CERAMTEC GMBH v. COORSTEK BIOCERAMICS LLC - Before Lourie, Taranto, and Stark. Appeal from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. A utility patent may still be considered strong...more
This case examines the application of trademark functionality doctrine in the medical device industry, specifically addressing whether the pink color of ceramic hip components can be protected as a trademark. The case...more
Understanding how hardware and firmware/software work together to perform desired functions or tasks is an important enabler to unlocking the value of intellectual properties in the systems (including embedded systems) area....more
Thank you for reading the May 2023 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss Taco Bell's attempt to cancel two TACO TUESDAY trademark registrations, and a precedential TTAB decision...more
There are many misconceptions or ‘myths’ about patents that have found their way into popular discourse, ranging from what type of innovations are patentable, to how important it is to own and protect your intellectual...more
Non-Disclosure Agreement Controls Ownership of Patents Arising From Confidential Information Received Thereunder - In Sionyx LLC v. Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Appeal No. 19-2359, the Federal Circuit held that a party who...more
For emerging companies, a patent application should combine legal skill with technical and business knowledge to produce a document that will serve as a foundation to the company’s valuation and future profitability....more
In Ezaki Glico Kabushiki Kaisha v. Lotte International America Corp., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit considered a trade dress infringement dispute between two confectioners. Ezaki Glico (“Ezaki”), a Japanese...more
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board recently designated as informative its decision instituting post-grant review and addressing the issues of design patent functionality in Sattler Tech Corp. v. Humancentric Ventures, LLC. ...more
On June 12, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit decided Bodum USA, Inc. v. A Top New Casting Inc., No. 18-3030, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 17555 (7th Cir. June 12, 2019). The case, led by Vedder Price...more
On Wednesday, the Federal Circuit, in a per curiam order, denied SHzoom's motion to make the Trading Technologies opinion precedential. The order of course gave no reasons for the decision. Nonetheless, the underlying...more
In 2003 the U.S. Supreme Court in Dastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. emphasized that “[t]he rights of a patentee or copyright holder are part of a ‘carefully crafted bargain,’… under which, once the patent or...more
In a decision authored by Chief Judge Sharon Prost, the Federal Circuit held that while design patents covering product configurations – that is, “a product feature or a combination or arrangement of features” – can protect...more
It has long been possible to use both trade dress and design patent rights to protect three-dimensional designs that function as trademarks. One strategy has been to rely on design patent protection while a three-dimensional...more