Last 24 Hours
NYIPLA Amicus Brief in American Axle Urges Supreme Court to Return to Its Precedent in Diehr
On January 25, 2020, the New York Intellectual Property Law Association (NYIPLA) filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to grant the writ of certiorari in …
Pardon Me? Levandowski Case Highlights Need for Proactive Approach to Avoid Trade Secret Problems in Hiring
My head was turned by the recent news of President Trump’s final-day pardon of Anthony Levandowski, the former head of Google’s self-driving car unit who …
Patent Filings Roundup: MedTech Litigation Ticks Up; Medtronic Files IPRs; Lenovo Brings Long-Running Mobile Patent Fight to Board
District Court patent filings were down again this week with just 46—two thirds of usual output—and the continued absence of any new WSOU filings may point …
More Recent Posts
Popular: Recent News
Popular: Guest Posts
Popular: Inventors
Artificial Intelligence in the Life Sciences Industry — Strategies for IP Protection
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a rapidly growing sector of the life sciences industry, with broad-ranging applications in drug discovery, biotechnology, medical diagnosis, clinical trials, precision and personalized …
The Right Choice: IP Stakeholders Emphasize Practical Experience, Strong IP Advocacy in Next USPTO Head
The position of Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as well as Deputy, is now …
Inhofe Bill Would Authorize Commerce to Penalize Chinese Companies that Withhold Wireless SEP Licensing Fees
Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) yesterday introduced the “Protecting American Innovation and Development (PAID) Act of 2021,” a bill that would give the U.S. Department of Commerce authority …
The Good, the Bad and the Missing: Findings from a Review of the Data on Granted Retroactive Foreign Filing Licenses
Since launching Petition.ai’s searchable database of publicly available patent petition documents filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the most searched petition …
USPTO Responds to Patent Bar Gender Gap Inquiry, Mulls Changes to Registration Process
The 2020 “Progress and Potential” report produced by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) focused on women and inventorship. Recently, however, members of Congress asked the …
This Week in Washington IP: Raimondo’s Nomination as Commerce Secretary, Tech Advances in the U.S. Military and the U.S. Chamber’s Report on Digital Assets
This week in Washington IP news, the Senate will hold a hearing to discuss the nomination of Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo to serve the Biden Administration …
Hatch-Waxman and BPCIA Cases and Trends to Watch in 2021
As we turn the page to 2021, we expect at least two major cases to be resolved that could have long-lasting effects on where and how Hatch-Waxman and …
How Patents Enable Mavericks and Challenge Incumbents
Advocates for “patent reform” have long argued that reducing patent protection will open up markets and accelerate innovation by lowering entry barriers and expanding access to existing …
ipAwarenessAssessment: Inventors and Business Owners Should Start Their IP Journey with this USPTO-NIST Tool
The ipAwarenessAssessment (the Tool) is engineered for both business owners and inventors so that they can comprehensively value their intellectual property (IP) and manage their IP portfolios …
Other Barks & Bites for Friday, January 22: Iancu and Peter Step Down from USPTO, CJEU Asked Whether Preliminary Injunction Standard Burdens Patent Owners, SCOTUS Denial Leaves Invalidation of Idenix Genus Patent Claims Untouched
This week in Other Barks & Bites: an industry group representing French news publishers and Google reached a first-of-its-kind agreement on a copyright licensing framework for republishing news …
New Year, New Models: How the Pandemic May Forever Change Practice at the USPTO
Last year brought unprecedented changes as to how the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) conducts business. Prior to the pandemic, the USPTO was already a …
Unified Consulting is Seeking a Business Development Manager
Unified Consulting is growing its intellectual property consulting business and is seeking a part-time sales lead with the potential to become full-time. We provide cutting edge advice …
US Inventor Backs SCOTUS Petition to Clarify Claim Construction Principles
Inventor advocacy group US Inventor has filed an amicus brief in support of a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court asking the justices to clarify “[w]…
Green, Yellow, Or Red: What Color Is Your Patent Examiner and Why Should You Care?
Examiners at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) can be categorized into three different “types,” namely, green, yellow and red Examiners. Knowing the type of …
Copyright Office Updates to Third Edition of Compendium of Practices Focus on Registration Refusals, Intervening SCOTUS Case Law
On January 14, the U.S. Copyright Office published in the Federal Register an update to the agency’s Third Edition of the Compendium of U.S. Copyright …
As Biden Presidency Nears, Concerns Over Return to Obama-Era IP Politics Loom Large
As of the time of publication, the Associated Press had called 264 electoral college votes for Joe Biden in the 2020 Presidential Election. While many states are still counting …
Facing the Consequences: Biden’s Transition Team Should Concern the IP Community
It is difficult to talk about political issues in the current environment in the United States but looming for the patent and innovation community is a potential …
Tillis Targets Criminal Streaming Services with ‘Protecting Lawful Streaming Act’
On Thursday, December 10, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, released text of bipartisan legislation titled the “Protecting Lawful …
District Court Finds Google Patent Ineligible Under Alice
On November 2, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, in Google LLC v. Sonos, Inc., issued an order granting Sonos’s motion to …
Squire Patton Boggs is seeking a Chemistry Patent Associate
The Northern California offices of Squire Patton Boggs is seeking a Patent Associate with a minimum of four years of experience to join our Intellectual Property and …
USPTO Steps Into Social Media Controversy
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) doesn’t often get much action on social media, but last week, five days before the U.S. Presidential …
Supreme Court Denies Patent Petitions on Arthrex, Eligibility
On November 16, the U.S. Supreme Court denied petitions for certiorari in two cases from the Federal Circuit: IYM Technologies LLC v. RPX Corporation and Advanced Micro …
Skidmore Seeks a Second Chance at SCOTUS in Led Zeppelin Copyright Case
On October 30, Michael Skidmore, Trustee for the Randy Craig Wolfe Trust, filed a petition for rehearing of the denial of its August 6 petition for writ of certiorari …
What SCOTUS’ Decision to Scrutinize Social Security Act Appointments Clause Case Means for Arthrex
Last week, an order list issued by the U.S. Supreme Court indicated that the nation’s highest court had granted a pair of petitions for writ …
Lowering the Bar to Diversify the Patent Bar Would Be Misguided and Unethical
On December 11, Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Chris Coons (D-DE), sent a letter to United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director Andrei Iancu …
How the 2020 Congressional Election Results Will Impact IP
Three days out from Election Day, 2020, there are still many votes left to be counted, but as of the time of publication, it seems Joe Biden is …
Intellectual Property Insurance Services Corporation (IPISC) Hiring IP Insurance Sales Account Executive
Intellectual Property Insurance Services Corporation (IPISC) is currently seeking to hire IP Insurance Sales Account Executive. In this role, you will be responsible for the prospecting of …
‘We Want Action’: Rightsholder Reps Address Platforms in IP Subcommittee Hearing, as DMCA Reform Draft Looms
The Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property held its last hearing of the year on reforms to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) today, three …
Federal Circuit Grants Apple Petition for Writ of Mandamus to Transfer Uniloc Suit
On November 9, the Federal Circuit granted Apple’s petition for a writ of mandamus directing the Western District of Texas to transfer Uniloc’s patent infringement suit …
Federal Circuit Affirms $90 Million Verdict Against GSK Inhalers
On November 19, the Federal Circuit issued a precedential decision in Vectura Limited v. GlaxoSmithKline LLC in which the court affirmed a judgment entered against GSK finding that …
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. …
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 …
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’…
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 …
Do Patents Truly Promote Innovation?
Invention, it has been shown, is driven primarily not by genius or happenstance but rather by markets and the expectation of the profit that can be gained …
10 Years Later – A Look at the Efficacy of the Pre-Appeal Brief Conference Program
For 61% of the non-defective requests, the panel decided that there was an actual issue for appeal, such that the applicant would either need to file an Appeal …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 "…
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 …
Design Patents: The Under Utilized and Overlooked Patent
Typically an inventor wants to protect the function of the invention when at all possible. But what if you cannot get a utility patent because the underlying …
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 …
Good, Bad & Ugly: Truth About Provisional Patent Applications
Whether that provisional patent application can ever be useful moving forward is unknown and unknowable at the time it is filed, which allows for those who knowingly …
