Covering intellectual property developments in New England, and other developments that impact New England companies.

Category Archives: Financial Services

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Patenting the Blockchain

Last year’s spike in the valuation of bitcoin has much of the technology world focused on blockchain, the distributed database ledger technology behind bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies. Lost behind the scenes, however, is a rush by some in the industry to patent inventions relating to the blockchain technology itself. These moves come with controversy … Continue Reading

Privilege Claims Validated in Counterfeit Detection Dispute

By Gourdin Sirles on February 16, 2017 Posted in Financial Services, Manufacturing, Massachusetts, Procedure/Jurisdiction

In a recent decision, Magistrate Judge Kelley addressed the legitimacy of withholding third party communications under the common interest doctrine. The case involved plaintiff Crane Security Technologies, Inc. (“Crane”) – the exclusive supplier of banknote paper for United States currency – and defendant Rolling Optics, AB (“RO”) – that, among other things, manufactures 3D micro-optic … Continue Reading

Fraudulent Procurement Claim Dismissed: No Evidence Trademark Attorney Knew Statement Was False

By Patrick Niedermeier on February 17, 2015 Posted in Financial Services, Rhode Island, Trademarks and Trade Dress

It is not easy to cancel a federal trademark by way of a fraud claim. Investment services firm Navigator Investments (“NI”) found this out recently when the Rhode Island district court dismissed its fraudulent procurement counterclaim against trademark plaintiff Clark Capital Management. NI’s counterclaim had asked for cancellation of Clark’s federally-registered, “NAVIGATOR” trademark, because of … Continue Reading

LevelUp Credited with Non-Infringement

By Jinnie Reed on July 21, 2014 Posted in Direct Infringement, Financial Services, Massachusetts, Method Claims, Software, Summary Judgment

When LevelUp was sued for patent infringement by an individual plaintiff, Jack Barron (“Barron”), it scored an aggressive win in part because of a finding that its mobile app was akin to an electronic credit card. According to the court’s order, LevelUp is the creator of an app, “that allows users to pay for goods … Continue Reading

Alice Flounders at the Two-Step Waltz

By Safraz Ishmael on July 1, 2014 Posted in Financial Services, Software, Supreme Court, Validity

In a much awaited decision, the U.S. Supreme Court, on June 19, unanimously ruled that four financial services patents owned by the Australian company, Alice Corporation, are patent ineligible because they are drawn to the “abstract idea” of intermediated settlement (the use of a third party to mitigate settlement risk in financial transactions). Because they … Continue Reading