The U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari in Dewberry Group, Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers Inc., a trademark damages case focused on how corporate separateness principles apply to disgorgement remedies under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a). The Fourth Circuit’s decision affirmed a $43 million disgorgement award against petitioner Dewberry Group (DG) for trademark infringement, an amount that included profits earned by DG’s “legally separate” corporate affiliates. Apparently, the affiliates were “single-purpose entities,” also privately owned by John Dewberry, whose sole function was to own commercial properties serviced by DG.
Pierce the Veil: In its literal sense, a veil is a delicate fabric that separates the visible from the concealed, a barrier that can be easily lifted or parted. However, the phrase has a history of extending beyond the material world, with a veil often serving as a boundary between the physical and spiritual realms in our universe. Many of us go through life, only occasionally glimpsing beyond this veil into the hidden spiritual dimensions that, according to story tellers, lie alongside our own. In the corporate world, the veil of corporate personhood serves to shield the owners from personal liability, creating a legal fiction that separates the actions of the company from those of its shareholders. This veil of protection is not impenetrable, however, and can be pierced by the courts in cases of serious misconduct or wrongdoing, exposing the owners to personal responsibility. Although the truth of owner identity may already be known, piercing the corporate veil removes the protection against responsibility by attempting to holding accountable those who would misuse its protections. But, the legal doctrine of corporate separateness is quite strong and I might venture that it is easier to pierce the veil of our spiritual realms than the corporate analogue. (more…)
Two people cannot wear the same sock (at least at the same time) but they can think the same thought, sing the same song, or undergo the same medical procedure. As Thomas Jefferson famously put it, part of the ‘peculiar character’ of an idea is that ‘no one possesses the less, because every other possesses the whole of it.’
This quote from Professor James Stern’s new article introduces the conventional view that ideas and information are nonrivalrous, in contrast to the rivalrous nature of tangible goods. As an idea based creation, intellectual property’s nonrivalrous nature has always placed it on airy ground as a statutory creation rather than a natural law. The rivalrous nature of real and personal property has justified property regimes, but for IP we have always needed additional justification and additional limits because propertization creates artificial scarcity. But Stern’s new article bucks the conventional wisdom and instead argues that the nonrivalry of IP is a myth. James Y. Stern, Intellectual Property and the Myth of Nonrivalry, 99 Notre Dame L. Rev. 1163 (2024). Although many economists assume that more information is better, Stern makes clear that is not always true. He writes “it seems a safe bet that there are substantial numbers of people who would prefer the human race had never come up with such novelties as land mines, cigarettes, cargo shorts, Jet Skis, genetically modified foods, anabolic steroids, robocallers, date-rape drugs, subwoofers, Ponzi schemes, and crystal meth, to name just a few.”
Stern’s article challenges the widely held belief that information goods are inherently nonrivalrous, and that this characteristic distinguishes them from tangible property. He argues that the concept of rivalry, properly understood, encompasses not just conflicts between two active uses of a resource, but also conflicts where one person wants to use a resource and another simply wants that person to refrain from doing so. This broader conception of rivalry in terms of wants and desires, Stern contends, is relevant to many situations involving intellectual property. One Stern’s key insights is that preferences to control and restrict access to ideas and information are ubiquitous, extending well beyond the domain of intellectual property law. He points to examples such as privacy laws, testimonial privileges, classified information and state secrets laws, and the Federal Witness Protection Program as evidence that conflicts over controlling access to information are common and demonstrate the potential for rivalrousness when it comes to ideas and information. This insight serves to challenge the notion that the nonrivalrous nature of information goods necessarily means that granting exclusive rights over them is unjustified or socially harmful.
The article also examines how the characterization of intellectual property rights as “monopolies” has shaped legal doctrine, such as the Supreme Court’s reliance on the “public rights doctrine” to uphold adjudication of patent validity in administrative proceedings. Oil States Energy Servs., LLC v. Greene’s Energy Grp., LLC, 138 S. Ct. 1365 (2018). Stern suggests that this rhetoric traces partly to the view that information goods differ fundamentally from physical property due to their supposed nonrivalry.
Although the article is not patent focused, Stern’s arguments have significant implications for patent law by undermining a key justification for limiting the scope and strength of patent protection. If rivalrousness is possible for patented inventions, then the case for treating patents as a form of property is stronger. An example application here could be eBay and the role of damages and injunctions in patent cases. Similarly, with respect to patent term, Stern’s article raises questions about the appropriate duration of patent rights. If the justification for time-limited patent rights rests partly on the assumption that inventions are nonrivalrous and therefore do not require permanent exclusivity, then recognizing the potential for rivalrousness in the use of inventions may suggest a need to reconsider the optimal term length. At the same time, concerns about dynamic efficiency and the importance of promoting follow-on innovation may still counsel in favor of limiting the duration of patent rights, even if some degree of rivalrousness is present. Consider also double patenting, that is designed to ensure that the public should have access to the invention upon expiration of the patent. See In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887 (Fed. Cir. 1985).
Although I have not fully bought into his ideas, professor Stern has done a great job challenging us to rethink core aspects of intellectual property law. Many courts, especially members of the Supreme Court, have long seen intellectual property as inherently suspect without any inherent value other than the incentive to innovate. Stern’s article grapples with this argument that and highlights the need for a more nuanced understanding of the interests at stake.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has proposed a rule to create a separate design patent practitioner bar. The USPTO is publishing this proposal in the Federal Register on May 16, 2023 (link below to the prepub).
As it stands today, there is a single patent bar that applies to those practicing in patent matters before the USPTO, covering utility, plant, and design patents. And, even though design patents cover ornamentally, the current rules require that the design patent practitioner be an engineer or scientist.
The proposed rule aims to establish an additional separate bar for those who only specialize in design patents, ensuring that they have the necessary qualifications, while opening the door to non-engineers. The proposal appears to not affect those already registered to practice. Existing patent practitioners will continue to practice as before, and new applicants who meet the current criteria, including passing the existing registration exam, will also be permitted to practice in all patent matters, including design patent matters.
In Fall 2022, the USPTO asked for comments on proposals in this direction and received mostly positive comments. Stakeholders acknowledged that the move would encourage broader participation in the patent system.
The proposal would still have a ‘technical’ requirement, typically a degree in one of the following: industrial design, product design, architecture, applied arts, graphic design, fine/studio arts, or art teacher education. The degree requirements here align with the current hiring practices of the USPTO for design patent examiners. In addition to the degree requirements, applicants would have to meet the other requirements to register for the bar, including taking and passing the current registration examination and passing a moral character evaluation.
The USPTO will accept comments on the proposed rulemaking through August 14, 2023 via the regulations.gov portal.
In Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc., the Supreme Court addressed the issue of state laws that provide additional patent-like rights. The Court held that a Florida law prohibiting the use of a direct molding process to duplicate unpatented boat hulls was preempted by federal patent law. The Court reasoned that the Florida law conflicted with the “carefully crafted” goals of the federal patent system.
The USPTO and Courts have made clear that AI-created inventions are outside of the scope of US patent law. I think the answer is probably quite clear, but do folks think that the Bonito Boats approach would also preempt the states from from creating an exclusive-right award for AI-generated innovations?
The pace of technological advancement never ceases to amaze me, and it seems like even science fiction is struggling to keep up with reality. In recent months, we’ve witnessed some truly remarkable breakthroughs in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), and this latest development is right up there.
Researchers have used GPT-style machine learning architecture to decode human thoughts by analyzing their functional MRI (fMRI) brain scans. That’s right – we’re talking mind reading. The AI was initially trained trained by exposing participants to 16 hours of narrative stories while recording their brain activity. And, once trained, the AI was able to accurately describe the content of their thoughts. Of some interest, the AI was better at identifying concepts and meaning rather than the actual words at issue.
While this technology has the potential to revolutionize communication for individuals with disabilities or neurological conditions, it also raises some privacy concerns that could involve both reading thoughts and writing them.
I imagine that all this wouldn’t require a fMRI technology and instead could rely upon much smaller safe-for-home equipment such as Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) devices shown in the image above or made by Artinis.
A key for me here is that this is potentially moving toward an API for the human mind and body. For those outside the software world, an API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of protocols, tools, and standards that allow different computer applications to communicate with each other. APIs provide a standardized way for software components to interact. An API for the human mind and body would create an interface that allows software systems to access and interact with the brain or and other body parts. Over the past several years, folks have been making huge advances with brain/body connection, and I’m excited about where we are headed in this expanded mind approach.
A few days ago I wrote an essay about the ongoing economic war between the leaders of the US and those of China, with a focus on the impact US attorneys representing Chinese clients. For the article, I used an AI tool to create some art for my publication. The image above shows the resulting four images. I chose the bottom right and had the AI enhance the image for publication by pushing a single button. I then did a cut and paste before publishing.
Although I didn’t contribute any of the expression seen in the work, after these actions and then publishing it, I actually feel some gut level of ownership. And, that I might be upset if someone else used _my_ image without permission.
My questions for you:
Do I deserve to “own” this image?
Should I be able to claim authorship?
Should I disclose my AI creation methodology when I use the image in published works?
The following guest post comes from Berkeley Law Professor Peter S. Menell* who took on the pro bono task of assembling and managing a fabulous team of leading lawyers to create the Trade Secret Case Management Judicial Guide. The guide will quickly become leading the go-to source as Federal Judges manage their growing trade secrecy caseloads. The following is an introduction and request for comments. – D.C.
As the knowledge economy expanded and concerns about trade secret misappropriation mounted in the digital age, federal policymakers undertook efforts to reinforce trade secret protection a decade ago. These efforts came to fruition with passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA). This landmark legislation, modeled on the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, elevated and expanded trade secret law’s role in the federal intellectual property system. DTSA fully opened the federal courts to trade secret litigation as well as added several new features, including an ex parte seizure remedy and whistleblower immunity.
DTSA added to the large and growing federal caseloads. It also exposes more federal judges, relatively few of whom studied or litigated trade secret cases prior to their judicial appointments, to the distinctive challenges of trade secret litigation.
Origins and Design of the Trade Secret Case Management Judicial Guide
In 2019, as part of my work educating federal judges about intellectual property law and case management in conjunction with the Federal Judicial Center, I set out to assemble a team of leading practitioners, scholars, and judges experienced with trade secret litigation to develop a case management treatise to guide judges, litigators, in-house counsel, policymakers, scholars, and students in navigating this new and expanding terrain of federal intellectual property law.
David Almeling and Victoria Cundiff are two of the most experienced trade secret litigators in the nation. They have been instrumental in the Sedona Conference Working Group on Trade Secrets. Jim Pooley has long been the unofficial dean of the trade secret world—author of a leading trade secret treatise, experienced trade secret litigator and advisor, and former WIPO Deputy Director General. Peter Toren is an experienced criminal trade secret litigator who served for many years in the as a federal prosecutor with the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice where he served as Acting Deputy Chief. Professor Elizabeth Rowe litigated trade secrets cases before entering academia, where she has published numerous trade secret articles and co-authored the first trade secret law casebook. Professor Rebecca Wexler is a rising star in scholarship at the intersection of data, technology, and secrecy in the criminal legal system, with a particular focus on evidence law, trade secret law, and data privacy.
I brought experience as a contributor to DTSA (my research and reform proposal was the basis for DTSA’s whistleblower immunity provision), lead author of a widely adopted intellectual property casebook, lead author of the Patent Case Management Judicial Guide (PCMJG), and organizer of over 60 IP education programs for federal judges since 1998.
Using the PCMJG as a template—with chapters organized in the stages of litigation and guided by an early case management checklist—we have worked through countless drafts over the past three years in developing the Trade Secret Case Management Judicial Guide. We have now completed the draft and received comments from a Judicial Advisory Board. We have submitted the draft to the Federal Judicial Center for publication within its resource library for federal judges. We hope to complete that process this spring and welcome comments from practitioners and other members of the public in the interim. The public can access the guide at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4360102
Distinctive Features of Trade Secret Litigation
Trade secret litigation has both similarities with and significant differences from other types of civil and criminal litigation. It also parallels and differs from other types of intellectual property—patent, copyright, and trademark—litigation. Three such differences stand out: (1) the tensions surrounding protecting trade secrets over the course of litigation in public tribunals; (2) the high emotional level in many trade secret litigations; and (3) the potentially complex interplay between civil and criminal trade secret actions.
1. The Challenge of Identifying Trade Secret and Then Protecting Them throughout the Litigation
Perhaps the key difference relates to the subject matter: secrets. The secret nature of the information at issue poses significant challenges for case management because of public nature of federal litigation and freedom of expression. Patent cases also involve aspects of secrecy—such as unpublished patent applications that might bear on validity and business strategy related to damages—but trade secret litigation goes to the very heart of the cause of action: that the information that was allegedly misappropriated was not known or readily ascertainable.
Unlike a patent, which affords an exclusive right about the public, trade secrets are relative rights. While the trade secret owner will necessarily need to disclose the secret to some third parties, such as employees or commercial partners, to exploit it, once a trade secret is disclosed by the trade secret owner without restriction or is broadly revealed by third parties without authorization, it cannot be a secret. Those who learn of the secret through publicly accessible websites or publications are free to use that knowledge. The bell cannot be unrung. Moreover, those who independently develop information claimed by another as a trade secret are free to use and disclose it—so long as their development was in fact independent.
Trade secret disputes also present an early “identification” problem that differs from disputes arising over other forms of intellectual property. In patent, copyright, and trademark cases, the intangible resource has already been identified and registered with a regulatory body (or, in the case of unregistered trademarks, made public through use), and therefore can be publicly specified in the pleadings. The protected information claimed to be at issue in a trade secret case cannot be disclosed in public filings, however, without destroying the very subject matter of the plaintiff’s legal claim. Yet defendants need to know what the secrets are that they have allegedly misappropriated and the court needs to know what the case is all about to be able manage and decide it.
This produces three interrelated quandaries at the outset of trade secret case:
Do the pleadings adequately set forth a cause of action under the familiar Twombly and Iqbal standards?
When, how, with what level of specificity, and subject to what protective order provisions will the trade secret owner be required to reveal its trade secrets to the defendant?
What is the boundary between protectable trade secrets and general knowledge and skill?
The first of these questions requires the plaintiff to provide more than vague, conclusory statements that restate the elements of a trade secret to survive a motion to dismiss. The second quandary often requires the court to assist the parties in customizing the discovery process to ensure that the trade secrets stay protected during the course of litigation while facilitating the exchange of sensitive information, often to competing business enterprise defendants. This typically entails fashioning an appropriate protective order that takes into consideration the trustworthiness of the various players in the litigation drama: counsel, litigants, employees, experts, and possibly others. Plaintiffs will understandably be concerned that the very effort to enforce their trade secrets could result in the loss of what may be their most valuable business assets. At the same time, defendants will want to know what they are accused of misappropriating. And the public (including journalists) will be interested in what may be high profile disputes affecting important industries. Consequently, courts will often be called upon to tailor and enforce protective orders and oversee the trade secret identification process.
The third question is primarily a question on the ultimate merits, although it may inform management of the first two. Its resolution will require the court and the ultimate factfinder to delve into the thorny question of where general knowledge and skill end and protectable trade secrets begin. This assessment inevitably involves an appreciation of the technologies or information at issue, which may be beyond the general knowledge of the court. The court and factfinder may need the assistance of experts to sort out these issues to determine liability and frame out the contours of any ultimate relief.
Compounding these challenges, trade secret owners often seek immediate equitable relief to prevent the defendant and third parties from using or disclosing a trade secret before trial. Yet, for the reasons noted above, the contours of the alleged trade secrets and any improper encroachment upon them will often be difficult to assess with precision before there has been sufficient discovery to reveal what information is at risk and to fully test claims of misappropriation. And defendants will fear that early equitable relief on an incomplete record will interfere with their business operations.
Moreover, the secrecy imperative runs through the entire litigation process, not simply the pleading stage. The court must take care to ensure that hearings and filings with the court during the pretrial and trial stages do not disclose trade secrets to the general public. In enacting the EEA, of which the DTSA is now a part, Congress recognized that victims of trade secret thefts could face a dilemma between reporting the matter to law enforcement and concerns that the trade secret will be disclosed during discovery or during a criminal trial. To alleviate this concern, the Act authorizes the court “to enter such orders and take such other action as may be necessary and appropriate to preserve the confidentiality of trade secrets.” 18 U.S.C. § 1835(a). At the same time, the court must balance the public’s interest in knowing about civil and criminal proceedings against the trade secret owner’s right to limit access to the trade secrets themselves.
2. High Emotional Quotient
Complicating all of these issues is the fact that many trade secret cases are hotly contested battles that have the emotional intensity of child custody cases. Many trade secret cases pit a business enterprise against business partners, former employees, and contractors who have left the business to form or work for a competing enterprise. In some cases, the former associates are actual family members. But even if not related by blood or marriage, the ties between the plaintiffs and defendants can run deep. Co-founders of companies often have deep and continuing personal, financial, and social bonds. And the alleged misappropriation represents not just a competitive injury but a betrayal of sacred trust. The trade secrets are the product of countless hours devoted to a shared enterprise. They are the intellectual offspring of a joint relationship. The departure of a business associate or former employee can be like the dissolution of a marriage. And where the former colleague competes with the prior business, it can feel like an extreme form of disloyalty.
Trade secret protection can become intertwined with noncompetition agreements and other contractual restraints on the activities of former business associates and employees. The enforceability of such restraints on trade varies according to state law. Even where permitted, such restraints are typically required to be narrowly tailored to protect only legitimate interests, including trade secrets. Absent enforceable noncompetition agreements, employees are generally free to take their general knowledge and skill with them, even to competing enterprises. But therein lies one of the difficulties alluded to above: distinguishing protectable trade secrets from general knowledge and skill.
A second challenging tension may arise if an employee or contractor believes that an employer is engaged in unlawful activity. The employee might plan or be reporting sensitive information to the government as part of a False Claims Act case or other whistleblower action. In such cases, there is a risk that the plaintiff may use a trade secret claim to attempt to silence the whistleblower and gain backdoor discovery of what the government might be investigating. To guard against this overreach, the DTSA immunizes whistleblowers from liability under federal and state trade secret law for disclosure, in confidence, of trade secrets to government officials and attorneys solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of law.
Another sensitive and difficult pattern relates to economic espionage cases in which the claim is made that an organization, potentially backed by a foreign government, has embarked upon a scheme, sometimes years in duration, to acquire trade secrets to assist development of a competing business or industry. These concerns can lead to both civil and criminal cases and have become more common and salient with growing concerns about international, sometimes state-backed espionage. These cases can be especially difficult to investigate and prosecute as a result of the discovery and jurisdiction impediments posed by international borders and the challenges posed by encrypted digital files. Some may pose concerns relating to sovereign immunity as well as diplomatic issues.
As a result of these patterns, judges in such cases may have to deal with especially high levels of distrust and willingness to escalate the litigation for business, personal, and criminal liability reasons.
3. The Interplay of Civil and Criminal Proceedings
Criminal trade secret investigations or suits are often known or anticipated to be underway during the pendency of a civil proceeding involving trade secrets. Both the government and the defendant in a civil case may have reasons for seeking a stay of the civil proceedings pending resolution of the criminal case. The government may seek a stay of the civil proceeding or of discovery in the civil proceeding to prevent interference with its investigation. The defendant may seek a stay to avoid having to invoke the Fifth Amendment during an active criminal investigation. On the other hand, the plaintiff in a civil case may want to pursue its claim expeditiously. Although most “garden variety” trade secret disputes do not include a criminal component, these are just some of the tensions that courts and litigants need to navigate when dealing with potentially parallel civil and criminal proceedings.
Using the Guide
Trade Secret Primer: Chapter 2 provides a comprehensive overview of trade secret law, tracing its legal sources, history, requirements, whistleblower immunity, defenses, and remedies. It then contrasts trade secrets with other forms of intellectual property, surveys common coincident claims and international aspects.
Early Case Management. Building upon Chapter 2’s survey of trade secret law, Chapter 3 frames the critically important early case management phase and sketches a flexible plan for the initial case management conference. Trade secret litigation typically unfolds quickly, often with the trade secret owner seeking preliminary equitable relief. The court must be ready to assist the parties in crafting a protective order, trade secret identification process, and a discovery plan. Chapter 3 offers a detailed checklist for guiding early case management and a suggested case management order that will anticipate common litigation challenges and facilitate the exchange of information, scheduling of trial stages, and promotion of efficient resolution of the case through litigation or settlement.
Trade Secret Identification. Chapter 4 guides the court through the nuanced process of identifying the trade secrets: the nature of the identification process (a procedural rule, not a merits determination), the timing of identification, the format for trade secret identification, the particularity of identification, access to the identification, and amending the identification. This issue is unique to trade secret law and thus this chapter focuses on a process that may be new to those adjudicating or litigating a trade secret case for the first time.
Preliminary Relief. Chapter 5 discusses the legal standards for evaluating requests for pre-trial equitable relief and expedited discovery in furtherance of such requests, provides examples of evidence that has been found to weigh in favor of or against pre-trial equitable relief, and offers guidance in framing orders granting equitable relief and in managing the entire process, including conducting post-hearing case management conferences following resolution of requests for preliminary equitable relief. It includes templates, tables illustrating relevant evidence, and illustrative orders.
Discovery. Chapter 6 presents the distinctive challenges of discovery in trade secret cases. It examines common discovery mechanisms, protective orders, dealing with the particular types of records often arise in trade secret cases (such as forensic images of devices, source code, employee records, and personal vs. work accounts and devices), management of disputes (including requests to seal documents), discovery from international sources, and common discovery motions. It also discusses the challenging question of how to balance the presumption of open access to the courts and court record with the need for owners of trade secrets to protect the secrets from public disclosure to avoid their destruction.
Summary Judgment. Chapter 7 addresses the summary judgment phase of trade secret litigation. Recognizing that many of the core issues in trade secret litigation are fact intensive, it addresses burdens of proof, the amenability of particular substantive issues to summary adjudication, expert declarations, and useful ways of managing and streamlining the summary judgment process and conducting summary judgment hearings.
Experts. Chapter 8 explores the role of experts in trade secret litigation. It first examines the principal areas in which experts are used and then discusses the court’s gatekeeper role in preventing unreliable expert testimony from being considered by the jury.
Pre-Trial Case Management and Trial. Chapter 9 assists courts in managing the lead up to trial, covering the pretrial conference. Chapter 10 then maps out the distinctive issues that frequently arise in trade secret cases, including late pretrial motions, jury pre-instruction, burdens of proof and persuasion, managing confidentiality in the courtroom, motions for judgment as a matter of law, jury instructions and verdict form, injunctions after trial, and exemplary damages and attorney’s fees.
Criminal Trade Secret Case Management. Chapter 11 presents the substantive law and case management issues associated with criminal trade secret prosecutions. It includes detailed discussion of the elements of proof, identifying the trade secrets, venue, defenses, confidentiality (including protective orders, trade secret owner participation, and cooperation between the government and the victim), extraterritorial application, whether to stay a parallel civil case, and sentencing/penalties.
* Koret Professor of Law; Director, Berkeley Center for Law & Technology; Faculty Director, Berkeley Judicial Institute; University of California at Berkeley School of Law.
Reddit: Anyone can start a subreddit, and back in 2012 Jaime Rogozinski started r/WallStreetBets. Over the years, the site attracted millions of subscribers talking about aggressive trading strategies; providing middle-school humor; and pumping-up various stocks (e.g., GameStop).
In 2020, Reddit removed Rogozinski from his role controlling the subreddit as moderator, concluding that he was “attempting to monetize a community.” Rogozinski had published a book titled WallStreetBets and also filed trademark registration application for the mark WALLSTREETBETS, with him as the owner. Of course, lots of folks are monetizing their subreddits, but I have not heard of others registering a TM on the subreddit name. Immediately after removing Rogozinski from control, Reddit filed competing registration applications for the same mark and continues to control the subreddit. Opposition proceedings are now pending before the TTAB.
Reddit claims control and ownership because the subreddit is on its site and under its control; Rogozinsky argues that he did all the work building the brand for himself – not for Reddit. The issues in this case are interesting because they are similar to those being debated with regard to AI ownership and attribution. Here, the difference is that we have a corporate owner rather than an AI. And, although both the company and Rogozinsky had input in the creation — what really made this valuable is the input and connection to millions of users. Similarly, AI works well only if it has good input data — typically obtained by scooping up and examined up so many copyrighted works and user data.
In addition to the opposition proceedings, Rogozinski has now sued Reddit in Federal Court, asserting infringement of his unregistered WallStreetBets mark; infringement of his registered mark WSB; as well as violations of contract, rights of publicity, and duty of good faith and fair dealing. James R. Lawrence, III is representing the plaintiff.
