Patent Law
Landmark Internet Law Cases
What’s the Magic Word
I'm Lovin' TM
Grounds for Litigation
Nightmare Before IP
100
This PTAB proceeding can be filed to challenge the validity of an issued patent after it has been granted.
What is an Inter Partes Review (IPR)?
100
This 1997 Supreme Court case declared portions of the Communications Decency Act, which sought to protect minors from “indecent” and “patently offensive” communications on the Internet, unconstitutional, protecting free speech on the internet.
What is Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
100
In 2014, the silent partner in this magician duo successfully sued a Belgian entertainer who posted a copycat illusion of his magical performance called Shadows on YouTube, which was registered with the U.S. Copyright Office in 1983.
Who is Raymond Teller (of Penn & Teller)?
100
This fast-food corporation filed trademark applications for "McCafé" in the early 2000s as part of their strategy to compete in the specialty coffee market.
What is McDonald's
100
In 2019, farmers from this Hawaiian coffee-growing region filed a class action lawsuit under the Lanham Act against Walmart, Costco, Amazon, Safeway, and Kroger for allegedly selling coffee falsely marketed with their region's name, despite containing little to no beans actually grown there.
What is Kona?
100
This 1984 hit theme song led its composer to settle quietly out of court after a claim that it copied Huey Lewis’s “I Want a New Drug.”
What is “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr.?
200
This Supreme Court case established the modern two-step framework for analyzing patent eligibility under § 101.
What is Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank?
200
This 2018 Supreme Court case allowed states to require online retailers to collect sales tax, even without a physical presence in the state.
What is South Dakota v. Wayfair.
200
Magicians are often able to claim this legal protection to keep their magic tricks under wraps, although David Cooperfield’s claim failed and he was ordered to explain one of his most famous tricks in a personal injury lawsuit in 2013.
What is trade secret protection?
200
This major coffee and donut chain announced a rebrand in September 2018, dropping "Donuts" from its name and filing new trademark applications for just a single word.
What is Dunkin'?
200
In 2013, this single-serve coffee giant lost a patent infringement lawsuit against Rogers Family Company when a federal court ruled that the patent exhaustion doctrine prevented them from controlling which pods consumers used in their machines.
What is Keurig?
200
This famous author had been dead for seven years, but that didn't stop a journalist from claiming his spirit dictated a novel to her via a Ouija board. The author's estate successfully sued for infringement, claiming that if the author had really written the book, the estate would have exclusive ownership of it.
Who was Mark Twain?
300
This Supreme Court case established that business methods are not categorically excluded from patentability but must still satisfy other statutory requirements.
What is Bilski v. Kappos?
300
This 2018 Supreme Court ruled that the government needs a warrant to access historical cellphone location data.
What is Carpenter v. United States.
300
This magician, mentalist and endurance performer, who was encased in a box of ice for 63 hours, 42 minutes and 15 seconds for a stunt in Times Square in November 2000, registered this trademark with the USPTO in 2011.
Who is David Blaine?
300
In 2019, this burger chain filed a trademark for the phrase “It’s Not Chicken” to protect its plant-based sandwich campaign.
What is Burger King?
300
In 2004, Starbucks filed a trademark application for "Shirkina Sun-Dried" followed by this Ethiopian coffee region's name, blocking Ethiopia's own application and sparking an international controversy that was eventually resolved in 2007.
What is Sidamo?
300
This music video by DJ Jazzy Jeff the Fresh Prince featuring a villain bearing resemblance to a horror film character was blocked by a preliminary injunction in New Line Cinema v. BMG, rejecting a fair use defense.
What is “A Nightmare on My Street”?
400
This Supreme Court case established that obviousness analysis requires a motivation to combine prior art with reasonable expectation of success.
What is KSR v. Teleflex?
400
This 2019 Ninth Circuit case ruled that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to websites and mobile apps, requiring businesses to make their digital platforms accessible to individuals with disabilities.
What is Robles v. Domino’s Pizza, LLC.
400
John Gaughan invented and registered a patent (US Patent #5,354,238) for this magic trick, wherein a performer uses fan-shaped arrays of fine wires that remain invisible to the viewing audience in order for the performer to do what trick?
What is levitate or fly?
400
When this chain’s “finger guns and cowboy hat” mascot became a meme, fans’ use of the image on merchandise raised copyright questions about derivative works.
What is Arby’s?
400
In 2001, Starbucks sued this small New Hampshire coffee roaster for trademark dilution over their "Charbucks" coffee blend, but ultimately lost the case after 12 years of litigation.
What is Wolfe's Borough Coffee (or Black Bear Micro Roastery)?
400
A 2003 copyright suit alleged that a 1990 short film called Thoughts of the Dead was the real inspiration for this Oscar-nominated thriller about a child psychologist and his spectral-seeing patient.
What is The Sixth Sense?
500
This type of analysis measures consumer preferences and willingness to pay by presenting survey respondents with different product feature combinations.
What is conjoint analysis?
500
This 2014 Third Circuit case ruled that for online crimes, the proper venue for litigation must be where a substantial part of the criminal conduct or its effects occurred, rather than where the data is stored.
What is United States v. Auernheimer.
500
In 1921, Horace Goldwin applied for a patent for this divisive magic trick and was awarded U.S. Patent No. 1,458,575 in 1923.
What is “sawing a woman in half?”
500
In this 1992 Supreme Court case, a Mexican restaurant claimed another chain copied its pink color scheme, patio décor, and festive style , and won protection for its restaurant’s overall “look and feel.”
What is Two Pesos v. Taco Cabana?
500
In 2025, Dairy Farmers of America sued this coffee company for trade secret misappropriation related to allegedly stolen information about cold brew concentrate production methods and supply chain management.
What is WestRock Coffee?
500
The lawsuit of Don Post Studios vs. Cinema Secrets (the “Halloween mask” case) tested whether a Halloween mask cast from this actor’s head mold could be protected by copyright; the court held it lacked sufficient originality.
Who is William Shatner?