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By Bloomberg

Ford Motor Co. prevailed in an infringement suit brought by a company that claimed the carmaker infringed patents covering a system that permits drivers to connect mobile devices to a vehicle.

In the suit, filed in June 2011, Eagle Harbor Holdings LLC of Bainbridge Island, Washington, accused Ford of infringing seven patents. Ford countered the suit, claiming that Eagle Harbor made unauthorized use of information about its cars to obtain the patents.

In February, U.S. District Judge Benjamin J. Settle denied Eagle Harbor’s request to dismiss Ford’s trade-secret claims. He rejected Eagle Harbor’s argument that the confidential information at issue wasn’t really a trade secret and that Ford failed to show how Eagle Harbor got the information.

In a second ruling, Settle narrowed some of the claims against Ford, rejecting Eagle Harbor’s assertion that the infringement was deliberate along with one of the theories of infringement the company was advancing.

In a March 26 verdict, the jury said that Eagle Harbor filed to prove the Ford infringed the patents at issue and that two of the patents were invalid. The jury also found that Ford proved Eagle Harbor had misappropriated one or more of the automaker’s trade secrets.

The case is Eagle Harbor Holdings LLC v. Ford Motor Co., 11-cv-05503, U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington (Tacoma).

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Copyright

GraceKennedy Will Appeal Adverse Copyright Ruling in Jamaica

GraceKennedy Ltd.’s GraceKennedy Remittance Services said it will go to Jamaica’s Privy Council to appeal an adverse ruling by that country’s Court of Appeal in a copyright infringement case, the Kingston Gleaner reported.

The Kingston-based company’s Remittance Services unit was found to have used software belonging to Paymaster Jamaica Ltd. without a license, something the company disputes, according to the Gleaner.

GraceKennedy said the software, which it’s accused of using to start its Bill Express, a Paymaster competitor, was properly licensed by its creator, Paul Lowe, the newspaper reported.

In its appeal, Paymaster claimed successfully that Lowe created the software specifically for Paymaster, the Gleaner said.

Cayman Islands Copyright Law to be Updated, Conform to U.K.’s

Following action by the U.K.’s Privy Council March 19, that country’s copyright laws have been extended to cover the Cayman Islands, the islands’ CNS Business website reported.

Before the extension was made in the U.K., the island country was under the U.K. Copyright Act of 1956, despite the U.K.’s repeal of that act in 1988, according to CNS Business News.

Minister of Commerce Wayne Patton told CNS news that without the change, Cayman copyright law wasn’t able to address such technology-driven issues as digital sampling or digital music downloading to mobile phones, none of which existed in 1956, according to the news website.

He said the new copyright directive won’t go into effect until the country finalizes and issues implementing regulations, CNS reported.

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Trademark

Stephen Hawking Seeks U.K. Trademark Registration for His Name

Stephen Hawking, the theoretical physicist and former Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, has applied to register his name as a trademark in the U.K., the Independent reported.

Hawking, who was the subject of the film “The Theory of Everything,” is seeking registration as a way of preventing what he considers inappropriate use of his name, according to the newspaper.

His choice was “personal,” a spokesperson for the university’s Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics told the newspaper.

Hawking, who is director of research at the department, can use his mark to set up a charitable foundation to research motor neuron disease, which has affected him for decades, according to the Independent.

Selective Insurance Wins Appeal in Trademark Coverage Suit

Selective Insurance Group Inc. prevailed in an appeal of an insurance dispute in a trademark infringement case.

The Branchville, New Jersey-based insurance company originally sued in Minnesota federal court in April 2013, seeking a declaration that it wasn’t obliged to defend its insured, Smart Candle LLC of Bloomington, Minnesota.

In the underlying case, Excell Consumer Products LLC of the U.K. accused Smart Candle of trademark infringement and sought cancellation of several “Smart Candle” U.S. marks. Smart Candle asked Selective to cover the cost of defense in the infringement suit.

Selective declined, arguing that its policy providing protection in IP cases specifically excludes “unauthorized use of another’s name or product” in an e-mail address, domain name or meta tags. Smart Candle argued that the policy provides coverage for infringement of a slogan.

The lower court disagreed, as did the appeals court, saying March 26 that the company name doesn’t qualify as a slogan and that the Minnesota company was specifically accused of trademark infringement, for which the policy provided no coverage.

The case is Selective Insurance Co. of America v. Smart Candle LLC, 14-1356, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit. The lower court case is Selective Insurance Co. of America v. Smart Candle LLC, 13-cv-00878, U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota.