Takeaway: The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed an injunction against VidAngel Inc., a movie filtering service that allows users to stream films without nudity and violence, in favor of Walt Disney Studios and other Hollywood studios.

Takeaway: On August 18, 2017, The Wonderful Company, owner of the trademark “Get Crackin’,” and Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds LLC, a distributor of the Wonderful® brand of pistachio nuts, filed a suit against UTZ Quality Foods and Rice Investments and alleged that UTZ and Rice Investments were infringing on the “Get Crackin’” mark with their use of the mark, “Get Snacking!”

Takeaway: In a highly publicized patent infringement case, Electronic Frontier Foundation has come away with a win from the Federal Circuit, invalidating a patent concerning podcasting. This was an important win for EFF and its mission to fight patent trolls. The initial suit was filed back in 2013 in an effort to fight for the podcasting industry.

Takeaway: Nokia Corp. acquired Alcatel-Lucent for approximately $17 billion in 2015 and is now in the process of selling its acquired patents through an investor pool to venture-backed startups.

Takeaway: Through rejection of the “Promise Doctrine” and other recent rulings by the Supreme Court of Canada, there appears to be a new trend of increasing intellectual property protection in Canada, which suggests increasing confidence in R&D and IP investment in Canada.

Takeaway: Defendants of patent infringement suits can still be liable for additional damages if the patent is still being infringed upon after the damages verdict was awarded.

Walmart was found to be willfully infringing on a trademark against the warnings of its legal counsel and now is paying the price, which could be around $100 million.

Biosimilar drug producers no longer have to get FDA approval of their generic drugs before giving notice of commercial marketing to competitors, which may mean more choices and cheaper drug prices.

The Supreme Court is questioning the power of the U.S. Patent Office to take away patent rights once granted. The court will hear one case on whether the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) must address every issue in the final written decision and another on whether or not the PTAB’s inter parte review violates the 7th Amendment against an unlawful taking.

The sky is the limit and creativity is rewarded when it comes to trademarking or patenting your innovation.