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Business

[03/10] Greek strike to shut down services Thursday

Intellectual Property

[03/10] Google to digitize old books from Rome, Florence

Insurance

[03/10] Swiss Re puts Chile quake insurance cost at $4-7BN

Environment

[03/10] China tells US to do more on climate change

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Case Summaries

Intellectual Property

[03/09] Richardson v. Stanley Works, Inc.
In an action for patent infringement relating to a design patent for a multi-function carpentry tool that combines a hammer with a stud climbing tool and a crowbar, a district court's finding of noninfringement is affirmed as the district court correctly construed the claim at issue and correctly determined that the patent was not infringed.

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Insurance Law

[03/10] Milwaukee Metro. Sewerage Dist. v. American Int'l Specilaty Lines Ins. Co.
In a sewerage district's suit for damages against an environmental liability insurer for denying coverage for costs incurred by the district in removing significant pollution on land it recently purchased, district court's judgment is reversed and remanded as the district court's finding that there was clear and convincing proof that a prior agreement existed between the insurance company and the sewerage district that the parcel would be covered property was clearly erroneous. Therefore, defendant is entitled to judgment on the sewerage district's reformation claim and, as a consequence, judgment in favor of defendant on its indemnity claim is vacated.

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Environmental Law

[03/09] Native Ecosystems Council v. Tidwell
In an action challenging the Forest Service's approval of a project to update grazing allotments in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, summary judgment for defendant is reversed where: 1) because the Forest Service's environmental assessment was based on a nonexistent management indicator species, its habitat proxy analysis was not reliable; and 2) the Forest Service failed to take the requisite "hard look" at the project as required by the National Environmental Policy Act.

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Commercial Law

[03/10] Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. v. VCG Special Opportunities Master Fund Ltd.
In an appeal from a district court's order granting plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction and enjoining defendant from proceeding with an arbitration initiated against plaintiff before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the order is affirmed where the "serious questions" standard for assessing a movant's likelihood of success on the merits remains valid in the wake of recent Supreme Court cases, and neither the district court's assessment of the facts nor its application of the law supported a finding of abuse of discretion.

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Practice Areas

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Intellectual Property Attorneys

The attorneys of the firm have represented industrial, financial and business clients in litigation involving a wide variety of intellectual property disputes. Attorney Henry Sneath chairs the firm's Intellectual Property Practice Group.

The internet has changed the intellectual property landscape. Although traditional business continue to have IP disputes, the battleground is more frequently defined by the world wide web and the use of internet communications and technology. Although legislation has been passed by Congress to address certain internet IP concerns, the development of the case law remains far behind the growth of internet technology. High tech companies are registering patents and filing trademarks at an astonishing rate, and the future appears certain to be filled with IP disputes over software and internet applications. We serve as both lead counsel and local counsel for Pennsylvania-based and out-of-state corporations with respect to patent, trademark and copyright litigation and related disputes over licensing, royalties and unfair competition claims under the Lanham Act. We are business trial attorneys who understand both the need to enforce IP rights, and the need to defend against predatory litigation. There are times when the courtroom or the threat of litigation is the only way to resolve a business dispute.

At Picadio Sneath Miller & Norton, P.C., we can also mediate your intellectual property matter through one of several forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution, including arbitration, mediation or early neutral evaluation. We understand the need to set a litigation or ADR budget and to adhere to that budget.

Western District of Pennsylvania Representation

The United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania has one of only four sets of Federal Local Patent Rules in the country, and these rules govern all patent litigation filings in Western Pennsylvania. These rules provide for an accelerated case disposition schedule and numerous procedural rules changes relating to Federal Rule 26 disclosures, claim construction, use of expert witnesses and disclosure of infringement or invalidity contentions. The rules are designed to streamline patent litigation and to make Western Pennsylvania a forum of choice for parties filing patent infringement or invalidation actions. Attorneys at the firm have experience in handling matters filed pursuant to these new rules both as principal counsel and as local counsel for out-of-state firms who avail themselves of this jurisdiction or whose clients have been sued in this district. To view the Western District of Pennsylvania Local Patent Rules, please visit the U.S. District Court web site.

The firm's experience in Intellectual Property litigation includes the following cases:

Representation of a commercial lighting manufacturer in prosecuting patent infringement claims.
The representation of a metals manufacturer in a trademark dispute.
Advising a small business client regarding copyright and trademark rights and defending his business against attempts to invalidate those rights.
Defending a natural gas exploration company against a patent invalidation lawsuit and prosecuting a counterclaim for patent infringement.
Representation of a telecommunications company in federal litigation brought under Federal Trademark Dilution Act and Digital Millennium Copyright Act by a designer and manufacturer of networked communications systems and related software.
Representation of a Dutch corporation which owned the exclusive rights and license to the “total image” of one of the world's foremost tennis superstars in action against defendant corporation for breach of endorsement contracts.
Advising a franchise business regarding the need for specialty intellectual property insurance coverage and reviewing several competing proposed insurance policies.

Protect Your Investment, Contact Us Today

Our attorneys help clients navigate intellectual property and other business disputes by providing them with the knowledge and information needed to make informed decisions. Contact us for more information when the lawyers at Picadio Sneath Miller & Norton, P.C. can be of assistance to you.

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