Intellectual Property Law

Cyber Security in a Post-Corona World: Startup Opportunities and Challenges

Posted on November 04, 2020
On Nov 5, 2020 at 9 am EST / 3 pm CEST / 4 pm IDT, global innovation platform Axis Innovation will host a webinar titled Cyber Security in a Post-Corona World: Startup Opportunities & Challenges. This webinar will share … Continue reading →

Large entity, small entity or micro-entity: which type of patent applicant are you?

Posted on July 02, 2020
When applying for a patent application, certain entities are entitled to reduced USPTO filing fees. Applicants who qualify for small entity status can reduce many USPTO fees by 50%. Applicants who are micro entities can reduce certain fees by 75%. … Continue reading →

IP and the Open Covid Pledge

Posted on June 30, 2020
Are you developing new technologies, treatments or other inventions that are useful to combat the COVID-19 epidemic? If so, my colleagues Gunjan Agarwal and Chipo Jolibois recently wrote a useful article discussing the Open COVID Pledge and how it can … Continue reading →

Use caution before taking advantage of extended IP filing deadlines under CARES Act

Posted on April 01, 2020
(Note: This post was updated June 30, 2020 to reflect the new extension dates that the USPTO published on that date.) The newly-enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides patent and trademark applicants the opportunity for temporary … Continue reading →

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U.S. Supreme Court: states are immune from copyright infringement liability

Posted on March 31, 2020
A new Supreme Court decision holds that states are immune from infringement suits under the United States Copyright Act, despite a 1990 law that attempted to remove states’ sovereign immunity in copyright infringement cases. In Allen v. Cooper (decided March … Continue reading →

CARES Act authorizes USPTO to extend certain patent and trademark deadlines

Posted on March 28, 2020
NOTE:  A more recent post with specific details about extended deadlines is available at this link. The newly-enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides patent and trademark applicants the opportunity for temporary relief from certain deadlines as … Continue reading →

How will the shutdown of ?non-essential? businesses affect trademark rights?

Posted on March 24, 2020
As ?non-essential? businesses are required to close in more and more United States jurisdictions, many businesses have paused operations. This pause may interrupt continuous use of trademarks in connection with the products and services that the affected businesses offer...

Will the Defense Production Act shield COVID-19 protective equipment makers from patent infringement risk?

Posted on March 23, 2020
On March 18, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order under authority of the Defense Production Act of 1950. The Executive Order stated: ?I find that health and medical resources needed to respond to the spread of COVID-19, including personal … Continue reading →

IAM Global Leaders 2020

Posted on January 24, 2020
I am honored to be named to the inaugural IAM Global Leaders list, a new publication featuring interviews with patent pratitioners ranked in the gold tier of the IAM Patent 1000. In my interview with IAM, I discuss how our team at … Continue reading →

How long does it take to receive a patent or trademark registration in the U.S.? (2019 update)

Posted on December 30, 2019
The USPTO recently released its FY2019 Performance and Accountability Report, with contains helpful information about allowance rates, average pendency, and other statistics about its review of patent and trademark applications this year. Each year, IP Spotlight analyzes this report and, … Continue reading →

USPTO publishes October 2019 update to Patent Eligibility Guidance

Posted on October 24, 2019
On October 17, 2019, the USPTO published an update to its 2019 Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance (2019 PEG). The October 2019 update does not significantly change the patent eligibiity analysis, but it clarify several of the examination procedures that … Continue reading →

US Department of Energy challenge offers energy entrepreneurs $1,000 licenses to national laboratory technology

Posted on March 31, 2011
This week U.S Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced a new program that is intended to encourage entrepreneurship and new energy technologies.  The Deparment of Energy owns 17 national laboratories around the country.  Each national laboratory performs research in a broad spectrum of energy-related fields...

An overview of the patent application process in the United States

Posted on March 29, 2011
New inventors and corporate executives who are considering a patent for the first time often seek general information about the work, costs, and timing are required in order to apply for and obtain a patent.  To help in those situations, this post provides an overview of the U...

Federal Circuit deals blow to false patent marking suits

Posted on March 17, 2011
Companies who sell patented products frequently mark the product with the patent number.  Patent marking provides several benefits, such as triggering an ability to accrue damages for patent infringement even if the infringer did not actually know about the patent...

Issues to consider when structuring medical device development and license agreements

Posted on March 14, 2011
Physicians often contract with medical device manufacturers to provide services relating to new technologies. For example, the doctor may help the manufacturer develop a new device, or the doctor may help test an existing device.  In the first situation, the physician may assign or license intellectual property to the manufacturer in exhange for payment...

HIPAA privacy violations result in penalties exceeding $4.3 million

Posted on March 10, 2011
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR) recently announced its first-ever civil monetary penalty against a health system for alleged violations of the HIPAA privacy rule.  The penalty of over $4.3 million, which was levied against Cignet Health, was followed by OCR’s announcement of a $1 million settlement resolving a HIPAA privacy [...

Senate passes bill with significant changes to U.S. patent law

Posted on March 09, 2011
Today the United States Senate passed the America Invents Act (S. 23), a bill that will significantly change U.S. patent filings if enacted.  The bill passed by the wide margin of 95-5.  If the bill becomes law, it will implement changes such as: doing away with the “first inventor wins” patent system in favor of a [...

EU High Court says single European Community patent court would break law

Posted on March 09, 2011
Yesterday the Court of Justice of the European Union dealt a blow to prospects for a Europe-wide patent court, stating that the proposed unified patent court would not be compatible with European Union law.  After European Member States requested guidance relating to a proposed agreement to create a unified patent litigation system in Europe, the [...

A Taste of Trademark Law

Posted on March 07, 2011
A recent court opinion from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania concluded that a gift basket vendor could not claim exclusive rights to the phrase “A Taste of Philadelphia,” despite holding a federal trademark registration covering the phrase...

U.S. Trade Representative names ?notorious markets? for IP infringement

Posted on March 03, 2011
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative periodically publishes a list of online and physical marketplaces that considers to be “notorious markets” for counterfeiting and intellectual property piracy.  On February 28, 2011 the USTR released its latest notorious markets report, which includes markets such as: the number one-ranked website in China, which the report cites for [...

New study: Global patent filing trends

Posted on March 02, 2011
A new study reports that U.S. companies trimmed their foreign patent filings in 2010, and they also changed the countries in which they typically file. inovia LLC, a provider of foreign patent filing platforms, recently published 2011 Global Patent & IP Trends Indicator...

Advanced IP Forum for Advertising Counsel scheduled for April 2011

Posted on February 24, 2011
The American Conference Institute is hosting new seminar that is tailored to help companies learn how to avoid advertising-related pitfalls that can weaken a company’s brand and expose the company to intellectual property litigation.  The new seminar, titled Advanced IP Forum for Advertising Counsel, will feature speakers from leading media and brand-driven companies, along with counsel [...

Book review: ?Rules of Patent Drafting? by Joseph E. Root

Posted on February 21, 2011
Once upon a time, reading old patents was a major part of the training process for new patent attorneys and agents.  Today, new practitioners who learn the ropes in that manner risk several mistakes.  These mistakes may be relatively innocuous — such as extensive use of anachronisms like “said”, “wherein,”  “herein,” and jargon that only an attorney would [...

World?s most famous trade secret revealed?

Posted on February 18, 2011
This week’s episode of This American Life included an interesting story about a 1979 newspaper article that appeared to reveal one of the most closely guarded trade secrets in the world:  the formula for Coca-Cola.  In the new program, the reporters find the source of the 1979 article, and they put the formula to the test [...

California rules that retailers may not record ZIP codes for credit card transactions; new lawsuits follow

Posted on February 17, 2011
The California Supreme Court recently ruled that ZIP codes are “personal identification information” under the state’s credit card consumer protection statute.  Accordingly, the Court ruled retailers may not collect and record ZIP codes from consumers as a condition to completing a credit card transaction...

USPTO proposes fast track patent examination for $4000 fee

Posted on February 07, 2011
Last week, the USPTO published a proposed rule that will allow applicants to speed up the patent examination process in exchange for a substantial fee.  Published in the February 4, 2011 edition edition of the Federal Register, the rule proposes to implement the first track of a previously-discussed three-track examination process...

Football and IP

Posted on February 03, 2011
This weekend’s Super Bowl provides an opportunity to review some of the past year’s interesting developments relating to the National Football League and intellectual property: 1.  Titlecraft v. NFL:  wooden Lombardi trophy replicas infringe NFL copyright...

Issues to consider when deciding which affiliate will own a patent

Posted on January 31, 2011
Companies that have multiple affiliates may consider several options when deciding which corporate entity will own the organization’s patents.   Often, tax considerations and royalty structures are a driving factor in deciding whether an operating entity or a holding company will own the patents...

Inside Intellectual Ventures? kitchen

Posted on January 28, 2011
What do patent attorneys and foodies have in common?  Both will enjoy the latest episode of Freakonomics Radio: “Waiter, There’s a Physicist in My Soup.“  The hosts interview Nathan Myhrvold, founder of Intellectual Ventures and author of a new book on the science of cooking...

Faster Than the Speed of Law

Posted on January 19, 2011
In 1909, the Charles Dickens book Oliver Twist was first adapted to the silver screen as a silent film.  The film was distributed in 35 mm format, and it was most likely shown via Edison movie projectors in nickelodeons (movie theaters) around the country...

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