Patent Dual-application Strategy in China
Patent Right Evaluation Report in China’s Patent System
What You Should Know About Seeking Patent Protection in Vietnam
Utility Model Patents in Southeast Asia: What You Need to Know
Law Brief®: Mark Rosenberg and Richard Schoenstein Discuss Recent Experiences With Amazon Neutral Patent Evaluations
Intellectual Property Portfolio Development for BioTech Startups in the Plant Space [Webinar]
What Is a Patent and How Do I Get One
Are useful to protect the design of nearly every type of product from smartphones to the retail stores that sell them; from pharmaceuticals to medical devices; and from running shoes to construction equipment....more
Patent applicants often file provisional applications at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to secure a priority date before filing a full-blown utility patent application for their inventions. ...more
Growing up, my mom had a rule: you have to make your own Halloween costume from whatever we had at home. This worked fine until the year I wanted to be He-Man....more
In a Federal Register Notice published October 27, 2025 (“Notice”), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced a new pilot program called the “Streamlined Claim Set Pilot Program” (hereinafter “Pilot Program”)....more
In 1999, Congress created a system of patent term adjustment (PTA) that adds additional time to patent terms to remedy certain delays caused by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in issuing a patent. Why Review...more
Intellectual property (IP) strategy in the life sciences evolves as rapidly as the scientific breakthroughs driving the industry. Since the America Invents Act reshaped the U.S. patent system more than a decade ago, courts...more
World Space Week, held each year from October 4–10, is the largest global celebration of space science and technology. Established by the United Nations in 1999, it highlights how space exploration contributes to the...more
Kilpatrick’s Megan Bussey, Justin Eurek, and Calla Yee recently led a session at the 21st annual KTIPS (Kilpatrick Townsend Intellectual Property Seminar) on “Trademark and Patent Rights: Better Together—How to Strengthen...more
On June 10, 2025, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that, after nearly 20 years, it will be discontinuing its Accelerated Examination Program for utility applications on July 10, 2025. The...more
Last week, in EcoFactor, Inc. v. Google LLC, the Federal Circuit issued its first en banc decision in a utility patent case in several years. The case involves the gatekeeping function of district courts vis-à-vis expert...more
Utility patent protection is typically the first thing that comes to mind for protecting a product; however, such protection may not be available when the product has been on the market a long time or is dominated by...more
Like many patent owners or aspiring patent owners, at some point you may have found yourself in a situation where design protection was needed, but all you had was narrow utility protection. ...more
Inter partes activity involving design patents at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) was relatively low in 2024. The PTAB rendered just two inter partes decisions involving design patents: Next Step Group, Inc. v....more
As a general rule, in order to be protectable trade dress, a feature of a product, for example, the product's color, must be nonfunctional. That is, the feature must have been an arbitrary choice added to identify the source...more
As 2024 draws to a close, several crucial developments — some aimed at modernizing long-standing legal practices, others addressing emerging challenges — have reached patent law. Originally published in Law360 - December...more
On November 20, 2024, the USPTO published its Final Rule regarding fee changes to take effect on January 19, 2025 in the Federal Register....more
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is fueling a surge in global patent filings for AI-related innovations, but differences in national patent laws and examination standards for such inventions...more
While obtaining a design patent is often quicker than obtaining a utility patent, current design patent application pendency is often still a lengthy period of time. Based on data released by the USPTO in July 2024 and shown...more
In the United States, the intellectual property rights system for plants is multifaceted, encompassing utility patents, plant patents, trademarks, and Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Certificates. These mechanisms offer...more
The Unified Patent Court (UPC) is revolutionizing the way patents are enforced in Europe, and McDermott’s intellectual property team is here to help you navigate this dynamic landscape. Our Legal Lens on the Unified Patent...more
In a recent en banc decision, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has overruled its prior test for nonobviousness of design patent inventions, holding that design patents are subject to the same test as utility patents. LKQ...more
Ten Section 337 Investigations were terminated in the first half of 2024. Of those ten investigations, two involved design patents. Although those investigations ended with the Commission issuing no remedial orders (including...more
On April 3, 2024, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a notice of rulemaking setting out the fees that it proposes for the fiscal year starting on September 29, 2024. Although the proposed fees are...more
Need another reason to secure and enforce design patents? Design patents offer a unique additional remedy in district court litigation: profit disgorgement. While design patent owners may still pursue the traditional remedies...more
On May 21, 2024, the Federal Circuit upended decades of precedent regarding design patents in its decision LKQ Corporation v. GM Global Technology Operations LLC. Sitting en banc, a panel of Federal Circuit judges overturned...more