Insights

Los Angeles – May 20, 2026: The Daily Journal has named Crowell & Moring's Valerie Goo and Jon Gurka as Top Intellectual Property Lawyers in California in 2026. The annual list recognizes California lawyers who have made significant contributions to intellectual property law over the past year. 

Chicago – February 3, 2026: World Trademark Review has once again recognized Crowell & Moring as a top trademark firm in its 2026 guide. Crowell received the highest ranking—gold—in Illinois for enforcement and litigation, and prosecution and strategy. The firm also achieved “Recommended” status in the International category and silver in the U.S. National and Belgium categories, and earned recognition as a top firm in California. Crowell is one of only three firms in Illinois to earn a gold ranking both for litigation and prosecution. 

Chicago – June 11, 2025: Managing Intellectual Property has recognized 12 Crowell & Moring attorneys and four practices in its 2025 IP Stars guide. The guide, which is in its seventh edition, “brings together the world’s foremost law firm and corporate trademark experts, allowing the wider community to benefit from their insight, experience and perspectives.”

Will the Supreme Court review the Ninth Circuit’s unique Server Test for online copyright infringement? After the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the Server Test, a photographer and copyright owner has requested certiorari. Petitioner-Plaintiff, Elliot McGucken, is a landscape photographer. Respondent-Defendant, Valnet, Inc., is the owner of a travel website located at “www.thetravel.com.” McGucken sued Valnet for copyright infringement when Valnet embedded on its site a number of links to McGucken’s Instagram posts. The district court, bound by the Ninth Circuit’s en banc decision in Perfect 10, granted Defendant’s motion to dismiss, finding that the Server Test foreclosed McGucken’s direct infringement claim as a matter of law, because Valnet linked to the images and did not store them on its own servers. The Ninth Circuit affirmed in a panel decision. McGucken now requests the Supreme Court to review the validity of the Server Test, which is unique to the Ninth Circuit.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a massive number of unforeseen cancellations of events and the inability to use paid subscriptions, memberships, and season passes. These range from gym and amusement park closings, to postponed sports seasons, to concert and vacation travel/accommodation cancellations. We previously wrote about the impact of the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Putative classes of consumers have begun to seek refunds of previously paid dues and fees for cancelled events and their inability to use services, putting liquidity strains on the offering businesses. Consumers are supported by some State Attorneys General who are advocating for consumers to receive refunds, avoid cancellation fees, and to otherwise be let out of contracts involving health club memberships and theme parks and more; it would not be surprising if this list grew.

On October 2, 2018, a screw manufacturer filed suit against a competitor in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in a lawsuit that suggests an increasingly blurry line between trademark infringement, unfair competition, and False Claims Act (FCA) causes of action. 

LIKE MANY AMERICANS, courts and attorneys in 2020 found themselves having to take a crash course in how to use technology to work remotely during the COVID-19 crisis. For courts in particular, this has been an especially challenging period, as they have had to upend traditional practices and find innovative ways to keep the wheels of justice turning while ensuring the health and safety of everyone involved.

Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is quickly becoming a mainstream technology—and as that happens, it is creating challenges for IP owners.

In 2018, for the first time since it was founded in 1914, the Federal Trade Commission seated five brand new Commissioners. While the settlements that have been publicly announced since the new Commissioners took their posts have not indicated a shift in enforcement priorities, the direction and focus of the “new” FTC has yet to reveal itself.

The American Conference Institute (ACI) and HP are collaborating on the first conference specifically geared towards the regulatory, IP, and product liability challenges facing business and legal professionals in 3D Printing.

The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) will host its annual In-House Counsel Conference. 

Courthouses across the country are restarting and rethinking trials amid the coronavirus pandemic. This webinar will address what actions judges and courts are taking to conduct safe trials, including all virtual proceedings. Crowell & Moring’s experienced trial attorneys will discuss both best practices and important considerations to consider as matters navigate through the system. This panel of experts will weigh in on: