Patent Law

SNOOKI, THE SITUATION, and DJ PAULY D - It Was Bound To Happen

Posted on February 17, 2010
As recently highlighted by The Smoking Gun (article link HERE), Nicole Polizzi, aka "Snooki" of Jersey Shore fame, has filed an intent to use U.S. Trademark Application for the mark SNOOKI. This application (serial no. 77/929,985, application link HERE), was filed on February 7, 2010, and covers two classes, namely IC 016 ("Printed matter, namely books"), and IC 041 ("Entertainment in the nature of personal appearances by a television personality")...

Recent News from IP Australia

Posted on February 16, 2010
IP Australia, the intellectual property office of Australia, has issued a number of news announcements in February, 2010, relating to various IP matters. The general news page (entitled "What?s new," available HERE), is routinely updated to provide updates to patent practitioners and those generally interested in IP matters before that office...

U.S. DOJ Launches New IP Task Force

Posted on February 15, 2010
On Friday, February 12, 2010, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the U.S. Department of Justice has launched a new intellectual property task force to combat the increasing prevalence of IP crimes. As referenced within a recent PC World article (available HERE), "The task force will work closely with the recently established White House Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC), which has the responsibility of drafting a strategic plan on IP for President Barack Obama's administration...

Cyber-insurance? What?s Cyber-insurance?

Posted on February 12, 2010
On Wednesday, an article on NationalJournal.com (link HERE) discussed a term that many of us had not heard before - "cyber-insurance." The concept seems to make sense - when you are at a potential risk of loss or damage to your property, and insurance is available to cover that loss or damage, insurance coverage at least worth considering...

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Need a Job? USPTO is Hiring Patent Examiners

Posted on February 11, 2010
If you have recently visited the USPTO?s website and searched for anything patent-related, you already know that the USPTO is looking to hire several patent examiners. From the USPTO?s Patents webpage (link HERE), you can click the "JOBS" logo in the middle of the page to go to USAJOBS, a website run by the U...

The CIPO Announces Three New Updates

Posted on February 10, 2010
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) recently announced a number of updates to its website and the type of information that is available to the public. On February 1, 2010, the CIPO announced (link HERE) that the Canadian Patents Database, available HERE, now contains patent abstract text in English and French, which are both official languages as received under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)...

WIPO Releases Detailed 2009 PCT Statistics

Posted on February 09, 2010
On Monday, February 8, 2010, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) released statistics for 2009, comparing the numbers to prior years in connection with Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) patent application filings. These statistics (available HERE on WIPO?s website) show a general decrease in PCT application filings of 4...

Konami and Upper Deck Settle IP Lawsuit Regarding Counterfeit Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards

Posted on February 05, 2010
It was announced last week that gaming company Konami and trading card manufacturer Upper Deck have settled their dispute regarding counterfeit Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. Last year Konami sued Upper Deck after learning that Upper Deck had been manufacturing and distributing hundreds of thousands of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards without permission by the holder of Yu-Gi-Oh! rights, Konami...

USPTO FY 2011 Budget Request Announced

Posted on February 04, 2010
On Monday, David Kappos announced President Obama?s FY 2011 budget request for the USPTO of just over $2.3 billion. According to the USPTO announcement (available HERE), this budget request will support a new five-year plan to achieve certain USPTO objectives, including reducing pendency periods and the current patent application backlog, improving patent quality, enhancing IP protection and enforcement, global IP policy leadership, and a boost in its IT infrastructure...

China Experienced 18% Increase in Patent Applications Last Year

Posted on February 03, 2010
It was recently announced that China received more than 976,000 patent applications last year, representing a nearly 18% increase in the number of applications received by the State Intellectual Property Office of the Peoples Republic of China (SIPO) in 2008...

USPTO Offers Procedure to Obtain PTA Recalculation for Free

Posted on February 02, 2010
On Thursday, the USPTO announced an interim procedure for certain patentees to request a patent term adjustment (PTA) calculation in view of the recent Federal Circuit decision in Wyeth v. Kappos. This announcement (press release available HERE and formal interim procedure notice available HERE) provides patentees who have received their patents within 180 days from submission of USPTO Form PTO/SB/131 (available HERE in ...

Joint WIPO-ITU Accessibility Workshop to be Held This Week

Posted on February 01, 2010
The World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO") and the International Telecommunications Union ("ITU") will jointly be hosting an Accessibility Workshop this week with an objective to "promote awareness on accessibility and encourage webmasters within the United Nations system and other International Organizations to implement accessibility in their daily work...

British Virgin Islands Announces Intellectual Property Law Revision Plan

Posted on January 29, 2010
Earlier this month, the Financial Services Commission ("FSC") of the British Virgin Islands ("BVI") announced its plan to revise its existing intellectual property laws. As noted in a recent Mondaq article (available HERE), the BVI has become increasing popular with global trade and investment, and in attempt to assist its more than 60,000 new companies per year facilitate business innovation, the FSC will establish a specific focus group to address the BVI?s current Intellectual and Industrial Property ("IIP") laws...

Apple Receives iPad Patent on Eve of Launch Date

Posted on January 28, 2010
On Wednesday, Apple Inc. launched its anticipated iPad handheld device, which appears to have the functionality of an iPhone and more with nearly a ten inch screen. The day before, however, is also notable as U.S. Patent No. 7,653,883, entitled "Proximity detector in handheld device," was issued to Apple by the USPTO...

CIPO Now Offering Trade-mark News Via E-Mail Subscription

Posted on January 27, 2010
Last week, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office ("CIPO") announced that it is now offering an e-mail subscription service to its Trade-mark News offering. As noted within the CIPO?s What?s New webpage (link available HERE, with this particular offering under the January 18, 2010 heading), the CIPO?s Trade-marks Branch and Trade-marks Opposition Board will provide information in connection with updates to the CIPO?s Wares and Services Manual (available online HERE), new trade-marks consultations and practice notices, and the "What?s New" announcements relating to trademarks available on the CIPO?s website...

EPO Survey To Address Uses of Patent Information

Posted on January 26, 2010
The European Patent Office (EPO) has recently announced that it is launching a new follow-up survey to determine how the public does, or does not, use available patent information. As noted within the EPO?s announcement (link HERE), the last survey was performed in 2002-03, and identified that 70% of surveyed companies in Europe actually didn?t even use patent information...

Recent USPTO Roundtable ? Proposed BPAI Ex Parte Appeals Rules Modifications

Posted on January 25, 2010
On January 20, 2010, the USPTO moderated a public roundtable discussion to obtain public comments on the proposed rules modifications in connection with ex parte appeals before the USPTO?s Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI). As noted in a recent USPTO release (link HERE), the USPTO has a goal of reducing the pendency of its ex parte appeals, noting that the time from when a patent applicant files a notice of appeal until the time the BPAI renders its decision now averages nearly 2 and a half years (29...

Recent Cyber Attacks Demonstrate the Power of Malware

Posted on January 22, 2010
A recent series of cyber attacks, appearing to originate from China, have demonstrated how powerful malware can even compromise high technology companies. As referenced in a recent San Jose Mercury News article (link available HERE), Google admitted to being the victim of a series of cyber attacks that were strong enough to steal some of its own intellectual property and negatively impact between 20 and 30 other high-tech companies in Silicon Valley...

WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Patents: Fourteenth Session

Posted on January 21, 2010
On January 25-29, 2010, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will be hosting its Fourteenth Session of the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents. The following items will be discussed, with links to the various handouts in PDF format:Agenda (PDF)The Client-Advisor Privilege (PDF)Technical Solutions to Improve Access to, and Dissemination of, Patent Information (PDF)Transfer of Technology (PDF)Opposition Systems (PDF)Report on the International Patent System: Revised Annex II of Document SCP/12/3 Rev...

Canadian Privacy Commissioner to Consult on Social Networking and Profiling

Posted on January 20, 2010
The Toronto Sun has recently reported that Canada?s Privacy Commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart, will be offering a series of consultations available to the public specifically addressing how social networks function as repositories for data collectors and consumer profilers...

Conan O?Brien Wants to Keep His IP

Posted on January 19, 2010
We have all been reading and hearing about the recent NBC shakeup regarding Jay Leno and Conan O?Brien, and now we have an interesting intellectual property ownership twist. Aside from the many millions of dollars changing hands and the desire to maintain a coveted time slot for late-night television, Conan O?Brien is seeking to keep certain intellectual property made famous during his tenure on NBC...

New Test Post

Posted on December 28, 2009
My goal is that as of January 2010, the Daily Dose of IP Blog will be back up and running at full capacity.  You will see that a number of changes have been made, including multiple RSS feeds for various patent offices, as well as a more user-friendly format to allow readers of this blog to get the most out of it...

WIPO Magazine ? 2/2009 Issue

Posted on April 30, 2009
The 2/2009 issue of WIPO Magazine is available on line through the World Intellectual Property Organization's website, and as referenced in my prior post, this particular issue focuses on green technology. The following articles (as referenced on WIPO's website, each hyperlinked for convenience) are included within the 2/2009 issue:IP and Climate Change Negotiations: From Bali to Copenhagen, Via Pozna? ? This article discusses various conferences in connection with climate change, starting with a 1992 convention held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and ending with the convening of the most current Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland...

World Intellectual Property Day ? 04/26/2009

Posted on April 28, 2009
As highlighted by the World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO"), 2009?s World Intellectual Property Day ("World IP Day") was April 26, 2009. According to the WIPO World IP Day website (link below), "WIPO and its Member States celebrate World Intellectual Property Day with activities, events and campaigns," which "seek to increase public understanding of what IP really means, and to demonstrate how the IP system fosters not only music, arts and entertainments, but also all the products and technological innovations that help to shape our world...

USPTO Announces German PPH Program

Posted on April 23, 2009
Last week, the USPTO announced that it has partnered with the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) in establishing the newest Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program. This new program, starting on April 27th of this year and running for an initial two period, is being established to "streamline the patent system and promote expeditious, inexpensive and high-quality patent protection throughout the world...

Octomom??

Posted on April 22, 2009
On April 10, 2009, Nadya Suleman, widely known as "Octomom" based on giving birth to octuplets earlier this year, filed two separate trademark applications for the mark OCTOMOM. The first application (U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 77/711,827, first link below) was filed in international class 041 in connection with the services of "entertainment in the nature of on-going television programs in the field of varity (sp)...

USPTO National Trademark Expo ? May 8-9, 2009

Posted on April 08, 2009
The USPTO has announced that its National Trademark Expo event will be held on May 8th (10AM-6PM) and 9th (10AM ? 4PM) in the atrium of the USPTO?s Madison Building in Alexandria, Virginia. This event, referenced in the USPTO announcement link below, "will feature exciting colorful interactive exhibits that illustrate the pervasive and important role trademarks play in our economy," whereby "[v]isitors will learn about the many different kinds of trademarks such as sound, design and color, and will also learn about the history and evolution of trademarks, some of which are more than 100 years old...

EPO Announces Several Revisions to the Implementing Regulations of the EPC

Posted on April 07, 2009
On Monday, and in two separate decisions, the European Patent Office announced several revisions to the Implementing Regulations to the European Patent Convention ("EPC"). The first decision (CA/D 2/09) includes revisions to and/or language under Articles 1-3, namely to Rules 36, 57, and 135 under Article 1...

DDIP Tidbits ? 04/06/2009

Posted on April 06, 2009
1. The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has issued a warning regarding "certain companies [that] are soliciting payment for Canadian trade-mark registration applications that were in fact not requested." If you have received an invoice relating to a Canadian trademark that did not originate from your trademark agent/attorney or the CIPO, the CIPO recommends that you contact your agent or the CIPO at the number provided in the CIPO warning...

Blog vacation - returning Monday, April 6th

Posted on March 26, 2009
Posts on the Daily Dose of IP blog will return on April 6, 2009. Thanks for reading!

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