Author: condor

Power Alley: In The US Merck v. German Merck Long Running Lanham Act Litigation, A Significant Ruling On Expert Testimony Admissabilty. Opinion Sealed For Now Only.

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The final order from the able USDC Judge Esther Salas, in Newark — with its conclusions — but not the reasoning… is now on the public docket. [This is (in all its iterations) clearly a multi-billion dollar dispute, lasting on and off now, from 1917 and the Treaty of Versailles — to this morning, in courtrooms dotting the globe. Who really owns the corporate wordmark called “Merck”? Wow.]

Here it is in full — until a redacted written opinion is available — and here is a bit of it. We know this ought to settle, as we have long said.

…ORDERED that Defendant’s [German Merck’s] Motion to Exclude Certain Opinions & Testimony of [US Merck’s] Plaintiffs’ Expert Dominique M. Hanssens, (D.E. No. 261), is DENIED; and it is further

ORDERED that [US Merck’s] Plaintiffs’ Motion to Exclude Overseas Trademark Use & Foreign Litigations, i.e., to preclude [German Merck] from presenting any evidence, argument, or reference to overseas trademark use & foreign litigations, pursuant to Federal Rules of Evidence 401, 402, & 403, (D.E. No. 262), is GRANTED-IN-PART and DENIED-IN-PART. [US Merck’s] Plaintiffs’ motion is granted to the extent that they seek to exclude any evidence of foreign litigation from presentation to the jury. [US Merck’s] Plaintiffs’ motion is otherwise DENIED without prejudice….

* * *
ORDERED that the parties shall review the sealed Opinion and, on or before December 12, 2025, file either (i) a joint motion to seal pursuant to Local Civil Rule 5.3, attaching a version of the Opinion with proposed redactions; or (ii) a joint letter indicating that no redactions are necessary, and that they consent to unsealing the Opinion in its entirety. If the parties fail to comply with this directive, the Court will unseal the Opinion, in its entirety, without further notice….

Onward — grinning.

Finally — some progress here. Clearly the rulings are meant to encourage the two parties to “declare victory” — and find a negotiated “peace”. Wisely-so, too.

Housekeeping note: I will be off grid in the mountains for about eight days, now — tending to an elderly relative’s care — but will post an update here, if this redacted opinion appears on the public docket, before I reach Nashville (in a few weeks).

नमस्ते

Texas Natl. Guard Forces, Departing — From Suburban Chicagoland…

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That’s the latest from the NYT reporting on Sunday night.

The guard is also leaving Portland. That’s… a win.

…The Pentagon is withdrawing hundreds of National Guard soldiers from Chicago and Portland, Ore., just weeks after President Trump ordered them there…. Some 200 California National Guard troops who were sent to Portland and another 200 Texas National Guard members who were sent to Chicago will return to their home states beginning as early as Sunday, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the deployments….

A federal judge in Illinois issued a temporary restraining order last month blocking the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago area. An appeals panel later upheld the lower-court judge’s decision and the U.S. Supreme Court is now weighing the issue….

Matt Hill, a spokesman for Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois, said state officials had not yet been notified of the Pentagon’s action.

“While there are reports the Texas guard is leaving, the Trump Administration is also saying they will keep federalizing national guards to ‘ensure a constant, enduring, and long-term presence’ in cities,” Mr. Hill posted on social media. “Illinois will continue fighting for our state sovereignty, protecting people’s rights, and keeping our communities peaceful….”

Now you know.

नमस्ते

[U: Good orbital burn; Satellite flying free!] At About 10:30 PM Local Chicago Time, Tonight: The Coverage Of The Latest Sentinel 6-B Launch Will Begin…

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Let’s skew toward the hopeful, shall we? Yes… let’s.

Click this, or the image centered below the pull quote, to watch live — starting at 11:30 pm Eastern / 10:20 pm Central:

…Live coverage of prelaunch and launch activities for Sentinel-6B, an international mission delivering critical sea level and ocean data to protect coastal infrastructure, improve weather forecasting, and support commercial activities at sea….

Yep. Now you know — and, onward to a better tomorrow.

नमस्ते

[U: Trump Praises Tucker?!] Bill Otis’s Quoted Letter Gets Much Right, About Heritage Foundation — And Especially So, Re The Blight Called Candace Owens. But It “Missed The First Off-Ramp,” In 2016 — And, Ever Since.

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Updated | Sunday night: As if to specifically prove my thesis, tonight the sitting preznit is praising Tucker Carlson, after he interviewed an avowed Nazi (Fuentes) and offered that narrative, in sympathetic terms. Res Ipsa, baby — Res Ipsa…. End updated portion.

I could rather snarkily observe that all that has happened… is that the most-odious (but widely held) Heritage views have come out from the shadows, and into the light. But that is not my point (true though it is, as a disinterested observer’s. . . observation). Heh.

My point is… that once Trumpism chose to embrace racism as a central platform (circa early 2015 — through to this very day)… it was all but inevitable… that he (and his people) would ultimately turn on… Jews, too.

That is what is happening with Tucker and Candace — and the remaining leadership of Heritage, thus (quoting from the professor’s private letter of resignation from Heritage — that Bill himself published, this morning, in full):

…Tucker is quickly following Candace Owens down the very dark path of Jewish conspiracy theories and defenses of Nazis. (After Candace’s “explanation” a couple years ago of Kristallnacht as a burning of communist books and not an attack on Jews, this was the final straw for me and my judgment has been repeatedly confirmed by her in the ensuing years.) Similar to Candace’s “just asking questions” strategy, Tucker is increasingly hosting friendly, head-nodding-in-agreement interviews with people who explicitly praise Nazis and are unrepentant in their antisemitic slurs of Jews and Israel, such as his interviews of Darryl Cooper….

Tucker’s friendly, smiling interview with Nick Fuentes, an avowed Nazi, was simply the nadir of Tucker’s increasing number of friendly interviews with nihilists and antisemites….

The object lesson, though Mr. Otis, is NOT that “taking a stand is courageous” (it is, in fact, courageous in these times) — no, the object lesson IS that this sort of ugly dangerous burping always leads… to worse.

Every last one of you… Paul, John, Scott and Steve — and you, Bill Otis… EXPLICITLY voted for this — by supporting the known racist and odious idiot Donald Trump.

The inevitability of this moment, with Marjorie Taylor Greene now receiving death threats, from inside her own party — and Candace and Tucker getting rich, by pandering to all “the deplorables” you guys embraced for 10 years… to win their votes… is just comically tragic.

You boys go fall on your fainting couches, and pretend to clutch your pearls, and smell your smelling salts… it is a silly charade — one that only you yourselves believe.

The rest of us… are happy to call each of you out, as complicit in the new genocide you and your people seek against the Jews.

We all knew this was what your coalition has always been about: demonizing an increasingly wide set of “the other-ness”.

Fuck you guys.

So yeah — spare me the professor’s (and your) thoughtful, measured replies — today. You were vacant in 2016, and in 2020 and in 2024 — each time, when it mattered.

Now ride the lightning — and die from within… within your own fetid political party’s [formerly willingly-welded] coalition — of these disparate monsters.

Out.

The Tidmarsh Turmoil: Not An Epilogue, By Any Stretch — Just The End of Act I; Two More To Go… At [Trumpian/Kennedy-Driven] FDA.

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To be certain, the level of disruption — of the core functioning, of a robust pharma-, biotech and life sciences industry in the US… is staggering.

Tangerine 2.0 may think his intentional federal regulatory chaos [in, for example big oil, or dirty coal] lets industry “run wild” — but not so, in pharma. These players have been around for half-centuries — avoiding company killing litigation over bad drugs — largely because they take the long view: they don’t want hastily green-lit drugs on the market.

This is so, because the US plaintiffs’ lawyers will always come back around, with class-loads of injured people from bad drugs. And so ends the hasty, low ethical standards companies [like legacy Schering-Plough, and Purdue Pharma]. So we will file an update, on the literally unprecedented Prasad / Tidmarsh / Wang insanity (at an agency charged with protecting human health, from bad providers) this quiet warm sunny Sunday morn’. . . .

Here’s the update — from across the pond — at The Guardian [UK]:

…Before the job was filled by Pazdur, one CDER employee told the Guardian that “I would never take it” because the position would be a “career killer” in the turnover and tumult at the agency.

“Plus, I’d have Vinay Prasad bitching at me or about me non-stop,” said the employee, who asked for anonymity to protect their job.

After Tidmarsh’s departure, several longtime employees said they were not interested in the position, and Sara Brenner, principal deputy commissioner at the FDA, sent an email on Friday to some CDER employees asking whether any of them wanted to apply.

“The whole process of appointments at FDA in the current administration has been an enormous departure from accepted practices,” Lurie said. “The degree of upheaval at the agency is really difficult to overestimate and leaves people in the agency disconcerted. . . .”

There is a core belief in the industry — and among the public — that FDA review is valuable in order to maintain trust and safety. “Predictability from day to day is really what they want, and otherwise, everything is in upheaval,” Lurie said.

The FDA has developed careful and relatively uncontroversial processes over the decades for evaluating drugs, biologics and medical devices.

“But now, everything is up for grabs,” Lurie said. “Suddenly, we have people who can get their drug reviewed in a one-day meeting….”

Chaos is… as chaos… does. There is zero chance that this nonsense will ever be good for US leadership, in the pharma-, biotech and life sciences sectors. None. Damn.

नमस्ते

Malaysia Now Reports Four Mpox Cases, All In A Family With Recent Contact With Someone Returning From West Africa…

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The local public health authorities are handling it prudently, with an enforced quarantine for all close contacts. But once again, this is a story of failure by Trump’s sidelining… of USAID.

Here is the latest — from that island nation:

…The Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed a new mpox cluster affecting four family members, with the index case identified as a non-citizen man with a recent travel history to West Africa.

In a statement today, the MOH said that the patient first developed symptoms on Oct 20 and tested positive for mpox (Clade II) on Nov 12, while three of his family members developed symptoms on Oct 30 and were confirmed positive for Clade II mpox on Nov 13.

“All cases are in stable condition and undergoing home isolation. All close contacts have been identified, screened, and instructed to undergo quarantine….

Onward, into Sunday’s sunshine, now… smiling.

नमस्ते

Second Sentinel 6-B Launch Logistics — For Late Tonight — And, A Link To A Live Feed…

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Monitoring sea levels, using this French constructed small orbiting craft — one of a pair, that will now be watching from above in low Earth orbit… is vital (despite the claims of the luddites/MAGA crowd — and their endlessly-unscientific poppycock, all designed to keep fossil fuel harvesting out of international regulators’ ways) — for all of humanity.

We may be otherwise disposed tomorrow night, but you may also catch a live-cast of the launch at this NASA link, Sunday night into the wee hours of Monday morning (depending on where in the US you tune in from):

…NASA will provide live coverage of prelaunch and launch activities for Sentinel-6B, an international mission delivering critical sea level and ocean data to protect coastal infrastructure, improve weather forecasting, and support commercial activities at sea [Ed. Note: this political rewrite of the mission objectives… is a direct by-product of Trumpism — the mission will support global climate change monitoring efforts, and provide objective data — obviously].

Launch is targeted at 12:21 a.m. EST, Monday, Nov. 17 (9:21 p.m. PST, Sunday, Nov. 16) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California….

Now you know (and lower image is from the July ESA launch success) — much busy-ness ahead, starting about midday Monday… smile.

नमस्ते

[U: Riot Platforms Now Down ~50%!] Welp. The “Risk On” Trades… Are Now November’s “Risk Off” Put Positions. Hilarious. Riot Down 43% — Since 10.27.25!

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The carnage continues.

Updated | 11.14.25: Bitcoin is firmly below the bellwether $100K spot price mark, today — trading in late afternoon Friday US time, at about $94,200 $95,000 $98,500. That, plus the widespread belief on Wall Street that there may be no more rate cuts in 2025, and maybe not even in Q1 of 2026. . . has sucked the life out of the End-of-Shutdown euphoria, here in the US.

So Riot is seeing a double whammy — with this looking like a new “Ice Age” for those trying to pivot out of one losing biz (Bitcoin mining) into another (AI data centers, now looking saturated — as contract service providers are literally… everywhere).

Here is CoinDesk’s Saturday night story on the now-arriving Ice Age:

…Crypto market sentiment has deteriorated sharply, with the Fear & Greed Index dropping to 10, a level indicating “extreme fear,” marking a near nine-month low as it’s the lowest reading since late February.

The plunge in sentiment follows a week of losses across major cryptocurrencies, led by bitcoin’s decline to just under $96,000 in a major sell-off that, for the second time this month, saw the cryptocurrency drop below the $100,000 mark….

Yikes. Now you know. Hilarious. Out.

नमस्ते

Latest “Federal NYC Resistance” Update: The Rule Of Law… Returning | Individualized Due Process Hearings, Before Additional ICE Detention, Sez USDC Judge Torres.

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Thanks go out to InnerCityPress [with a sincere hat tip], we see that the able USDC Judge Analisa Torres at Foley Square has ordered an immediate release.

Per ICP: “…A man from Guatemala who was detained by ICE outside his home in Queens on November 4 and has been detained at Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey since has been ordered released by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Analisa Torres. The November 14 NYSD decision has already been cited in other pending habeas proceedings….”

Here is what led to this. [And as soon as her written order is on the record, we will link it here.]

…The Court has reviewed Petitioner’s application for a writ of habeas corpus. See ECF No. 1.

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2243, the Court ORDERS as follows:

1. By November 7, 2025, Petitioner shall cause a copy of this Order, the Court’s prior order administratively staying Petitioner’s transfer or removal at ECF No. 2, and Petitioner’s application for relief (including any supporting materials) to be served on Respondents;

2. By November 7, 2025, Petitioner shall file proof of service on the docket; and

3. By November 11, 2025, Respondents are ORDERED to show cause why the writ should not be granted.

SO ORDERED….

Sanity is indeed… making a comeback. Onward, resolutely.

नमस्ते

Breaking | A New Marburg Outbreak — In Ethiopia: Nine People Stricken… USAID, MIA.

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With USAID sidelined [by Tangerine 2.0’s fecklessness], this is pretty darn bad news.

While a promising vaccine candidate may soon be tested there, there is no approved mRNA vaccine for Marburg, at present. At least nine cases of the rare viral hemorrhagic fever have been confirmed, the WHO public health officials said — on Friday.

Ethiopia had avoided major outbreaks of both Ebola and Mpox, for almost a decade — but now this lethal “cousin to Ebola” is rumbling through the country. [It was last seen in Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya just over a year ago.] Here’s the Wa Po on it all:

…At least nine people in southern Ethiopia have been infected with the deadly Marburg virus, a clinically similar cousin to Ebola, in the East African country’s first outbreak of the highly contagious disease, the World Health Organization said Friday. Ethiopia’s health ministry also confirmed the outbreak….

The WHO “is actively supporting Ethiopia to contain the outbreak and treat infected people, and supporting all efforts to address the potential of cross-border spread,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO….

Onward. Very warm here — with two trips in the next two weeks; one westward to the mountains…. then everyone here for Thanksgiving — and then the following week, one to middle Tennessee — for more federal court Abrego hearings, and a local Nutcracker ballet performance. [Will compare to Avy’s — my sweet grand-niece’s version — which is the skaters’ version — “on ice” — this year, here! Hah!]

नमस्ते