As a startup, one of the most exciting moments in your company’s growth is receiving a proposal from a large strategic or market player who wants to engage in a technical interchange in support of a potential business...more
In 2018, when the Farm Bill was signed into law, hemp cultivators and extract producers were hopeful that the federal pressure on their industry might begin to ease. The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp from the Controlled...more
6/25/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Dietary Supplements ,
Farm Bill ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Hemp ,
Medical Foods ,
Plant Based Products ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
In an effort to help bring potentially life-saving COVID-19 treatments more quickly to market, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced yesterday that it will accept petitions to advance the initial...more
What do you do when a key employee leaves and you believe he/she has taken your company’s trade secrets to a competitor? Or when a strategic business partner uses your trade secret information to compete against you?...more
1/15/2020
/ Business Assets ,
Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Contract Terms ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Employee Monitoring ,
Employment Contract ,
Former Employee ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misappropriation ,
Risk Management ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Trade Secrets
A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday, December 18, 2019 could significantly affect strategies for patent ownership in the United States. The Inventors Rights Act (H.R. 5478), which is sponsored by...more
12/19/2019
/ Innovation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inventions ,
Inventors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Ownership ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda
United Cannabis (UCANN) holds U.S. Patent No. 9,730,911 that covers a cannabinoid-based medical product formula invented by Tony Verzura and Earnie Blackmon. The patent issued August 15, 2017. UCANN filed suit against Pure...more
The continuing internal tension between various agencies and offices of the U.S. federal government over how to address the (seemingly) unstoppable growth of the marijuana industry in light of current federal law has been a...more
6/10/2019
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Farm Bill ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Hemp ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Trademark Act ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
In the latest edition of The Fine Print we highlight our Melbourne attorneys in addition to articles covering intellectual property due diligence, protecting your personal information in light of the Starwood/Marriott data...more
1/31/2019
/ Australia ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
Due Diligence ,
Hackers ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Marriott ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Supply Chain ,
Trade Secrets
Intellectual Property (IP) assets play an increasingly significant role in corporate transactions — small and large — and the importance of involving IP counsel, particularly on the buyer’s deal team, cannot be overstated....more
In August 2017, Disney and three of its software developer vendors were sued in a class action in California in which it was alleged that Disney collected children’s information in violation of the Children's Online Privacy...more
11/3/2017
/ Children's Products ,
Children's Toys ,
Connected Items ,
COPPA ,
Data Collection ,
Disney ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Information Technology ,
Internet of Things ,
Mobile Apps ,
Mobile Device Management ,
Mobile Devices ,
Online Safety for Children ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Settlement ,
Smart Devices ,
Website Owner Liability
A new federal law, the Defense of Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), was signed into law on May 11, 2016 by president Obama becoming Public Law No. 114-153. The new law is authorized by the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution...more
Many trademark owners choose to file and prosecute their own trademark applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The wisdom of filing these pro-se applications, however, is questionable in...more