An ethics blog for IP attorneys
“Baby why you hurt me leave me and desert me?” — Foolish (2002) Ashanti A California attorney sued his former law partner for allegedly stealing trade secrets and fraudulent billing practices, in violation of a contract detailing the disbanding of the attorneys’ prior partnership. In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern […]
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Finding federal government attorneys from the Department of Justice engaged in a “calculated plan of unethical conduct”, a federal judge in Texas has ordered hundreds of the agency’s lawyers to receive formal ethics training as a sanction for lying about the status of more than 100,000 migrants. See Texas v. United States, Civ. No. B-14-254 […]
Read MoreMass. Court Nixes Conflict Claim Against Gillette Former In-House IP Attorney Who Provided Competitor With Infringement Opinions Regarding Ex-Client’s Patents
On May 5, 2016, a Massachusetts state court dismissed Gillette’s claims for breach of fiduciary duty against its former in-house IP counsel who left Gillette and went to work for a competitor, where he used allegedly privileged information gained during his prior employment and helped his new employer analyze and avoid infringement of Gillette’s patents—including […]
Read More10th Annual Patent Law Institute CLE Program From PLI
On May 5-6, 2016, Practicing Law Institute (PLI) will be conducting its 10th Annual Patent Law Institute. The Institute will be held in San Francisco and also will be broadcast life via webcast. Registration is available at the following link. According to PLI, The Institute is designed to be of ultimate practice value to all […]
Read MoreTexas Court Upholds Baker Botts Patent Malpractice Win
A Dallas appeals court has upheld a trial court’s ruling in favor of Baker Botts, L.L.P. on its former client’s claim for patent malpractice based on the firm’s simultaneous representation of two clients in the same technical field. See Axcess International, Inc. v. Baker Botts, L.L.P., No. 05-14-01151-CV (Tex. App.–Dallas Mar. 24, 2016) (mem. op.) […]
Read MoreExcluded Patent Attorney Appeals To Federal Circuit
A patent attorney who was excluded from the USPTO has appealed to the Federal Circuit. By way of background, on July 15, 2015, the USPTO Director entered an order excluding Richard Polidi from practice before the Office. The USPTO Director’s disciplinary action came after the Director of the Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED) filed […]
Read MorePTAB And District Court Litigators Risk USPTO Ethical Discipline For Protective Order Violations
In patent litigation, one of the first orders of business is entry of a protective order protecting the participant’s confidential information. While protective orders come in all shapes and sizes, such orders uniformly prohibit a receiving party from disclosing a producing party’s confidential information except to a limited universe of defined individuals. In addition, a […]
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