revived a tech company's copyright infringement claims against a competitor. Held that claim preclusion did not bar the company from asserting copyright infringement claims that had accrued after its earlier patent infringement suit against the competitor.

(United States Supreme Court) - Held that a bankrupt company's rejection of a trademark licensing agreement did not deprive its licensee of the rights to use the trademark. The U.S. Supreme Court interpreted Section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code, which enables a debtor to reject any executory contract, meaning a contract that neither party has finished performing. Justice Kagan delivered the opinion of the 8-1 Court.

(United States Seventh Circuit) - Addressed a damages issue in a case where a jury found that a musical instrument retailer infringed another retailer's trademark. Affirmed the denial of the plaintiff's motion amend the judgment.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Held that a clothing manufacturer could not proceed with a copyright infringement lawsuit against a competitor that allegedly copied a fabric design because the copyright registration was invalid due to knowingly inaccurate paperwork. Affirmed summary judgment for the defendants.

(United States Supreme Court) - Held that the U.S. Postal Service was barred here from challenging a private company's patent for a method for processing mail. Because federal agencies do not fall within the statutory definition of a person, they are ineligible to petition the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to institute patent review proceedings under the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011. Justice Sotomayor delivered the opinion of the 6-3 Court.

(United States Seventh Circuit) - Held that a manufacturer of cellphone cases did not hold a valid trademark in the term CAPSULE. Affirmed a summary judgment in favor of the defendant in this trademark infringement lawsuit.

(United States Seventh Circuit) - Held that the manufacturer of a coffeemaker infringed the unregistered trade dress of a competitor's widely lauded product by mimicking the overall appearance. Affirmed a jury verdict.

(United States Supreme Court) - Struck down a statutory provision that prohibits the registration of immoral or scandalous trademarks. An entrepreneur who founded a new clothing line filed a First Amendment challenge when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office refused to register his desired trademark FUCT. The U.S. Supreme Court sided with him and invalidated a provision of the Lanham Act. Justice Kagan delivered the opinion of the Court, in which five other justices joined.

(United States Second Circuit) - Reversed and remanded. The court concluded the 44 articles at issue were not works made for hire under the Copyright Act of 1976. District Court’s summary judgement in favor of RIT and denying the motion for partial summary judgement by the Estate reversed. Remanded for further proceedings.

(United States Seventh Circuit) - Affirmed. Gatorade's use of the slogan "Gatorade The Sports Fuel Company" was fair use protected by the Lantham Act in a suit alleging trademark violations filed by SportsFuel.

(United States First Circuit) - Convictions of several police officers on charges of conspiring to injure, oppress, threaten, and intimidate persons in the free exercise or enjoyment of their constitutional rights and for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, are affirmed, as the facts in this case amply support the determination that a rational trier of fact could have found, beyond a reasonable doubt, that defendants, acting under color of state law, conspired to violate various residents' rights and the evidence supporting the convictions for conspiracy to possess controlled substances with intent to distribute is substantially the same and is sufficient to permit the jury to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt the facts in the case.

(California Court of Appeal) - The denial of a petition for writ of administrative mandate to review the decision of the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners (Board) revoking petitioner's chiropractic license, is affirmed as the Board's findings are supported by substantial evidence and petitioner's other claims of error are meritless.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - An El Salvadorian citizen's petition for review of or an order of removal is granted where the petitioner's right to be presented in the proceedings by retained counsel, established under 8 U.S.C. section 1362, was violated when his attorney failed to appear at a scheduled merits hearing before an Immigration Judge because his license to practice law had been temporarily suspended. Further, a petitioner so denied his right to counsel in an immigration proceeding is not required to demonstrate actual prejudice in order to obtain relief.

(California Court of Appeal) - Trial court's grant of a county sheriff's department's petition for a writ of administrative mandate seeking to vacate a hearing officer's decision concerning a terminated correctional officer's request for a Pitchess motion is reversed where: 1) an administrative hearing officer may rule on a Pitchess motion where Pitchess discovery is relevant; and 2) if Pitchess discovery is relevant to an officer's defense in a section 3304(b) hearing, the officer who is subject to discipline must have the opportunity to demonstrate the relevance of the personnel records of other officers and to obtain the records if they are relevant.

(Court of Appeals of New York) - In disciplinary proceeding against an attorney for various misconduct, including allegations that he failed to properly supervise the firm's bookkeeper resulting in misappropriation of client funds and that he breached his fiduciary duty by failing to safeguard those funds, the order of the Appellate Division is modified to dismiss the charge for failing to timely comply with the Grievance Committee's lawful demands for information where the imposition of this separate charge is unsupported by the record.

(California Court of Appeal) - In a law firm's suit to enforce a fee-splitting agreement against another law firm, arising from an underlying class action, trial court's judgment in favor of the defendant-law firm is reversed where an attorney may be equitably estopped from claiming that a fee-sharing contract is unenforceable due to noncompliance with rule 2-200 or rule 3.769, where that attorney is responsible for such noncompliance and has unfairly prevent another lawyer from complying with the rules' mandates.

(California Court of Appeal) - In appeal challenging preliminary injunction requiring defendants lawyer and law firm to provide notice to certain clients that another lawyer who had been employed by the firm had resigned from the bar with disciplinary charges pending and was not authorized to practice law, judgment is affirmed, where: 1) rules governing attorneys' obligations upon resignation from the Bar apply to law corporations; 2) the resigned attorney expressly agreed to send notices, return property and refund unearned fees; 3) the trial court's finding that defendants aided and abetted the resigned attorney's unauthorized practice of law was amply supported; 4) the City is not trying to regulate the practice of law, but to prevent unlawful business practices; 5) declarations by clients amply support the court's determination that there was a probability the People would succeed on the merits of their claims; and 6) it is not apparent how clients' confidential information would be necessary to defend against the People's claims.

(California Court of Appeal) - In appeal from denial of petition for writ of mandate that sought to overturn a decision of the Dental Board of California revoking petitioner's dental license, judgment is affirmed, where: 1) the penalty was authorized; and 2) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in revoking petitioner's dental license following her pleading no contest to a felony count of Medi-Cal fraud.

(California Court of Appeal) - In appeal from a judgment affirming a medical malpractice arbitration award in favor of defendant, judgment is reversed and remanded, where the California Arbitration Act and the California Ethics Standards for Neutral Arbitrators in Contractual Arbitrations require that: 1) a neutral arbitrator disclose that a lawyer in the arbitration is a member of the administering "dispute provider resolution organization"; and 2) section 1286.2 (a)(6) compels a trial court to vacate the arbitration award if the arbitrator fails to disclose that information.

(United States Second Circuit) - In appeal by attorney of Committee on Admissions and Grievances findings of misconduct and recommendation for public reprimand, recommendation is adopted, where: 1) the Court does not find error in the majority of the Committee's findings of misconduct and defers to its assessment of credibility although the record does not contain clear and convincing evidence that Payne had intentionally prejudiced or damaged his clients but instead neglected legal matters entrusted to him; 2) arguments not raised to the Committee are barred; and 3) Payne's misconduct was sufficiently egregious to warrant a public reprimand.

(United States Federal Circuit) - Judgment dismissing plaintiff's Fifth Amendment takings claim against government when his license to practice law was revoked by the Tenth Circuit and reciprocally by the State of Colorado, is affirmed, where: 1) the Court of Federal Claims had no jurisdiction over plaintiff's alleged violations of his rights in the absence of a money-mandating statute providing for compensation for such government action as required for a claim under the Tucker Act; and 2) because the revocation actions became final no later than 1999, the suit was barred by the six year statute of limitations of the Tucker Act.

(United States First Circuit) - District court's decision admonishing interested party-attorney for unprofessional conduct in his representation of a junior mortgagor related to the sale of the foreclosed property, is affirmed, where: 1) attorney's claim that opposing attorney converted funds was never supported by any evidence; 2) attorney's allegation that opposing attorney violated the criminal usury statute was frivolous; and 3) attorney turned what seemed to be innocent misunderstandings into claims of perjury in his allegations of false statements.

(United States Second Circuit) - Judgment denying plaintiff's motion to execute a monetary judgment entered, as a sanction for plaintiff's attorney misconduct, is vacated and remanded, where although the district court had more than an adequate basis to sanction plaintiff's counsel and accorded the required procedural safeguards, further findings are needed to support a sanction that falls entirely on the clients rather than principally on the lawyer.

(United States First Circuit) - The appeal of the Massachusetts Bar Counsel from the district court panel's dismissal of its petition for disciplinary sanctions against Assistant United States Attorney Auerhahn is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, where Bar Counsel was not a party to Auerhahn's disciplinary proceedings and thus may not appeal the panel's decision.

(California Court of Appeal) - The trial court's order awarding attorney fees to defendant State Bar as the prevailing party on a special motion to strike plaintiff's complaint which sought to vacate a stipulation she had entered into with the defendant regarding two disciplinary actions against her, is reversed and remanded, where the trial court's lack of subject matter jurisdiction precluded it from awarding attorney fees under California Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16.

(United States Second Circuit) - The subject attorney, admitted to the bar of this Court, is publicly reprimanded for his misconduct in this Court where: 1) he failed to timely file petitions for review, submitted deficient briefs, failed to file proper forms in eleven cases, and failed to timely file briefs in ten cases; and thus, 2) the Court's Committee on Admissions and Grievances's recommendations and findings of fact, with certain exceptions, are adopted.

(United States Second Circuit) - Judgment dismissing this qui tam action alleging that defendants engaged in a scheme of kickbacks, bribes, or rebates designed to induce referrals of Medicare and Medicaid business, is affirmed, where: 1) defendant's former general counsel, through his conduct in this qui tam action, violated his ethical obligations under New York Rules of Professional Conduct 1.9(c) which, in relevant part, prohibits lawyers from using confidential information of a former client protected by Rule 1.6 to the disadvantage of the former client, except to the extent that the lawyer reasonably believes necessary to prevent the client from committing a crime; and 2) the district court did not err by dismissing the complaint as to all defendants, and disqualifying plaintiff, its general partners, and its outside counsel on the basis that such measures were necessary to avoid prejudicing defendants in any subsequent litigation on these facts.

(Supreme Court of California) - The offense of felonious possession or control of child pornography involves moral turpitude in every case, and as such, the State Bar Review Department's proposed discipline for the subject attorney who pled guilty to said offense is rejected, and the attorney is disbarred from the practice of law.

(Supreme Court of California) - The bar applicant, a former journalist who was exposed as having fabricated material for more than 40 articles for The New Republic magazine and other publications, has not sustained his heavy burden of demonstrating rehabilitation and fitness for the practice of law, and therefore the applicant is denied admission to the practice of law.

(United States Second Circuit) - The district court's order reciprocally suspending defendant-attorney from the practice of law before that court based on an order of the Connecticut Superior Court, is affirmed, where: 1) defendant received adequate notice of the charges; 2) defendant's other due process challenges to the state court proceedings are either meritless or, at most, concern harmless error; and 3) defendant also has not shown, by clear and convincing evidence, that there was a "substantial infirmity in the proof" supporting the state court disciplinary order.

(United States Second Circuit) - Judgment of the Committee on Grievances suspending petitioner-attorney from practicing law in the Southern District of New York for a period of seven years is affirmed, where: 1) there is no error in the committee's conclusion that petitioner violation the New York Code of Professional Responsibility; 2) the Committee acted well within its informed discretion in ordering a seven-year suspension, notwithstanding the lack of directly analogous precedent, based on its conclusion that petitioner's conduct was sui generis.

(Court of Appeals of New York) - The appeal is dismissed upon the ground that the issues presented have become moot because the attorney was automatically disbarred upon his conviction of a felony on March 14, 2014.

(United States Second Circuit) - The Court's Committee on Admissions and Grievances' findings of fact and recommendations are adopted, with certain exceptions and attorney Tustaniwsky is publicly reprimanded and suspended from practice before this Court for one year.

(United States Second Circuit) - The order of the Committee on Grievances for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, directing that the subject attorney's name be stricken from the roll of attorneys admitted to practice in its court is affirmed, where: 1) the record supports a determination that the attorney knowingly withdrew client funds without permission or authority and used said funds for his own personal purposes; and 2) disbarment was within the range of appropriate punishments.

(United States Third Circuit) - In an action to enjoin enforcement of an attorney-conduct guideline that bans advertising with quotations from judicial opinions unless the opinions appear in full, summary judgment in favor of defendant, the Supreme Court of New Jersey Committee on Attorney Advertising, is reversed and remanded, where: 1) plaintiff published on his law firm's website complimentary remarks about him by judges in separate judicial opinions; and 2) the attorney-conduct guideline adopted by the Supreme Court of New Jersey is an unconstitutional restriction on commercial speech.

(United States Third Circuit) - In this appeal considering whether defendant-prison-administrators are entitled to qualified immunity for an inmate's suicide, the district court's order denying summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs is affirmed, where defendants are not entitled to qualified immunity from an Eighth Amendment claim that serious deficiencies in the provision of medical care by a private, third-party provider led to the inmate's suicide.

(United States Fourth Circuit) - In this action brought by plaintiff-prisoner alleging that prison officials showed a deliberate indifference to his safety in violation of his constitutional rights, summary judgment in favor of plaintiff is vacated and remanded with instructions to enter judgment in favor of defendant prison officials, where the district court erred in denying the prison officials' motion for summary judgment asserting qualified immunity.

(California Court of Appeal) - Judgment denying plaintiff-student's petition for writ of mandate to overturn a two-quarter suspension from the University of California San Diego for hitting another student in the head is affirmed, where the University's Student Conduct Code authorized either the student conduct officer responsible for his case or the Council of Deans of Student Affairs to impose suspension as a sanction when the student conduct review board did not recommend suspension.

(United States Second Circuit) - In this civil rights suit brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. section 1983, in which plaintiff alleges that defendant volunteer ambulance corps and several of its directors violated her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights by levying disciplinary charges against her without a hearing, summary judgment in favor of defendants and dismissal of plaintiff's federal constitutional claims is affirmed, where: 1) emergency medical care and general ambulance services are not "traditionally exclusive public functions"; 2) extensive State regulation and oversight does not therefore entwine defendant with the State; and 3) defendant's conduct does not amount to state action.

(United States Federal Circuit) - Removal of petitioner Wrocklage from his position as Customs and Border Protection Officer at defendant Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is vacated and remanded, where the charges of unauthorized disclosure and lack of candor are not supported by substantial evidence.

(California Court of Appeal) - Following an incident in which plaintiff-deputy allegedly used excessive force, plaintiff was demoted. Judgment of the trial court finding that the hearing officer, who upheld the demotion for use of excessive force, had not exercised independent judgment is reversed, where: 1) under the Memorandum of Understanding, the hearing officer was required to exercise independent judgment not only with respect to whether there were grounds for discipline, but also with respect to the nature of the discipline; and 2) the hearing officer's failure to use independent judgment would not have changed the outcome and was therefore not prejudicial.

(California Court of Appeal) - In this case, plaintiff parole agent was disciplined by his employer, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, for conducting a purportedly unlawful search of a residence. After an administrative hearing, the discipline was upheld by defendant State Personnel Board. Denial of plaintiff's administrative mandamus petition seeking to overturn the Board's decision is reversed, where: 1) plaintiff was entitled to actual notice of the contents of the "Letter of Intent" within one year of the date of discovery, not constructive notice by mail as perfected by his employer; and 2) service by mail was untimely as it was received after the outer limit of the relevant notification period.

(United States First Circuit) - Orders revoking Attorney Ryan's pro hac vice admission and imposing monetary sanctions are affirmed, where Ryan falsified evidence and lied to the court about attempting to interfere with the deposition of his client.