In This Issue -
Transformative Fair Use: Does Andy Warhol Qualify?
On March 28, 2022, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith, a case concerning whether Andy Warhol’s use of Lynn...more
8/9/2022
/ Abandonment ,
Appeals ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Fair Use ,
Misappropriation ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
SCOTUS ,
The Copyright Act ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Expiration ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Transformative Use
For more than a decade, this blog has covered the topic of patentable subject matter. Over the years, we’ve addressed various issues regarding business methods, abstract ideas and other various topics. The “laws of nature”...more
On October 23, 2020, a Federal Circuit panel issued a unanimous decision in American Axle & Manufacturing v. Neapco Holdings—a case we’ve discussed on this blog several times before—in which the panel denied American Axle’s...more
In This Issue -
How COVID-19 is Changing IP Law – What You Need to Know
The rapid spread of COVID-19 brought about massive global events that led to a dizzying array of changes—including in intellectual property law,...more
I was reminded of this question, often posed by my dad to remind me not to become a slave to statistics, by two dramatic things that happened last week. On the one hand, at the IAM 2017 Patent Law and Policy conference in...more
A Smooth Patch in a Rough Road? Governmental Transition and Intellectual Property -
Whenever a new Congress convenes, some IP issues come to the fore while others take a back seat. Transition to a new administration in the...more
2/10/2017
/ Administrative Appointments ,
America Invents Act ,
Appeals ,
Article III ,
Barack Obama ,
Cheerleaders ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Office ,
Data Breach ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Disparagement ,
DMCA ,
Exclusive Licenses ,
Fashion Design ,
FDCPA ,
File Sharing ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Google ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
IP License ,
Lanham Act ,
Lee v Tam ,
Lenz v Universal Music Corp. ,
Misappropriation ,
Non-Appealable Decisions ,
Non-Practicing Entities ,
Online Videos ,
Oracle ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 337 ,
Software Developers ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing ,
Star Athletica v Varsity Brands ,
Takedown Notices ,
Tariff Act of 1930 ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
Trans-Pacific Partnership ,
Trump Administration ,
Uniforms ,
USPTO ,
YouTube
On September 4, a Massachusetts district court issued an interesting ruling that calls into question many of the recent preliminary stage Alice-based invalidations we’ve seen over the past year. The decision, the latest...more
There has been significant commentary, both before and after the Supreme Court’s decision in Alice, that the various judicially created exceptions to patentability under 35 USC § 101 are not only sound, but are also...more
In my previous post, I provided an explanation of Abstract Ideas under Alice, emphasizing that to be an ineligible abstract idea, a claim must recite a fundamental building block of human ingenuity. How then does an examiner...more
On June 25, 2014, just six days after the Supreme Court decided Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int’l, 134 S. Ct. 2347 (2014), the USPTO issued its Preliminary Examination Instructions (“Guidance”) in view of the case. ...more
A recent episode of NPR’s “Planet Money” was entitled “The Case Against Patents.” Several notable commentators in that episode questioned whether patents help or hinder innovation, whether history supports the benefits of a...more
On the final day of its 2013 term, the Supreme Court issued some interesting orders in Section 101 cases dealing with computer-implemented business methods.
First, in WildTangent, Inc. v. Ultramercial, LLC (13-255),...more
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court held that patent claims directed to abstract ideas do not become patent eligible by the “mere recitation” of generic computer elements. Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int’l, No....more
6/23/2014
/ Alice Corporation ,
CLS Bank ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Mayo v. Prometheus ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Popular ,
Risk Mitigation ,
SCOTUS ,
Software ,
USPTO
Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank is out and the result is not unexpected:
1) Alice's patents for computer-implemented methods and systems for financial risk intermediation are invalid.
2) The patents claim abstract idea,...more
The America Invents Act (AIA) came into law back in September 2011, but it was not until last March that its provisions were completely phased in. The changes last year included not only the switch from a “first-to-invent” to...more
2/25/2014
/ America Invents Act ,
Beastie Boys ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Copyright ,
Covered Business Method Patents ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Fair Use ,
First-to-File ,
First-to-Invent ,
GoldieBlox ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Irreparable Harm ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Patents ,
Post-Grant Review ,
SCOTUS ,
STEM ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Litigation
Patent holders, inventors, and even the courts have recently struggled with the limits of what can be patented. The patentability of software, widely accepted for decades, has lately been questioned. The scope of...more