Thompson Coburn Intellectual Property partner Michael Nepple was quoted in a year-end IPWatchdog report on the biggest moments in IP for 2025. Mike and other contributors highlighted major moments that have had an impact on IP practice this year.
Mike covered trademark, copyright, and trade secret law in his response:
“In trademark law, what mattered was the Supreme Courts’ Dewberry Group, Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers, Inc. opinion, where the Court held that the Lanham Act only allows recovery of disgorgement damages for the named plaintiff, and not affiliated companies, even if they are under common ownership. Moving forward in 2026, companies may need to look at, and revise, their structures for IP ownership and selection of plaintiffs to avoid a similar result.
“In copyright law, what mattered is, to quote the band Rush, if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice. In its 2025 cert denial in McGucken v. Valnet, Inc., the Supreme Court declined to decide whether the 9th Circuit’s ‘server test’ for copyright infringement claims involving embedded works should be overruled. Thus, the dispute between proponents of the ‘server test’ vs. those citing the Copyright Act’s § 106 display right remains unresolved. Which may be a good thing in 2026. Or not.
“In trade secret law, what mattered was the Supreme Court’s cert denial of the 7th Circuit’s Motorola Solutions v. Hytera Communications decision that allowed the plaintiff to pursue foreign damages under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), so long as an ‘act in furtherance’ of the misappropriation occurred in the United States. Given the Court’s more restrictive 2023 holding on extraterritorial damages under the Lanham Act (Abitron Austria GmbH), and the multiple large DTSA verdicts in 2025, companies can expect a likely surge in claims in 2026.”
Read the full article here.
