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Arthrex Aftermath: How the Landmark Supreme Court Decision Drives the PTAB’s Future
A working definition of inertia is the tendency of a body to maintain its state of rest or uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force. …
Senate IP Subcommittee Mulls Ways to Improve Patent Quality (Again)
The Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property on Tuesday heard from four witnesses on the topic of “Protecting Real Innovations by Improving Patent Quality.” The …
La Cour d’Appel de l’Absurde (The Court of Appeals of the Absurd)
Reading the recent opinion of Judges Prost and Taranto in Yu and Zhang v. Apple and Samsung, Appeal Nos. 2020-1760, 1803 (Fed.Cir. June 11, 2021), I’m reminded of …
Fisch Sigler is Seeking an Attorney for its Washington, DC Office
Fisch Sigler seeks women and men with high IQs and EQs. They encourage their attorneys to focus on what makes them stars—whether that’s writing, oral …
Supreme Court to NCAA: You are Not Immune from Antitrust Laws
On June 21, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Alston (Alston) in which the nation’s highest court affirmed …
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New Clause 8 Episode – Chris Agrawal: AIPF’s President on Growing $1 Billion Portfolio and Succeeding in IP Field
Chris Agrawal is President of the Association of Intellectual Property Firms and partner at Bookoff McAndrews. He was instrumental in one of the biggest patent transactions in …
Reintroduced International Cybercrime Prevention Act Would Create New Cybercrime Violations, Increase Forfeiture and Injunctive Relief
On June 17, a bipartisan coalition of U.S. Senators, including Thom Tillis (R-NC), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) reintroduced the International Cybercrime …
Industry Reacts to the Supreme Court’s Arthrex Ruling: Chaos Averted – or Just Delayed?
The Supreme Court issued a split 5-4 decision earlier today, in which a plurality of the Court agreed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the …
In Arthrex Ruling, SCOTUS Says Director Review of Decisions, Not Power to Remove APJs, is What Matters
The Supreme Court has issued its ruling in Arthrex v. Smith & Nephew, taking a different approach to curing the statute than did the U.S. Court of …
This Week in Washington IP: Improving Patent Quality to Protect Real Innovation, Legislative Markup of Big Tech Antitrust Bills and Promoting Rural Businesses in the SBIR/STTR Programs
This week in Washington IP news, the Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee hosts a hearing on Tuesday afternoon regarding efforts to improve “patent quality”, a buzzword that has …
iLife Ties Its Patent Eligibility Fate to American Axle at Supreme Court
iLife Technologies last week petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its appeal of a January 2021 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decision …
Yu v. Apple Settles It: The CAFC is Suffering from a Prolonged Version of Alice in Wonderland Syndrome
Alice in Wonderland syndrome is a medical condition for which there is no known treatment. It causes a disturbance of perception and has a serious impact on …
Other Barks & Bites for Friday, June 18: Big Tech Critic Khan Sworn in as FTC Chair, CJEU Says Copyright Owners Can Request IP Addresses of Infringers, and International Cybercrime Prevention Act is Reintroduced
This week in Other Barks & Bites: Senators Tillis, Whitehouse, Graham and Blumenthal reintroduce bill to prevent cybercrime amid record year for ransomware attacks; Senators Crapo and Wyden …
Using AI to Valuate and Determine Essentiality for SEPs
One of the major challenges when licensing, transacting, or managing Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) is that there is no public database that provides information about verified SEPs. …
WIPO is seeking a Senior Legal Officer
The post is located in the Legislative, Policy and Technology Advice Section (LPTAS) of the Patent and Technology Law Division, Patents and Technology Sector. The Division is …
Trademarks Are Not Patents: The Second Circuit Rejects FTC Challenge to Trademark Settlements in 1-800 Contacts
In “big IP cases that count,” the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has had a mixed record lately, going one-for-three – good in baseball but bad in …
Patent Filings Roundup: VLSI Judgment Patents Challenged; Dozens of NPE-Semiconductor Patents Instituted; Nanotechnology Solar Panel Litigation Kicks Off
It seems non-practicing entity (NPE) semiconductor/chip litigation has really come to dominate both the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and the district courts’ dockets this …
Patent Procurement and Strategy for Business Success Part II: Claims – Targeting the Right Infringers
To protect the inventions that are important to a company's current and future success, the claims of the patents covering those inventions must accurately define the subject …
WIPO is seeking a Head, Legislative, Policy and Technology Advice Section
The post is located in the Legislative, Policy and Technology Advice Section of the Patent and Technology Law Division, Patents and Technology …
American Axle is the Supreme Court’s Chance to Give Patent Eligibility a Tune-Up
As I write this, the United States Supreme Court is deciding whether to grant certiorari in the American Axle case, setting the stage for another sea change …
Despite ‘Tortured’ Statement from FTC’s Slaughter, Win for Qualcomm is a Win for American Innovation
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) March 26 deadline for filing a petition for writ of certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court has come and gone, …
International IP Index 2021: United States Remains Second in Patent Rankings, Global IP Framework Holds Strong Amid Pandemic
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) released its ninth annual International IP Index yesterday, finding that the United States, Japan and Europe …
The Upshot of Google v. Oracle: An Absurd Ruling Will Lead to Absurd Results
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, or so states Newton’s third law of motion. It is safe to say that Newton never …
License to Copy: Your Software Code Isn’t Safe After Google v. Oracle
In characteristic form, the Supreme Court has once again managed to blow it in another intellectual property case. This time, the Justices blessed Google's copying of Oracle's …
Biden Announces Intent to Nominate Tiffany Cunningham to Federal Circuit
President Joe Biden today announced 11 judicial candidates – 10 for federal circuit and district court judge positions, including Tiffany Cunningham as nominee for the United States Court of Appeals …
Computer Programs are Different, Says SCOTUS in Landmark Ruling that Google’s Use of Oracle’s API Packages Was Fair
The U.S. Supreme Court this morning found Google’s use of Oracle’s Java application programming interface (“API packages”) a fair use as a matter of …
Second Circuit Delivers Blow for Fair Use in Warhol’s Prince Photograph Case
On March 26, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York’s decision …
Stakeholders Speak Out on Google v. Oracle
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a ruling that still has many in the intellectual property world reeling—and not just copyright practitioners. The …
Hasbro Loses Fight Over MONOPOLY Mark in Europe
Toy maker Hasbro has been rebuked by the EU General Court, after it was found to have applied to register an EU trademark (EUTM) for MONOPOLY in …
CAFC Clarifies Section 103 Prior Art Enablement Requirement, Reverses PTAB Obviousness Finding
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) reversed an inter partes review (IPR) decision from the U.S. Patent and Trademark …
Tillis, Michel and Iancu Back Ericsson in Heated International FRAND Dispute with Samsung
In the latest phase of an international dispute between Samsung Electronics and Ericsson, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), Judge Paul Michel and former U.S. Patent and Trademark …
Rules of Evidence Crush Wi-LAN’s Patent Infringement Claims Against Vizio and Sharp
On April 6, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) affirmed the decision of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, …
PTAB Masters™ Day Four Features Judge Michel on How the PTAB is Working: ‘When Facts Change, Views Should Change’
The final day of IPWatchdog’s PTAB Masters™ 2021 program kicked off with more than 1,070 registrants and a discussion featuring retired U.S. Court of Appeals for the …
Second Circuit: Museum’s Online Exhibit Featuring ‘Frankenstein’ Guitar Photo was Fair Use
On Friday, April 2, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a Summary Order affirming a district court’s finding that the Metropolitan Museum …
Caldwell Intellectual Property Law, LLC is seeking a Patent Attorney/Agent
Caldwell Intellectual Property Law is seeking a patent attorney or registered patent agent to join our action-packed IP practice in our Boston, MA office. This is a …
Registering your website with the Chinese government?
Doing business in China is exciting and potentially lucrative; however, there are “hidden” traps. Most of these hidden traps have been extensively discussed in the Western world – …
What happens when lifestyle drugs like Viagra and Cialis lose patent protections?
Each year, millions of men rely on pharmaceuticals like Viagra and Cialis for their erectile dysfunction (ED), but they may not be the only ones facing dysfunctionalities. …
Looking Forward: Predictions and Thoughts for 2019
Given that several industry insiders were willing to make their own predictions, I’ll go out on a limb and make my own predictions… First, I predict …
The Myth of the 18-Month Delay in Publishing Patent Applications
Starting in November 2000, the USPTO started publishing patent applications 18 months after their earliest filing date. So the simple assumption is that you file a patent and 18 months …
Top Patent Law Firms for 2017
We compiled a list of the top patent firms that are ranked based on the total number of U.S. utility patents that issued in 2017 where the …
Reflections on Taking the Patent Bar Exam
If you are reading this article beyond the title, you are either preparing to take the USPTO’s patent bar exam or you are considering whether you …
Alternate Approaches to the Valuation of Intellectual Property
Techniques for valuing intellectual property continue to develop, especially as access to information becomes easier and more efficient. The practice of valuing intellectual property has only been …
Federal Circuit Affirms TTAB Refusal to Register ‘CHURRASCOS’
In a May 13, 2016 decision, the Federal Circuit affirmed a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) decision upholding an Examiner’s denial of registration based on a finding …
Design Patent Infringement: How to decide if you should sue
First, look at the merits of the infringement claim. They may be stronger than you think, and you can thank a 2008 ruling for that. That year, the …
Top Patent Firms for 2016
A list of the top patent firms that are ranked based on the total number of U.S. utility patents that issued in 2016 where the patent firms …
Beat the Odds: How to Get Your Invention Licensed
Many inventors believe the way to get a company interested in their inventions is to write a letter – and then hope they receive an invitation to begin …
Does University Patent Licensing Pay Off?
Patent licensing or creating new companies is not a get rich quick path for schools despite the occasional blockbuster invention or Google spin-out. Indeed, enriching universities is …
Comic-Con Considerations: Cosplay, the Right of Publicity, and Copyright Concerns
For as much as Comic-Con is about comics, TV, and upcoming movies, it’s not hard to see that a large portion of its allure for fans …
These Are the 20 Hardest and Easiest Art Units
Art Unit 3689 has the lowest allowance rate at 7.7%. Art Unit 3659 has the highest at 98.3%. Oddly enough, these two art units are from the same technology center. It’…
Bioinformatics Innovations Thrive Despite 101 Chaos
Bioinformatics is a growing interdisciplinary technological field in which computing and software resources are applied to biological data and solve biological problems. For example, bioinformatics can be …
The Cost of Obtaining a Patent in the US
Estimating US patent costs is a difficult matter because so much depends on the technology involved, but answering "it depends" is not particularly insightful or helpful. What …
Three Inventions That Made My Summers Fun
As we enter the August heat, it’s worth remembering some of the patents that have made summers more bearable through the years, for kids and adults …
Protecting Ideas: Can Ideas Be Protected or Patented?
Unfortunately, despite what you may have heard from late night television, satellite radio commercials or snake oil salesmen, there is no effective way to protect an idea… …
Patent Searching 101: A Patent Search Tutorial
Inventors and entrepreneurs who are looking to cut costs frequently want to do their own patent search. This is a wise first move, but inventors need to …
The Top 5 Mistakes Inventors make with their Invention
Generally speaking the first step toward commercializing an invention and making money is typically to pursue the patent path. For those new to the industry it is …
Patent Claim Drafting 101: The Basics
When writing a claim it is important to describe how the various components are structured and how the various components interact and connect. First, include a claim …
The Law of Recipes: Are Recipes Patentable?
In most cases the typical recipe for a "killer Margarita" or "the best barbeque sauce ever" will not be patentable, but the only way to know for …
Moving from Idea to Patent – When Do You Have an Invention?
In order to protect an idea it must mature into an invention first. This means that you need to be able to explain to others how to …
Tricks & Tips to Describe an Invention in a Patent Application
One excellent way to make sure you are including an appropriately detailed description that treats a variety of variations and alternatives is to have many professional patent …
Getting Your Invention to Market: Licensing vs. Manufacturing
Of course, whether you are going to pursue licensing or manufacturing, for the first lesson is to realize that there are no tricks to invention marketing. It …
Provisional Patents: What are they and why do you need them?
The first thing to say is this: there is no such thing as a provisional patent. You can, however, file what is known as a provisional patent …
Patent Drawings and Invention Illustrations, What do you Need?
If you are going to file a patent application you must have drawings to include in the application, but patent drawings are not the only type of "…
Protecting an Idea: Can Ideas Be Patented or Protected?
Many people ask: can ideas be patented? The short answer is no. Unfortunately, despite what you may have heard from late night television commercials, there is no …
Patent Drawings 101: The Way to Better Patent Applications
To properly accomplish the goal of having the best disclosure possible you should also not think in terms of a single patent drawing or illustration, but rather …
Invention to Patent 101 – Everything You Need to Know to Get Started
This page and website contain contain detailed information to help inventors on the road from invention to patent... Below are a sampling of inventor help links to …
