Retired NFL Veterans Antitrust Lawsuit Dismissed by Federal Court

Named plaintiffs included crusty defensive tackle Diron Talbert and wide receiver Gene Washington (though not clear if it is the Gene Washington of former Viking fame or the Gene Washington from the 49ers). The basic claim is that the NFL is engaging in unreasonable restraints of trade (antitrust violations) by virtue of not allowing the former footballers to receive any royalties in connection with the use of their images and likeness on NFL film and other footage wherein NFL and team logos/marks appeared.  (Not surprisingly, there are few if any of images where this NFL property was absent.) The Court was not persuaded by the former players' argument and without much effort dismissed the case. It does seem to me that in terms of reaching the appropriate end result, this is an issue for the players association to take up in the next round of collective bargaining discussions. There are real dollars here and the formers players should receive some compensation.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/97015946/Washington-v-NFL-Opinion#fullscreen

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Michael Jordan Sues Chinese Sportswear Chain

Qiaodan Sports Company Ltd. has been profiting by illegally using “Qiaodan,” Mr. Jordan’s Chinese alias, on its marketing materials and products since the 1980s, Mr. Jordan said in a prepared statement Thursday.

Qiaodan Sports, based in China’s coastal province of Fujian, sells athlete-branded basketball shoes and jerseys in its 5,715 retail outlets in China and is preparing to raise nearly 1.1 billion yuan ($175 million) in a public listing in Shanghai.

The company said it has the exclusive right to the Qiaodan trademark and is operating “in accordance with Chinese laws.” A Qiaodan Sports spokesman declined to comment further.

“I feel the need to protect my name, my identity, and the Chinese consumers,” Mr. Jordan said in a video on a website devoted to his claims against Qiaodan Sports. “It’s not about the money. It’s about principle — protecting my identity and my name,” he said, adding that any awards would be invested in promoting basketball in China.

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/02/23/michael-jordan-sues-chinese-sportswear-chain/

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Walker Digital and MySpace Stipulate Dismissal of Patent Infringement Case

Walker Digital LLC, a company led by Priceline.com Inc. founder Jay Walker, dropped a suit alleging Myspace Inc. infringed privacy-related patents in an agreement approved by a Delaware federal judge Friday.

All claims and counterclaims between the companies were dismissed without prejudice, according to a stipulation of dismissal entered by both parties Wednesday.

http://www.law360.com/ip/articles/301964/myspace-walker-digital-end-feud-over-privacy-patents

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USPTO 12 Month Accelerated Examination Program May Produce Higher Quality Patents, Expert Says

According to this article, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's 12 month accelerated examination program produces higher quality patents in less time and potentially less overall cost than conventional patent examination, or even the new “Track 1″ or other accelerated examination processes.  Though, it is also a high risk process with a large upfront cost due to the need to prepare an “examination support document.”



http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2012/01/18/accelerated-examination-is-better-examination/id=21851/

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Meritain Accuses Express Scripts of Client Data Theft

http://www.law360.com/ip/articles/299478/meritain-accuses-express-scripts-of-client-data-theft

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Do Employers Have a Proprietary Interest in an Employee's Linked In Account?

Maybe, yes, says a Federal Court in Philadelphia. This is a similar fact pattern to the Federal Court in the Northern District of California ruling regarding a former employee's Twitter account and which I previously blogged on.

http://www.tradesecretslaw.com/2012/01/articles/computer-fraud-and-abuse-act/employers-may-have-sweat-equity-in-their-executives-linkedin-accounts-but-employees-score-win-in-war-over-the-applicability-of-the-federal-computer-fraud-and-abuse-act-in-the-workplace/

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