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Supreme Court to Rule on Seal Rule

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 06.02.16

The Supreme Court has granted review in State Farm Fire and Cas. Co. v. U.S. ex rel. Rigsby to address the applicable standard for dismissal in False Claims Act cases when whistleblowers, in violation of the statute’s requirements, make public the allegations in their complaint while it is under seal and being investigated by the government. The Court will address a split in which circuits have applied (1) a bright-line rule of dismissal, (2) a rule that considers whether the violation frustrates the congressional goals served by the seal requirement, and (3) a balancing test that focuses on whether the violation actually harms the government.

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Client Alert | 4 min read | 12.30.25

Are All Baby Products Related? TTAB Says “No”

The United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB or Board) recently issued a refreshed opinion in the trademark dispute Naterra International, Inc. v. Samah Bensalem, where Naterra International, Inc. petitioned the TTAB to cancel Samah Bensalem’s registration for the mark BABIES' MAGIC TEA based on its own BABY MAGIC mark. On remand from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the TTAB reconsidered an expert’s opinion about relatedness of goods based on the concept of “umbrella branding” and found that the goods are unrelated and therefore again denied the petition for cancellation....