The Court’s 33-page order thoroughly analyzed the trademark dispute between BLUE SKY MD, a weight loss and hormone therapy clinic, and our client, PARDEE BLUEMD, a primary care provider network that is part of the Pardee Hospital system. The Court found that while the plaintiffs owned a valid trademark, they failed to demonstrate a likelihood of confusion between the marks – the central element required for trademark infringement. Chief Judge Martin Reidinger thoroughly evaluated the relevant factors, concluding that the BLUE SKY MD mark was relatively weak, the marks were dissimilar in appearance and context, and there was insufficient evidence of actual consumer confusion.

Particularly notable was the Court’s analysis of the evidence of alleged confusion. The Court determined that most of the plaintiffs’ evidence consisted of inadmissible hearsay or reflected only de minimis confusion that was quickly dispelled. The Court emphasized that the parties’ services differed significantly – with BLUE SKY MD primarily offering weight loss and hormone therapy while PARDEE BLUEMD provided comprehensive primary care as part of a nonprofit hospital system.

Winning on summary judgment in trademark cases is relatively rare for defendants. The stringent multi-factor test for trademark infringement typically creates factual issues that courts prefer to resolve at trial, making the victory for our clients at this stage particularly significant. We are extremely pleased by this result for our clients.

The post Morningstar Intellectual Property Team Wins Summary Judgement in Trademark Case appeared first on Morningstar Law Group.

Wood explains that the hard-fought agreement, based on claims that Purdue Pharma sales of OxyContin played a major role in creating the U.S. opioid crisis, brought together all 50 states and thousands of other public entity-claimants to provide nearly $7 billion in much-needed relief to help local communities across the country fight the opioid epidemic.

The Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision to throw out the Purdue settlement threatens to turn $7 billion in desperately needed relief into nearly nothing.

Claimants will now face formidable obstacles to effectively pursue the Sacklers individually. Even if a substantial collective recovery is somehow achieved, thousands of people who could have been helped will suffer – and some will die – during the time it takes for those efforts to play out.

Read the entire article HERE.

Article By:

The post Swain Wood: SCOTUS’s decision to throw out the Purdue Pharma settlement agreement was a profound mistake. appeared first on Morningstar Law Group.

John then lays out the many difficulties courts and IP owners may encounter applying existing copyright law to generative AI. He walks through the recent history of generative AI lawsuits focused on training AI models and how even more recent cases have centered on claims related to outputs. In this sharply articulated work, John not only leans into case law germane to AI and copyright but examines current USPTO rulings and how these rulings may transition the protection of copyrights into the world of private enforcement. The article is a must-read for anyone in the AI space.

Click HERE to download a copy.

The post John Kivus’ Article on AI & Copyright Just Published by the UNC Journal of Law and Technology appeared first on Morningstar Law Group.

Congratulations to our colleagues selected by their peers to Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite 2024! Pictured left to right, top to bottom: Chris Graebe, Litigation; Will Graebe, Young Guns; Shannon Joseph, Litigation; Gene Jones, Business; John Kivus, Intellectual; Molly Stuart, Real Estate; and Jennifer Van Doren, Intellectual.

The post 7 Morningstar Law Group Lawyers Selected by Their Peers to Business NC Legal Elite 2024 appeared first on Morningstar Law Group.

John Kivus, Morningstar Law Group partner focusing on IP and software litigation, will be among the featured panel of experts at the North Carolina Journal of Law and Technology (JOLT) annual symposium on January 26th. Co-sponsored by the UNC Graduate and Professional Student Government, the discussion will center around Reframing IP Rights in the AI Age. John will focus his remarks on copyright enforcement and the inherent risks for intellectual property owners in the failure to modernize copyright law in the expanding age of artificial intelligence.

A focused voice for his clients in software litigation and IP, John manages client trademark and copyright portfolios and ensures their IP rights are enforced and secure. He also prepares copyright and trademark registrations and renewals in jurisdictions where his clients are active or anticipating doing business and takes a special interest in the growing influence of AI in the intellectual property space.

The JOLT symposium will be held from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm (schedule below) on the 26th in room 5042 of the UNC Law School and will include lunch following the panel. You can RSVP using the QR code in the flyer (below) or via the following link: https://form.jotform.com/233547717267162.

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The International Association of Defense Counsel Foundation recently announced its new officers and board members. Congratulations to Shannon Joseph, who will serve as a Foundation Board Member.

The post Congratulations Shannon Joseph appeared first on Morningstar Law Group.

“Throughout history, Black people have faced great adversity in the pursuit of joining the legal profession and achieving equality in the United States. “A Spotlight on Black History” serves as a reminder that Black history is interwoven into the fabric of our profession and essential to where we are today – not only as a profession but as a state and nation.” Associate Attorney Britney Weaver

Attorney Julius L. Chambers, 1936 – 2013

Julius Chambers’ legacy is unrivaled.  From arguing landmark cases before the United States Supreme Court to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Chambers’ impact as a lawyer, leader, and educator is widespread.

Chambers was born in Mount Gilead, North Carolina in 1936.  In 1954, he enrolled at North Carolina Central University.  He then attended the University of Michigan, where he received his M.A. in history. 

In 1959, Chambers entered the University of North Carolina School of Law.  Chambers went on to become to the first Black editor-in-chief of the North Carolina Law Review and graduated first in his class in 1962.  Chambers went on to receive his L.L.M. from Columbia University Law School.  Chambers served his country in the United States Army and Navy, respectively.

Chambers was a trailblazer from the beginning of his legal career.  In 1963, he became the first intern with the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund.  In 1964, Chambers opened his own solo practice in Charlotte, later joining forces with his founding partners, James E. Ferguson and Adam Stein.  Their law firm was the first integrated law firm in North Carolina history.

Chambers’ legal career included several profound victories before the United States Supreme Court, including Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education (1971), which led to federally mandated busing, helping integrate public schools across the country, as well as Griggs v. Duke Power Co. (1971) and Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody (1974), two of the Supreme Court’s most monumental Title VII employment discrimination decisions.

Chambers’ victories were not without personal cost.  Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Swann, Chambers’ offices were firebombed.  His car and his home were also firebombed.  In response, Chambers said that he would “keep fighting.”  And that’s what he did.

In 1984, Chambers became Director Counsel and President of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.  He remained in that position for nine years, expanding on the LDF’s success and working to defend its hard-earned gains.  Chambers said, “We have to defend what we have gained.  We can try to isolate ourselves from those less fortunate, but there will always be something holding us back until all our people are given their full rights.”

In 1993, Chambers returned to North Carolina and became Chancellor of his alma mater, North Carolina Central University.  Chambers served as Chancellor for nine years.  In 2001, Chambers returned to private practice in Charlotte and remained in private practice until his death in 2013.

Chambers served in many other notable positions, including as an adjunct professor at several prestigious law schools, as well as the Inaugural Director of the UNC School of Law Center for Civil Rights. 

Chambers’ honors and awards are innumerable.  Among his many honors and awards, Chambers was awarded fifteen Honorary LL.D degrees and twenty-four Honorary Doctorates from Colleges and Universities.  In 2006, he received the Thurgood Marshall Award from the American Bar Association Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities.        

For more information regarding Chambers and his legacy, please visit the following links:

http://www.fergusonsumter.com/julius-levonne-chambers

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/us/julius-chambers-a-fighter-for-civil-rights-dies-at-76.html

https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/julius-chambers-39

https://www.naacpldf.org/about-us/history/julius-levonne-chambers/

The post A Spotlight on Black History – Week 4 appeared first on Morningstar Law Group.

“Throughout history, Black people have faced great adversity in the pursuit of joining the legal profession and achieving equality in the United States. “A Spotlight on Black History” serves as a reminder that Black history is interwoven into the fabric of our profession and essential to where we are today – not only as a profession but as a state and nation.” Associate Attorney Britney Weaver

Attorney Benjamin L. Crump, Born October 10, 1969

Benjamin L. Crump is a native of Lumberton, North Carolina. He is the founder of Tallahassee, Florida-based law firm Ben Crump Law, a civil rights and personal injury law firm.

Crump has been practicing law for over 25 years, and while he has represented a variety of different victims and their families, he is best known for his work as a civil rights attorney. His passion for civil rights work was fueled by Crump’s own experiences with segregation and injustices in the Black community.

Crump is internationally known for his grassroots activism and for taking on high-profile police brutality cases. In 2012, Crump took on the Trayvon Martin case that gave rise to the Black Lives Matter movement. Since then, Crump has represented the families of countless victims, including Michael Brown, George Floyd, Botham Jean, Keenan Anderson, and Tyre Nichols.

As an advocate for Black and marginalized communities across the nation, Crump has consistently given a voice to the voiceless in the national and international media and helped steer the conversation on police brutality in America.

This month, St. Thomas University in Florida renamed its law school Benjamin L. Crump College of Law, making it the first law school in the United States to be named after a currently practicing Black attorney. The only other law school in the nation named after a Black attorney is at Texas Southern University, which is named after Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall – the very person who inspired Crump to become an attorney.

For more information regarding Attorney Benjamin Crump, please see:

• Ben Crump – Ben Crump
• After Trayvon Martin, Crump became civil rights go-to lawyer | AP News
• ST. THOMAS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW NAMED THE BENJAMIN L. CRUMP COLLEGE OF LAW – St Thomas University (stu.edu)

The post A Spotlight on Black History – Week 3 appeared first on Morningstar Law Group.

We saved this news for Valentine’s Day! Eleven of our attorneys were selected to 2023 Super Lawyers, including two attorneys recognized as “Rising Stars.”

Attorneys selected:

• Keith Anthony, Business Litigation
• Bill Brian, Land Use/Zoning
• Amie Carmack, Employment & Labor
• Nil Ghosh, Land Use/Zoning (Rising Star)
• Chris Graebe, Business Litigation
• Will Graebe, Business Litigation (Rising Star)
• Grayson Hale, Mergers & Acquisitions
• Chris Jackson, Business Litigation
• Gene Jones, Business/Corporate
• Shannon Joseph, Business Litigation
• Mack Paul, Land Use/Zoning

Congratulations to all for the well-deserved recognition!

The post We Love Our Super Lawyers! appeared first on Morningstar Law Group.

“Throughout history, Black people have faced great adversity in the pursuit of joining the legal profession and achieving equality in the United States. “A Spotlight on Black History” serves as a reminder that Black history is interwoven into the fabric of our profession and essential to where we are today – not only as a profession but as a state and nation.” Associate Attorney Britney Weaver

Attorney Ruth Whaley, 1901-1977

Ruth Whaley, a North Carolina native, was a trailblazer.  The first Black woman to receive a North Carolina law license, Whaley’s accomplishments impacted not only North Carolina, but also New York, where Whaley was a licensed attorney and public servant for many years.

Whaley was born in Goldsboro in 1901.  Whaley attended Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina, a historically Black college, earning her degree in 1919.

Following her graduation from Livingstone, Whaley enrolled at Fordham Law School.  She was the first Black woman to ever enroll at the law school.  In 1924, Whaley graduated from Fordham at the top of her class.  Whaley passed the bar exam in 1925 and became one of the first Black women to practice law in New York. 

In 1933, Whaley was sworn into the North Carolina State Bar, becoming the first Black woman to become licensed to practice law in North Carolina.  However, in the Jim Crow-era South, Whaley was prevented from actively practicing law. 

Whaley returned to New York, where she built an unparalleled legacy.  Whaley practiced civil service law, representing black local government employees—including her husband—in discharge proceedings.  Whaley argued in front of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on many occasions.  In 1945, Whaley ran for New York City Council as the first Black woman to run as a Democrat.  From 1951 to 1973, Whaley served as Secretary of the New York City Board of Estimate, working in tandem with the City Council.  Whaley became the first president of the New York City National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women, and also served as president of the National Council for Negro Women.  Whaley was also a member of the Fordham University Council.  The Association of Black Women Attorneys awards an annual scholarship to law students in Whaley’s honor.    

During her career, Whaley remarked on the expectations placed on Black women lawyers.  In her 1949 essay titled, “Women Lawyers’ Lot Not Easy: She Must Balk Both Color and Sex Bias,” Whaley wrote:

More is required of a Negro woman who is a lawyer by her colleagues, the courts, and the community.  This performance “over and beyond the call of duty” is not generally a conscious requirement on their part.  It is the penalty usually exacted from a minority or from pioneers, and Negro women are a minority among lawyers.  History may well record as a pioneer every Negro woman who in the year, 1949, is a lawyer.

Notwithstanding this reality, Whaley said of her chosen field, “My admiration is undimmed.” 

For more information regarding Whaley and her legacy, please visit the following links:

https://www.wfae.org/race-equity/2022-05-26/historical-marker-dedicated-to-first-black-woman-licensed-to-practice-law-in-north-carolina

https://www.goldsborodailynews.com/2022/05/23/pioneer-african-american-lawyer-goldsboro-native-ruth-whitehead-whaley-to-be-honored-with-historical-marker/

https://www.fordham.edu/about/leadership-and-administration/administrative-offices/office-of-the-president/hall-of-honor/ruth-whitehead-whaley/

https://abwanewyork.org/scholarships/

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