Articles by Susan Decker

Marilyn Monroe Is Still a Counterfeiter’s Best Friend

Nearly six decades after her death, Marilyn Monroe is still a popular choice for mugs, T-shirts, jewelry and other products using her name — even illegally. Authentic Brands Group LLC, which owns the rights to the late movie star’s name …

Rare Covid-19 Vaccine and Treatment Injury Victims Look to U.S. Fund

High school senior Emma Burkey received her “one and done” Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine on March 20, and within two weeks was in an induced coma following seizures and clotting in her brain. She’s making a slow recovery, having …

Drugmakers Shielded from COVID Vaccine Liability But Funds for Injury Claims in Doubt

Americans who suffer adverse reactions to coronavirus vaccines that the U.S. is racing to develop will have a hard time getting compensated for injuries from the drugs. That’s because pandemic-related claims for vaccines will be routed to a rarely used …

Jury Orders Apple, Broadcom to Pay $1.1 Billion for Infringing CalTech Wi-Fi Patent

Apple Inc. and Broadcom Inc. must pay $1.1 billion in damages for infringing California Institute of Technology patents on Wi-Fi technology, a jury in California ordered. Apple was ordered to pay $837.8 million while Broadcom was hit with a $270.2 …

Supreme Court Says State Universities Not Immune to Patent Challenges

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to shield state-run universities from having to appear before a federal administrative body to defend the validity of patents they own. The justices turned down an appeal by the University of Minnesota that argued it …

Jury Orders Wells Fargo to Pay $102.8 Million in USAA Mobile Deposit Patent Case

Wells Fargo & Co. was told to pay $102.8 million after a federal jury in Texas said in infringed United Services Automobile Association’s patents for a mobile deposit system. It’s the second trial Wells Fargo has lost against USAA. In …

Doctor Claims Apple Watch Infringes His Heart Monitoring Technology Patent

A New York University cardiologist claims Apple Inc.’s Watch uses his patented heartbeat-monitoring invention and he wants compensation. Dr. Joseph Wiesel, who teaches at NYU School of Medicine, filed a suit Friday against the tech giant, in federal court in …

Judges May Be Reaching Limit with Copyright Profiteering by Pornography Sellers

Pornography producers and sellers account for the lion’s share of copyright-infringement lawsuits in the U.S. — and judges may have seen enough. The courts are cracking down on porn vendors that file thousands of lawsuits against people for downloading and …

Court Ruling Against ‘Law of Nature’ Patent Riles Biotech

A way to diagnose a severe neurological disorder can’t be patented as it covers a law of nature, a U.S. appeals court ruled Wednesday in a closely watched case that sought to clarify the patenting for medical diagnostic tests and …

Toy Wars: Lego Sues to Halt Sales of Zuru ‘Copycat’ Figurines at Walmart

Lego A/S wants to make sure any plastic toy figurine unwrapped in an American home during the holidays isn’t what the toymaker calls a copycat of its own products. The Danish toymaker is asking a federal judge in Connecticut to …