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Konami Corp. V. Roxor Games Inc.
On May 9, 2005, video game developer Konami Corporation sued Roxor Games, developers of '' In the Groove'', a video game similar to Konami’s pioneering ''Dance Dance Revolution''. ''In the Groove'' could be purchased as a kit that needed to be plugged into a ''Dance Dance Revolution'' arcade machine in order to be used. The initial complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, alleged patent infringement, federal trademark infringement, false advertising and unfair competition, trade dress infringement, and federal and state trademark dilution. An amended complaint by Konami filed on July 1, 2005 increased the scope of the lawsuit to encompass the home version of ''In the Groove'' as well as adding the publishers of the home version as defendants. On August 7, 2006, the Court issued a Markman order construing the patent claims disputed by the parties. The meaning of the claims adopted by the court were, almost without exception, favorable to K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States District Court For The Eastern District Of Texas
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (in case citations, E.D. Tex.) is a federal court in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Fifth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Federal Circuit). The District was established on February 21, 1857, with the division of the state into an Eastern and United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, Western District. Organization of the court The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas is one of four federal judicial districts in Texas. Court for the District is held at Beaumont, Texas, Beaumont, Lufkin, Texas, Lufkin, Marshall, Texas, Marshall, Plano, Texas, Plano, Sherman, Texas, Sherman, Texarkana, Texas, Texarkana, and Tyler, Texas, Tyler. Beaumont, Texas, Beaumont Division comprises the following counties: Ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trademark Infringement
Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attached to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the licence). Infringement may occur when one party, the "infringer", uses a trademark which is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark owned by another party, especially in relation to products or services which are identical or similar to the products or services which the registration covers. An owner of a trademark may commence civil legal proceedings against a party which infringes its registered trademark. In the United States, the Trademark Counterfeiting Act of 1984 criminalized the intentional trade in counterfeit goods and services. If the respective marks and products or services are entirely dissimilar, trademark infringement may still be established if the registered mark is well known pursuant to the Paris Convention. In the United States, a cause ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2006 In United States Case Law
6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics A six-sided polygon is a hexagon, one of the three regular polygons capable of tiling the plane. A hexagon also has 6 edges as well as 6 internal and external angles. 6 is the second smallest composite number. It is also the first number that is the sum of its proper divisors, making it the smallest perfect number. It is also the only perfect number that doesn't have a digital root of 1. 6 is the first unitary perfect number, since it is the sum of its positive proper unitary divisors, without including itself. Only five such numbers are known to exist. 6 is the largest of the four all-Harshad numbers. 6 is the 2nd superior highly composite number, the 2nd colossally abundant number, the 3rd triangular number, the 4th highly composite number, a pronic number, a congruent number, a harmonic divisor number, and a semiprime. 6 is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Settlement (litigation)
In law, a settlement is a resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either before or after court action begins. A collective settlement is a settlement of multiple similar legal cases. The term also has other meanings in the context of law. Structured settlements provide for future periodic payments, instead of a one time cash payment. Basis A settlement, as well as dealing with the dispute between the parties is a contract between those parties, and is one possible (and common) result when parties sue (or contemplate so doing) each other in civil proceedings. The plaintiffs and defendants identified in the lawsuit can end the dispute between themselves without a trial. The contract is based upon the bargain that a party forgoes its ability to sue (if it has not sued already), or to continue with the claim (if the plaintiff has sued), in return for the certainty written into the settlement. The courts will enforce the settlement. If it is breached, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Markman Hearing
A ''Markman'' hearing is a judicial proceeding held in the United States district court, United States District Court for claims dealing with patent infringement. During a ''Markman hearing'' a judge is responsible for interpreting the meaning of words and phrases in a patent, ultimately providing what is known as "claim construction." This is also known as claim interpretation. A ''Markman hearing'' usually defines the scope of the patent either for or against the inventor. However, effects of the ''Markman hearing'', include (1) what evidence to consider, (2) de novo review on appeal, (3) depletion of judicial resources, and (4) the timing of a ''Markman hearing''. Inception In the 1996 case of ''Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc.'',''Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc.'', 517 U.S. 370 (1996). the Supreme Court of the United States held that claim interpretation was a matter of law rather than a question of fact for the jury. Ordinarily, the 7th Amendment provides, in cer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Defendants
In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one jurisdiction to another. In Scots law, the terms "accused" or "panel" are used instead in criminal proceedings and "defender" in civil proceedings. Another term in use is "respondent". Criminal defendants In a criminal trial, a defendant is a person accused ( charged) of committing an offense (a crime; an act defined as punishable under criminal law). The other party to a criminal trial is usually a public prosecutor, but in some jurisdictions, private prosecutions are allowed. Criminal defendants are often taken into custody by police and brought before a court under an arrest warrant. Criminal defendants are usually obliged to post bail before being released from custody. For serious cases, such as murder, bail may be refused. Defendants must ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trademark Dilution
Trademark dilution is a trademark law concept giving the owner of a famous trademark standing to forbid others from using that mark in a way that would lessen its uniqueness. In most cases, trademark dilution involves an unauthorized use of another's trademark on products that do not compete with, and have little connection with, those of the trademark owner. For example, a famous trademark used by one company to refer to hair care products might be ''diluted'' if another company began using a similar mark to refer to breakfast cereals or spark plugs. Dilution is a basis of trademark infringement that applies only to famous marks. With a non-famous mark, the owner of the mark must show that the allegedly infringing use creates a likelihood of confusion as to the source of the product or service being identified by the allegedly infringing use: it is highly unlikely a likelihood of confusion will be found if the products or services are in unrelated markets. With a famous mark, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trade Dress
Trade dress is the characteristics of the visual appearance of a product or its packaging (or even the design of a building) that signify the source of the product to consumers. Trade dress is an aspect of trademark law, which is a form of intellectual property protection law. Overview Trade dress is an extension of trademark protection to "[t]he design and shape of the materials in which a product is packaged, [primarily]. 'Product configuration,' the design and shape of the product itself, may also be considered a form of trade dress." Product configuration applies particularly to situations where the product can be seen within the packaging (e.g. a toy car sold in packaging that operates as a shadow box for commercial display within—the collective look it creates is trade dress), or where the packaging is part of the product (e.g. the bottle of a soft drink, along with its visible contents, are trade dress, though the bottle is actually part of the product that retains its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unfair Competition
Anti-competitive practices are business or government practices that prevent or reduce competition in a market. Antitrust laws ensure businesses do not engage in competitive practices that harm other, usually smaller, businesses or consumers. These laws are formed to promote healthy competition within a free market by limiting the abuse of monopoly power. Competition allows companies to compete in order for products and services to improve; promote innovation; and provide more choices for consumers. In order to obtain greater profits, some large enterprises take advantage of market power to hinder survival of new entrants. Anti-competitive behavior can undermine the efficiency and fairness of the market, leaving consumers with little choice to obtain a reasonable quality of service. Anti-competitive behavior refers to actions taken by a business or organization to limit, restrict or eliminate competition in a market, usually in order to gain an unfair advantage or dominate the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
False Advertising
False advertising is the act of publishing, transmitting, distributing or otherwise publicly circulating an advertisement containing a false claim, or statement, made intentionally, or recklessly, to promote the sale of property, goods or services. A false advertisement can be classified as deceptive if the advertiser deliberately misleads the consumer, rather than making an unintentional mistake. A number of governments use regulations or other laws and methods to limit false advertising. Types of deception False advertising can take one of two broad forms: an advertisement may be factually wrong, or intentionally misleading. Both types of false advertising may be presented in a number of ways. Photo manipulation Photo manipulation is a technique often used in the cosmetics field and for weight loss commercials to advertise false (or non-typical) results and give consumers a false impression of a product's capabilities. Photo manipulation can alter the audience's percep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patent Infringement
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A patent is not the grant of a right to make or use or sell. It does not, directly or indirectly, imply any such right. It grants only the right to exclude others. The supposition that a right to make is created by the patent grant is obviously inconsistent with the established distinctions between generic and specific patents, and with the well-known fact that a very considerable portion of the patents granted are in a field covered by a former relatively generic or basic patent, are tributary to such earlier patent, and cannot be practiced unless by license thereunder." – ''Herman v. Youngstown Car Mfg. Co.'', 191 F. 579, 584–85, 112 CCA 185 (6th Cir. 1911) In most countries, patent rights fall under private law and the patent holder mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claim Construction
In a patent or patent application, the claims define in technical terms the extent, i.e. the scope, of the protection conferred by a patent, or the protection sought in a patent application. The claims particularly point out the subject matter which the inventor(s) regard as their invention. In other words, the purpose of the claims is to define which subject matter is protected by the patent (or sought to be protected by the patent application). This is termed as the "notice function" of a patent claim—to warn others of what they must not do if they are to avoid infringement liability. The claims are of paramount importance in both prosecution and litigation. For instance, a claim could read: * "An apparatus for catching mice, said apparatus comprising a base, a spring member coupled to the base, and ..." * "A chemical composition for cleaning windows, said composition substantially consisting of 10–15% ammonia, ..." * "Method for computing future life expectancies, said meth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
