Dority & Manning Welcomes Four New Attorneys to the Firm

Dority & Manning is excited to welcome four newly admitted attorneys to the firm! Anita Liu, James Dority, Michael Walters and Liam Christ joined Dority & Manning as associate attorneys in the fall of 2020. Anita Liu joins the Firm as an Associate Attorney focusing on patent drafting and prosecution with a particular emphasis on …

Dority & Manning Expands to Seattle

Dority & Manning, the Southeast’s largest boutique Intellectual Property firm, expands its West Coast footprint. SEATTLE, WASHINGTON (SEPTEMBER 14, 2020) – Dority & Manning celebrates the opening of its Seattle office, located at 600 1st Avenue, Suite 624.  The new office will be led by Principal, Joseph Probst. The Firm’s expansion to Seattle reflects the …

Dority & Manning Hosts Virtual AIPLA Women in IP Global Networking Event

Dority & Manning is proud to be a part of the 13th Annual Women in IP Global Networking Event.  The virtual event will be held on September 29, 2020. The AIPLA provides an opportunity for women in IP to connect internationally by attending a sub-event hosted by a sponsor firm. With many of us working …

Dority & Manning Ranked as Top U.S. Firm for Mechanical Technologies by Patent Bots Quality Scores

Dority & Manning has been identified as a top-ranking firm by Patent Bots’ recent Patent Law Firm Quality Scores publication.  The report ranks 802 U.S. patent law firms with at least 50 issued patents for the year ending in March 31, 2020. Dority & Manning was included in the top ten for technology center 3700 …

Multi-Color Product Packaging may be Inherently Distinctive and Registrable as a Trademark

Summary: A recent Federal Circuit decision held that a multi-color mark applied to product packaging can be inherently distinctive as trade dress and, therefore, registrable under the Lanham Act without proof of secondary meaning.  Whether a particular trade dress is inherently distinctive requires an analysis of the Seabrook factors to determine whether, considering the overall …

States are Immune from Copyright Infringement Suits Because Congress did not Validly Abrogate State Sovereign Immunity

SUMMARY:  A recent Supreme Court decision affirmed the Fourth Circuit’s holding that states are immune from copyright infringement lawsuits under sovereign immunity, invalidating an earlier statute that purported to abrogate state sovereign immunity from copyright infringement.  However, the Court left open the possibility that a more tailored statute could be promulgated to address copyright infringement …

Dority & Manning Continues to Grow with the Addition of Three IP Professionals

Dority & Manning is excited to welcome three new collaborators to the team! Michael Wrobel, Alicia Johnson, and Blake Nickles each joined Dority & Manning within the first quarter of 2020. Michael Wrobel, formerly in-house counsel for a global FinTech company, joins the firm as an Associate Attorney focusing on patent prosecution, portfolio management, and …

Anand Patel, Rhoades White, Joseph Probst, and Erik Sivertson Elected Principals

Dority & Manning is proud to announce the election of Anand Patel, Rhoades White, Joseph Probst, and Erik Sivertson as Principals of the firm. Anand Patel specializes in strategic patent portfolio management.  He has extensive experience in drafting and prosecuting U.S. and international patent applications as well as assisting with patent claim construction for pharmaceutical litigations.  …

A Defendant in a Patent Infringement Suit Dismissed for Mootness Based on IPR Success is a “Prevailing Party” Entitled to Costs Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(d)

Summary: In B.E. Technology, L.L.C. vs. Facebook, Inc., No. 2018-2356 (Fed. Cir. October 9, 2019) [hereinafter “B.E. Tech”], the Federal Circuit ruled that a defendant in a patent infringement lawsuit dismissed for mootness due to the claims-at-suit being found unpatentable in a concurrent inter partes review is a “prevailing party” entitled to costs under Federal …

Patent Law Issues Embedded In State Law Claims May Not Create Federal Jurisdiction

SUMMARY: In Inspired Dev. Grp. v. Inspired Prods. Grp., No. 2018-1616, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 27989 (Fed. Cir. Sep. 18, 2019), the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit explained that claims related to patent license agreements are not necessarily viable in federal court.  Although federal courts generally have exclusive jurisdiction over patent …