Computer programmer and internet entrepreneur Mark Zuckerberg, 32, the CEO of social media website Facebook, will be testifying in an intellectual property case. The lawsuit will determine whether Facebook’s $2.3 billion virtual reality acquisition, Oculus, stole technology from Rockville, Maryland-based video game developer ZeniMax Media Inc.

Facebook lawyers tried to argue that Zuckerberg should not have to testify on how the company acquired Oculus, an argument dismissed by the judge. ZeniMax also accused Oculus founder Palmer Luckey and Oculus CTO John Carmack of theft in August 2016. Carmack was the lead programmer of video game classics, such as Quake, Doom, and Wolfenstein 3D. Now, ZeniMax is claiming he stole technology from them before he left them to join Oculus. Carmack was also accused of violating his employee agreement and confidentiality clauses.

Our attorneys at Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C. provide legal services for our clients in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and other areas in Texas. We handle intellectual property cases that involve patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, among others. Get a free initial consultation when you contact us at (214) 824-1414.

London-based auction house, Christie’s, and their New York City-based digital art collection management and market research firm, Collectrium, have been accused in a lawsuit by Dallas, Texas-based collectibles auctioneer Heritage Auctions of using a computer program to steal images, price information, and research from them and repacking and reselling said information as part of its own subscription database.

According to the lawsuit, the listings were utilized in Collectrium’s searchable proprietary database of over 11 million items. Christie’s purchased Collectrium last year.

The case was mostly about the increasing use of web scraping, or the automated copying of valuable information from some other website. Santa Clara University School of Law internet law and intellectual property professor Eric Goldman was of the opinion that web scraping for commercial uses is “probably not legal”.

Collectrium’s site makes the claim that it provides “searchable auction results from over 1,500 auction houses worldwide”.

We at Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C. help guide our clients in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex of Texas during litigation when it comes to intellectual property cases. Speak with a qualified member of our team by calling our offices today at (214) 824-1414 as soon as possible.

The United Kingdom’s flag carrier, British Airways, has patented a pill that seeks to gauge passengers’ in-flight satisfaction levels.

An airline passenger usually must wait for flight attends to pass them before their needs are catered to. As such, one may currently find themselves too cold or dehydrated, simply because the flight attendant may have trouble noticing gestures intended to catch their attention.

However, British Airways’ services are expected to improve immensely with their filing of a patent in the first week of December that aims to make the cabin crew aware of each passenger’s in-flight requests. In the 24-page patent application, this ingestible sensor will help flight attendants “provide water when the passenger is determined to be dehydrated, offer a blanket when the detected temperature is determined to be below a predefined and/or preferred threshold, and not to disturb or wake up for a scheduled meal based on the determined sleep phase of the passenger”.

If you or your business, which is situated in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area of Texas, are having trouble patenting your original ideas, you can obtain the legal representation of our attorneys at Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C. by calling our offices today at (214) 824-1414. We can even assist with international patents.

Twenty-four-year-old Anthony Clark was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud by a jury in Fort Worth, Texas. His conviction comes after he, along with three co-conspirators, defrauded Electronic Arts, Inc. The company, which is more commonly known as EA Games, lost more than $16 million to the conspirators.

EA published a game called FIFA Football, wherein players can earn FIFA coins, an in-game currency usually earned based on the amount of time a player has been playing the game. Clark and his accomplices set up the game to look as if they played for hours when they had not. They allegedly exchanged their FIFA coins for over $16 million. Senior Counsel Ryan Dickey of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant United States Attorneys Brian Poe and Candina Heath of the Northern District of Texas were tasked with prosecuting the case.

If you are facing intellectual property litigation in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex or another area in Texas, we highly recommend that you acquire the legal services of our attorneys at Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C. Seek our legal representation today by calling our offices at (214) 824-1414.

United States District Judge Keith Ellison issued a memorandum opinion on Friday, October 14, setting out findings of fact and conclusions of law. He effectively granted the University of Houston’s motion for a preliminary injunction in a trademark lawsuit it lodged against South Texas College of Law after the latter decided to change its name to Houston College of Law.

UH claimed that South Texas College of Law intentionally and willfully infringed upon the former’s intellectual property and the latter committed violations of unfair competition laws in the state of Texas. In response, South Texas College of Law argued that the word “Houston” is not the exclusive property of the UH System.

Our attorneys at Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C. provide legal services for our clients in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and will help our clients – whether they are defendants or plaintiffs – defend their property during intellectual property litigation. Call our offices today at (214) 824-1414 to discuss your case.

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation is asking for the public’s assistance in identifying a man who broke into the headquarters of a Fortune 500 company located in Houston’s Energy Corridor. He escaped with intellectual and personal property.

Video surveillance from June and December 2015 showed a man walking around the perimeter of a secure area before any employees of the company arrived. Authorities believe the unidentified man was able to gain entrance into the building through a defective door after the theft. Federal investigators want to know more about the suspect and why he focused on the company, which has asked to remain anonymous for security reasons.

Our attorneys at Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C. provide aggressive intellectual property representation to individuals and businesses in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and other areas of Texas. Schedule an initial appointment with a qualified member of our legal team by calling our offices today at (214) 824-1414.

Solar panel manufacturer Solaria is claiming that Hong Kong-based GCL Solar Energy, a subsidiary of GCL-Poly Energy Holdings, infringed upon their proprietary technology – which is backed by more than 100 patents – to create their solar modules.

Solaria further said that the Superior Court of the State Court of California issued a temporary restraining on Monday, September 26 to stop GCL from further using their technology. The order also stops GCL from disclosing any confidential information they obtained from Solaria.

In a statement, Solaria CEO Suvi Sharma said, “GCL misappropriated Solaria IP, technology, and manufacturing processes for its own use, in violation of our non-disclosure agreement. The investigation into this intellectual property theft is ongoing, and we will take appropriate action, including bringing in additional parties to the lawsuit if warranted, in order to protect our business interests.”

Our attorneys at Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C. provide aggressive legal representation to individuals and businesses in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. We handle intellectual property matters such as trademarks, copyrights, and licensing disputes, among others. Call our offices today at (214) 824-1414 to speak with a qualified member of our legal team.

Voltage Pictures, which is represented by the Singaporean legal firm Samuel Seow Law, filed a motion in 2015 to get Singapore telecommunication companies to release the details of Singapore internet subscribers who illegally downloaded copies of Dallas Buyers Club.

Voltage is now pursuing the same legal action in conjunction with Fathers & Daughters Nevada LLC for the 2015 film Fathers and Daughters starring Russell Crowe. A spokesperson for the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore said it has reviewed intellectual property positions taken in jurisdictions such as Australia, Britain, Canada, and the United States. The spokesperson noted, “While content owners have the right to enforce their intellectual property rights, this should be done in a way that builds legitimacy and respect for the entire process, and is not susceptible to allegations of abuse.”

If you are facing intellectual property litigation, either as a plaintiff or as a defendant, in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, we highly recommend that you attain the legal services of our attorneys at Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C.. We handle all aspects of intellectual property law, including patent infringement and copyright law. Discuss your legal options by calling our offices today at (214) 824-1414.

Last Monday, July 18, United States District Court Judge Lynn Hughes sentenced the St. Louis Cardinals’ former scouting director Christopher Correa to 46 months in prison for hacking the Houston Astros’ player personnel database.

Correa pleaded guilty in January 2016 to five counts of unauthorized access of a protected computer from 2013 to at least 2014. In 2014, Correa was promoted to St. Louis Cardinals’ director of baseball development. Correa faced up to five years of imprisonment for each count. He was also ordered to pay $279,038 in restitution. Before his sentencing, Correa read a letter saying he was “overwhelmed with remorse and regret for my actions.”

Whether you are a plaintiff or a defendant, the attorneys at Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C. want to protect you from intellectual property disagreements. We handle clients in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and other areas of Texas. Our attorneys are well-versed in infringement litigation and can help defend you. Call our offices today at (214) 824-1414 to discuss your legal options.

The University of Houston System filed a lawsuit last Monday, June 27 in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas against South Texas College of Law. The University of Houston claims that South Texas College of Law’s proposed name change to Houston College of Law is “strikingly similar to the University of Houston Law Center and all of the various alternate marks associated with that institution.”

In the court papers, the University of Houston reiterated, “Through this suit, UH seeks to protect its hard-earned reputation and its well-known brand.” The new Houston College of Law, on the other hand, maintained that the name change is to differentiate themselves from South Texas. Houston College of Law Board of Directors Chairman J. Ken Johnson claimed, “For many years we’ve dealt with misunderstanding surrounding ‘South Texas’, which is not descriptive of our historic location in downtown Houston.”

The attorneys at Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C. provide legal services for our clients in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and other areas of Texas. We can legally assist you in matters relating to intellectual property, regardless of whether you are the plaintiff or the defendant. Call our offices today at (214) 824-1414 to discuss your legal options.