Patent Law

The Third Meeting of the IP5 Heads of Office Recently Held

Posted on April 21, 2010
On April 15 and 16, 2010, the IP5 met to discuss a series of Foundation Projects geared toward creating a work-sharing environment and improvements to expedite the IP prosecution process. The IP5 is comprised of five patent offices, including the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the European Patent Office (EPO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), and the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO)...

Recent Updates at the CIPO

Posted on April 20, 2010
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office has recently announced a series of updates for visitors and users of its Web site:1. The Trade-marks Opposition Board (TMOB) has a new "Decisions" page that provides hyperlinks to final decisions reached in section 45 proceedings along with a new schedule of upcoming hearings (available HERE)...

EPO Provides Summary of Recent Rule Changes

Posted on April 16, 2010
On April 1, 2010, a series of patent practice changes at the European Patent Office (EPO) took effect, including new search and examination rules, as well as new timelines for filing divisional applications. As noted in a recent summary announcement (available HERE), the EPO notes that the changes "relate to the filing of divisional applications, pre-search communication between examiner and applicant, obligatory response to the search opinion prior to entry into substantive examination, a requirement for applicants to identify and indicate the basis for amendments and a clearer restriction of examination only to the subject matter searched...

WIPO to Provide New TV Show Format Dispute Resolution Services

Posted on April 14, 2010
On April 7, 2010, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced that its Arbitration and Mediation Center and the Format Recognition and Protection Association (FRAPA) will be combining their efforts to provide "alternative dispute resolution services to address problems of format plagiarism or the unauthorized copying of television (TV) formats, such as those used for game, reality or talent shows and sitcoms...

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USPTO Offers Guidance to First-Time Trademark Filers

Posted on April 13, 2010
The USPTO recently announced that it has initiated the Trademark Information Network (TMIN) to provide information to first-time trademark applicants. The TMIN (USPTO Web site link HERE), currently offers the first of a series of videos relating to trademarks (called "Newsflash: Before You File"), as well as a timeline of trademark processing activities, a transcript of the video, and a list of topics from the video itself...

USPTO Launches Ombudsman Pilot Program

Posted on April 09, 2010
On Tuesday, April 6, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it has launched a new Ombudsman Program "designed to provide patent applicants with more assistance in handling application-processing problems if the normal channels have not been successful...

Is Facebook Facing a Renewed Patent Challenge?

Posted on April 08, 2010
In a recent Law.com article (link HERE), Facebook, Inc. was identified as again being a potential active defendant in an infringement lawsuit initiated by Cross Atlantic Capital Partners (XACP), who claims to own the rights to a patent for an Internet-based "community for users with common interests to interact in" invented a decade ago...

USPTO Proposes 12 Month Extension to Provisional Patent Application Period

Posted on April 06, 2010
On Friday, April 2nd, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it is seeking public comment on its proposal that would effectively provide a 12 month extension period to the current 12 month provisional patent application period...

Butler v. Duke - The Finals are Here!

Posted on April 05, 2010
Tens of millions of people will be tuning in this evening to watch the NCAA basketball finals, being held here in Indianapolis, Indiana. Recognizing how this sport has changed history, I wanted to share a few basketball related patents with you. Enjoy!U...

WIPO Reports Increase in Cybersquatting Disputes

Posted on March 30, 2010
On March 23, 2010 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced that more cybersquatting complaints were filed under procedures of the Uniform Domain Name Resolution Policy (UDRP) in 2009 than ever before. This WIPO article (link HERE) references an overall decrease in the UDRP caseload of about 10% from 2008, but that the 2009 caseload covered the highest number of individual domain names in a year (4,688) since the launch of the UDRP in December 1998...

The Trademark Technical and Conforming Amendment Act of 2010 is Now in Effect

Posted on March 26, 2010
As highlighted with a recent U.S. Patent and Trademark Office notice (available HERE), the Trademark Technical and Conforming Amendment Act of 2010 (Pub. Law No. 111-146, 124 Stat. 66 (2010)) became effective on March 17, 2010. As referenced in the notice, significant changes were made to Sections 8 and 71 of the Lanham Act (15 U...

East Meets West 2010

Posted on March 23, 2010
The European Patent Office (EPO) recently announced additional details regarding its East Meets West 2010 forum to be held from April 21-23, 2010 in Vienna, Austria. As noted by the EPO (main forum webpage HERE), "Japan, China, and Korea are all among the five top patenting nations in the world, making Asia one of today's important innovation hubs," and "[f]or patent searchers worldwide accessing and understanding patent information from Asia has become a must...

Madrid System Trademark Filing Statistics Recently Published by WIPO

Posted on March 22, 2010
On Friday, March 18, 2010, the World Intellectual Property Organization published statistics comparing 2009 trademark filings under WIPO?s Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks ("Madrid") to filings made in 2008. In total, and as noted in the WIPO article available HERE, Madrid filings decreased 16% in 2009, with several countries reporting double-digit decreases...

USPTO to Host Independent Inventors Roundtable

Posted on March 18, 2010
On Monday, March 29, 2010, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will be hosting a roundtable for independent and small entity inventors at the USPTO campus in Alexandria, VA. This roundtable, hosted by USPTO Director David Kappos, will "address current issues of concern to the independent and small entity inventor community including patent reform legislation" according to the USPTO announcement (link HERE) on the USPTO Independent Inventors webpage (available HERE)...

CIPO Extension of Time Practice Notices are Now in Effect

Posted on March 17, 2010
On March 11, 2010, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) announced that its practice notices regarding extensions of time for trade-marks and industrial designs have taken effect. The trade-marks notice (available HERE) and the industrial design notice (available HERE) ere open for consultation throughout October 2009, which, according to the CIPO announcement (available HERE), are to "provide guidance on the practice of granting an extension of time to an applicant to file a response to an Examiner's report...

WIPO Announces 23rd Trademark Standing Committee Session

Posted on March 16, 2010
On April 19-22, 2010, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will be hosting its Twenty-Third Session of the "Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs, and Geographical Indications" in Geneva, Switzerland. This meeting (WIPO meeting link HERE), will cover several topics, including "Grounds for Refusal of All Types of Marks," "Technical and Procedural Aspects Relating to the Registration of Certification and Collective Marks," "Draft Questionnaire Concerning the Protection of Names of States Against Registration and Use as Trademarks," and "Possible Areas of Convergence in Industrial Design Law and Practice," with materials currently available in PDF format for each topic on the WIPO link above...

USPTO and UKIPO Address Patent Application Backlogs

Posted on March 15, 2010
On Wednesday, March 10, 2010, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO and the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) announced a joint action plan to reduce overall patent application processing backlogs in both patent offices. As noted in the USPTO announcement (link HERE), "[p]atent backlogs hinder the deployment of innovation and have clear adverse effects on the global economy," and according to a by London Economics released on behalf of the UKIPO, which is one of the first studies attempting to quantify the economic impact of patent backlogs, "the cost to the global economy of the delay in processing patent applications may be as much as £7...

Punishment for Web Piracy Crimes in Russia May Become Tougher

Posted on March 12, 2010
In a recent article in The Moscow Times (available HERE), Russian authorities are seeking to punish internet providers in connection with illegal downloading of content by their customers. As noted within the Article, "[a]nti-piracy changes to the Civil Code, prepared by Sistema Mass-Media, will be considered on Friday by a board including representatives from the Culture, Press and Communications, Interior and Economic Development ministries," noting that "internet providers cannot currently be held accountable for pirate traffic, but with the proposed changes they could be targeted under the Administrative, Civil and Criminal codes...

BPAI Holding Annual Board Conference - April 7, 2010

Posted on March 11, 2010
The USPTO recently announced that Chief Judge Michael R. Fleming and the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) will be hosting its ?First Annual Board Conference? on Wednesday, April 7, 2010, at the USPTO?s Madison Auditorium. Several speakers are scheduled to present at this conference (PDF flyer available HERE, including Paul R...

Well, I Thought She Would

Posted on March 09, 2010
Back on February 17, 2010, I posted an article on the DDIP blog (link HERE) providing details as to the Federal trademark applications filed by Nicole Polizzi (SNOOKI), Naughty Limited (THE SITUATION), and Paul Delvecchio, Jr. (DJ PAULY D), all of "Jersey Shore" fame, noting that as of that date, no trademark application filed by Jenni Farley ("Jwoww") was publicly available for inspection...

Albania Accedes to the EPC

Posted on March 08, 2010
On Wednesday, March 3, 2010, the European Patent Office (EPO) announced that the Government of the Republic of Albania had deposited its instrument of accession to the European Patent Convention (EPC) on February 11, 2010, so that as of May 1, 2010, the EPC will enter into force for Albania...

Issue 1/2010 of WIPO Magazine Now Available

Posted on March 04, 2010
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has recently published its 1/2010 (February) issue of WIPO Magazine on its website. Issue 1/2010 (webpage link HERE) is available as a complete download (in .pdf format HERE), as well as by individual article, focusing on the costs of IP litigation...

Facebook Awarded Patent for "News Feed" Technology

Posted on March 03, 2010
By Alison Plavin and Mark ReichelOn Tuesday, February 23, 2010, Facebook, Inc. was awarded a patent entitled "Dynamically providing a news feed about a user of a social network." This patent (U.S. Patent No. 7,669,123, available HERE), according to a recent PC Magazine article (available HERE), covers a technology first launched by Facebook in 2006 as the "news feed," which lets a Facebook member keep track of his or her friends' on-site activity, such as by joining a group or writing on another's "wall...

EPO Official Journal for February 2010 Now Available

Posted on March 02, 2010
On Friday, February 26, 2010, the European Patent Office (EPO) announced the availability of its February 2010 Official Journal. The February 2010 Journal (link HERE) includes several individual reference PDF files including a Contents document (available HERE with embedded hyperlinks), as well as the reference documents themselves, which include information in connection with online filing, 2010 EPO holidays, Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Programs with the USPTO, the Japan Patent Office, and between the Trilateral Offices...

EPO Announces "Patent Statistics for Decision Makers 2010" Conference

Posted on February 26, 2010
On Wednesday, February 24, 2010, the European Patent Office (EPO) announced that it has organized a "Patent Statistics for Decision Makers 2010" conference with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. This conference, to be held from November 17-18, 2010 in Vienna, Austria, has a noted goal "to discuss advances in the analysis of patent information in the context of the current economic landscape, and in light of changes within the patent system and its use by applicants," aiming to bring together "the latest thinking on issues relevant to companies and policy-makers," including patent quality, patent valuation, R&D investment decisions, functions of the international patent system, and patent fee review, to name a few...

USPTO Launches "Inventors Eye"

Posted on February 25, 2010
The USPTO has recently launched "Inventors Eye," a bimonthly publication providing information to the independent inventor community. The first issue, available HERE, includes several articles of interest, including "Patent Reform: Good for Independent Inventors and Small Businesses," which is an open letter from USPTO David Kappos, and an article from Ronald Jacks of the Office of the Solicitor entitled "Protect Your Innovation: Avoid Scams...

USPTO Announces Trademark Feedback Mailbox

Posted on February 24, 2010
On February 18, 2010, the USPTO announced that it has introduced a new "Trademark Feedback mailbox" so that the public can directly contact the USPTO "with complaints, compliments, or other feedback" in connection with trademark operations. According to the press release (available HERE), "[s]uch an e-mail does not constitute an official filing in connection with trademark applications or registrations, and will not become part of the official record," and that sending an e-mail to the trademark feedback address "does not provide a basis to request suspension of an application or appeal and will not stay the period for replying to an Office action, filing a notice of appeal, or submitting any other filing that is due to the USPTO...

Selected WIPO Resources You May Not Be Aware Of

Posted on February 23, 2010
While reviewing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) website for updated content, I came across a few resources that may be of help to you now or in the future.1. Directory of Intellectual Property Offices (available HERE): WIPO has provided an alphabetical listing of national intellectual property offices across the globe, with detailed contact information and direct website links to each office...

USPTO Revised Count System Takes Effect

Posted on February 22, 2010
The USPTO announced on Thursday, February 18, 2010, that its planned examiner count system revisions announced September 30, 2009, have taken effect. According to the USPTO Press Release (available HERE), "[t]he count system is the methodology for determining the amount of time in which a patent examiner is expected to complete a patent examination and the credit that is given for each stage of an examination," and that "[t]hese changes, announced in conjunction with the Patent Office Professional Association (POPA), the union that represents patent examiners, place emphasis on complete and thorough initial examination, and are expected to decrease redundancy and encourage quicker resolution of issues in the patent application process...

The Ice Loop

Posted on February 18, 2010
My firm, Ice Miller LLP, has recently launched The Ice Loop, a blog focusing on the Internet, technology, and various social media aspects of the law. This blog, maintained by the firm?s Internet, Technology and Social Media practice, includes articles on several topics, including blogs & social media, business & e-commerce, data security, intellectual property (for which I am a contributor), privacy & free speech, and various client news and events...

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