Cooley Counsel’s Copy-Paste Patent Blurb Probed in Cannabis Case

A Federal Circuit panel pushed a cannabis company to explain when copying and pasting language from a prior patent into a new patent application would constitute attorney misconduct that would merit a fee award to the other side.

Judge Alan D. Lourie asked Pure Hemp Collective Inc. counsel James R. Gourley during oral arguments on Wednesday to break down why a Cooley LLP attorney’s admitted shortcut would make the now-dismissed dispute with United Cannabis Corp. stand out as exceptional.

“Don’t lawyers always copy and paste when they’re writing a grievance or even writing patent applications?” Lourie asked. “If language is ...