In the ever-evolving landscape of intellectual property law, a new federal bill has emerged to address the unique challenges faced by golf course designers and architects.
The Bolstering Intellectual Rights against...more
3/15/2024
/ Architects ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Authorship ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Ownership ,
Design Patent ,
Golf Courses ,
Infringement ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
The Copyright Act
A new federal bill aims to put golf courses on “par” with other architectural designs by expanding federal copyright protection to golf courses. Copyright law in the United States, rooted in the U.S. Constitution, ensures...more
3/5/2024
/ Architects ,
Authorship ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Ownership ,
Design Patent ,
Golf Courses ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
New Legislation ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
The Copyright Act
The Supreme Court unanimously sided with Jack Daniel’s in the much-anticipated trademark case pitting trademark protection against parodic products. However, SCOTUS did not reach a final conclusion on whether VIP Products’...more
6/9/2023
/ Cease and Desist ,
Dilution ,
First Amendment ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Jack Daniels Properties Inc v VIP Products LLC ,
Lanham Act ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Parody ,
Rogers Test ,
SCOTUS ,
Trade Dress ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks
Last month the Federal Circuit affirmed a PTAB inter partes review (IPR) decision finding that the University of Minnesota’s patent claim directed to the anti-cancer drug sofosbuvir was not adequately supported by the written...more
4/20/2023
/ Claim Construction ,
Disclosure ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Inventors ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Prior Art ,
Section 112 ,
Written Descriptions
The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Minerva Surgical, Inc. v. Hologic, Inc. provides a timeline reminder to inventors and patent applicants: Do not bring your invention into public view before you have filed your patent...more
Contrary to some predictions, assignor estoppel did not suffer the same fate in the hands of the Supreme Court as licensee estoppel in Lear v. Adkins. In fact, the doctrine, which essentially boils down to limiting an...more
As we near the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, trademark maintenance deadlines in 2021 create new obstacles for registrants.
To maintain a federal trademark registration, registrants must periodically file an...more
2/24/2021
/ Business Interruption ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Filing Requirements ,
Non-Use of Trademarks ,
Section 8 ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Ownership ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
Despite the black humor that March 2020 has never actually ended, time does keep marching on and presenting new challenges. As we near the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, trademark maintenance deadlines in 2021 create...more
2/5/2021
/ Business Interruption ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Filing Requirements ,
Non-Use of Trademarks ,
Section 8 ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Ownership ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
As if retailers did not have enough worries during the coronavirus pandemic already, the threat of counterfeit goods produced by (often Chinese) manufacturers appears to be on the rise again. Unfortunately, counterfeit goods...more
The CARES Act enacted last week authorized the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the United States Copyright Office (USCO) to extend deadlines for pending matters for applicant delays due to the effects of...more
Patent and trademark offices around the world have not been insulated from the effects of the global coronavirus pandemic. Many offices have directed their employees to transition to telework, and several have extended...more
3/23/2020
/ Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Filing Requirements ,
France ,
Germany ,
India ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Office Closures ,
Patent Applications ,
Patents ,
Relief Measures ,
State of Emergency ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademarks ,
UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO) ,
USPTO
The Supreme Court reminded bankrupt debtors on Monday that mere rejection of a contract does not turn back the clock to avoid contractual obligations. This was the thrust of its holding in Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v....more
6/7/2019
/ Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP) ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Breach of Contract ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Debtors ,
Exclusions ,
Executory Contracts ,
IP License ,
Mission Product Holdings Inc v Tempnology LLC ,
Rescission ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 365 ,
Split of Authority ,
Trademark Licenses ,
Trademarks ,
Trustees
On a busy Monday for copyright law that saw everything from the return of RBG to discursions about hot dogs at sporting events, the Supreme Court issued two unanimous opinions concerning requirements for filing copyright...more
3/8/2019
/ Appeals ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Registration ,
Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp v Wall-Street.com LLC ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
SCOTUS ,
Solicitor General ,
Split of Authority ,
The Copyright Act ,
Uniformity
In Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., the Supreme Court held on Tuesday that “private” or “confidential sales” are still prior art despite the amendments to U.S. patent law enacted by the America...more
1/24/2019
/ America Invents Act ,
Appeals ,
Assignment of Inventions ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Helsinn Healthcare SA v Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc ,
Inventions ,
On-Sale Bar ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Public Use ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 102 ,
Third-Party Relationships
The alcohol industry has seen a veritable explosion in trademark filings from craft and independent brewers, distillers and wineries. This upsurge means trademarks are coming into conflict more and more often in the...more
12/14/2018
/ Appeals ,
Beer ,
Beverage Manufacturers ,
Breweries ,
Bright-Line Rule ,
Distilleries ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retailers ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Wine & Alcohol ,
Wineries
The recent Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd. case brought to light a little-known quirk in how national stage patent applications affect the length of one’s patent term. That case involved a drug company losing five days of...more
5/17/2018
/ America Invents Act ,
Claim Construction ,
Fees ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Cooperation Treaty ,
Patent Examinations ,
Patent Filings ,
Patent Reform ,
Patent Terms ,
Patents ,
PLTIA ,
Strategic Planning ,
USPTO
Recent court decisions have confirmed that inventors run the risk of destroying their patent rights in the U.S. and abroad if they publicize their inventions or put them “on sale” before applying for a patent....more
Patent owners and employers: Pay attention to the words in assignment and employment agreements that transfer patent ownership to you. A recent Federal Circuit case once again emphasizes the need to use particular language to...more
1/25/2018
/ Appeals ,
Blackberry ,
Employee Inventors ,
Employment Contract ,
HTC ,
IP Assignment Agreements ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Ownership ,
Patents ,
Technology Sector
A unanimous Supreme Court held in Samsung Electronics Co. v. Apple Inc. that Section 289 of the Patent Act does not demand that the entire, infringing end-user product be the basis for determining damages for design patent...more
12/10/2016
/ Apple v Samsung ,
Article of Manufacture ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Cell Phones ,
Component Parts Doctrine ,
Damages ,
Design Patent ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Profits ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Smartphones
Recent years have seen a wave of efforts to control frivolous patent-infringement lawsuits perpetrated by so-called patent trolls. These started with the America Invents Act of 2011 and have been followed by the Patent Law...more
Adverse findings in trademark registration opposition and cancellation proceedings in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) may come back to bite the parties to these relatively inexpensive administrative...more
I’m sure Newbridge, Ireland, is a lovely place, but most Americans haven’t heard of it. That was the spirit of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s decision in In re Newbridge Cutlery Co., involving the trademark...more
The Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) of the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) published today the much anticipated final omnibus rule implementing the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health...more
1/28/2013
/ Business Associates ,
Compliance ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Enforcement ,
Fundraisers ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Omnibus Rule ,
HITECH Act ,
Marketing ,
Notice Requirements ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Privacy Rule
After a long delay, the United States will soon implement two multilateral treaties that will assist U.S. applicants in securing design and utility patents in foreign countries. The Hague System Agreement will allow design...more