• nike already shoe comparisonLast week, the United States Supreme Court handed down its unanimous opinion in Already, LLC v. Nike (No. 11-982).  The Court held that Nike’s issuance of a broad covenant not to sue on one of its trademarks extinguished Already’s standing to its counterclaim for invalidity of Nike’s trademark.  While this case involved trademarks, not patents, the Court’s reasoning could certainly have some implications for covenants not to sue and invalidity claims in patent proceedings.  More on this case from IP Watchdog.
  • Speaking of the Supreme Court, Epic Systems Corp. and Limelight Networks each recently filed petitions for certiorari to the Court, urging the Justices to reverse the Federal Circuit’s previous en banc decision in Akamai — where the court held that a single party need not perform all of the infringing elements of a claim in order for there to be a finding of indirect infringement.  (Epic Petition) (Limelight Petition)
  • And finally, on the topic of Federal Circuit en banc cases, Apple has asked the Federal Circuit to take up en banc review of its October 2012 decision to deny injunctive relief in Apple v. Samsung (695 F.3d 1370), where the court held that Apple failed to establish a “causal nexus” between Samsung alleged infringement and irreparable harm to Apple.  Samsung, of course, believes review is unwarranted.