Last 24 Hours
Searching for Answers to the Standard Essential Patent Problem
Later this year (likely in October), the United Kingdom’s highest court will hear arguments on questions arising in two disputes concerning standard essential patents (SEPs). The …
Eleventh Circuit Affirms Contributory Trademark Infringement Verdict Against Landlord for Luxury Eyewear Manufacturers
On August 7, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a jury verdict from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of …
Why Engineering Companies Get into IP Trouble: Five Tips to Mitigate the Risks
Too often, engineering companies are in such a race to come up with the next big thing that they forget to consider the crucial step following their …
More Recent Posts
Popular: Recent News
Popular: Guest Posts
Popular: Inventors
More PTAB Conflicts: APJ Margolies Once Again Assigned to Apple Petitions
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has had a sordid history. Whether you are in favor of …
How to Trademark Hashtags in Australia
A hashtag is a useful way to promote your brand on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. When the name of a brand, a …
Other Barks & Bites, Friday, August 16: Iancu to Brief CAFC on Precedential Opinion Panel Deference, China to Regulate Patent Agencies, and FCC Approves T-Mobile/Sprint Merger
This week in Other Barks & Bites: The Federal Circuit has asked USPTO Director Andrei Iancu to brief the appellate court on deference that should be paid to …
Federal Circuit: ‘Physicality’ of Processing Paper Checks Does Not Save Solutran’s Claims from 101 Challenge
The Federal Circuit recently reversed the District of Minnesota’s denial of summary judgment and held claims related to paper check processing invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 101. …
The ‘Dragon’ Targets U.S. Biopharma Lead
Perhaps the report on China's strategy for eclipsing the U.S. lead in biopharma from the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) resonated so strongly with me because …
Facebook Targets Blackberry Photo Tagging Patent, Apple Takes Aim at Firstface and Continues Serial Challenges Against Nartron
Last week, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) issued 23 institution-phase decisions in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings, resulting in 14 IPR institutions and nine IPR denials. Two …
The Law Firm’s Reply: A (Satirical) Sequel to the IP Client’s ‘Love’ Letter
Upon receipt of the fateful “love” letter from its fictitious IP client, the fictitious law firm was speechless—momentarily. Feeling aggrieved and misunderstood, and yet hopeful that …
The Honeymoon is Over: Time for Iancu to Take Action on PTAB Harassment of Patent Owners
Just over 18 months ago, Andrei Iancu assumed control of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). As the Director of the USPTO, Iancu has changed the …
Top 10 Reasons Arbitration Will Benefit Parties More Than Litigating at the PTAB
Alternatives to patent litigation are desirable now more than ever. Arbitration can help to resolve patent disputes more easily than the much more complex, expensive and timely …
Second Circuit Ruling on “Velocity” Trademark Clarifies Standards For Awards in Lanham Act Cases
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decision in an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of …
Another PTAB Casualty: Emmy Awarded Wireless Microphone Technology Could Be Invalidated
On October 25, the AIPLA Annual Meeting will host a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Inter Partes Review (IPR) trial to determine the fate of a pair …
Update on 101 Rejections at the USPTO: Prospects for Computer-Related Applications Continue to Improve Post-Guidance
The Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Alice v. CLS Bank made it significantly more difficult to obtain patents for some computer-related technologies. it is, at best, questionable …
AIPLA: The Supreme Court Must Ensure the U.S. Government Adheres to the American Rule in Peter v. NantKwest
When a patent or trademark applicant loses in front of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), they can either appeal to a court of appeals …
Integrity, Quality and Secure IP Rights Are Standard-Essential
The decision came down to two technologies for detecting and correcting noise in signals transmitted over the air for 5G—one of the most fundamental features for …
Federal Circuit Struggles to Parse SEP Licensing Rates in TCL Communication v. Ericsson
On August 7, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard oral arguments in TCL Communication v. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, an appeal stemming from an …
Register of Copyrights Testifies on Copyright Office Modernization, Streaming Piracy and Music Modernization Act Implementation
On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property convened an oversight hearing of the U.S. Copyright Office featuring testimony from Karyn Temple, the …
Judge Koh Delivers Qualcomm Brutal Defeat Despite Apple’s Proven Manipulation
In a 233-page Order issued yesterday, Judge Lucy Koh of the United States Federal District Court for the Northern District of California handed Qualcomm a stinging defeat …
USPTO Seeking Patent Examiners for DC/Metro Office in Multiple Areas of Expertise
The United States Patent and Trademark Office is seeking Patent Examiners for it's DC/Metro office location in the areas of Electrical, Mechanical, Computer, Biomedical, and Industrial …
SCOTUS Ruling in Return Mail Delivers Blow to Government Use of IPRs
This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Return Mail, Inc. v. United States Postal Service in which the 6-3 majority held that the …
Huawei/CNEX and the Role of Trade Secrets in the U.S.-China Trade War
In late May, news reports surfaced regarding allegations of trade secret theft committed by Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies that had been made in an Eastern District …
Hauptman Ham Seeks to Expand its Patent Prosecution Practice
Hauptman Ham, LLP, an intellectual property law firm located in Northern Virginia, seeks experienced candidates with industry experience for its patent prosecution practice due to its rapid …
Federal Circuit to University of Minnesota: No State Sovereign Immunity For You
The Federal Circuit today ruled that The University of Minnesota (UMN)—an arm of the state of Minnesota—is not protected by state sovereign immunity from a …
Opticurrent Says Power Integrations Reexamination Attempt is Gamesmanship
On May 13, patent owner Opticurrent, LLC, filed an emergency motion for leave to file a supplemental motion for judgment in a patent infringement case being fought out …
Patent Attorneys Address Implications of SCOTUS’ Return Mail Ruling
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Return Mail, Inc. v. United States Postal Service that the U.S. government doesn’t qualify as a “person” …
Unified Patents Seeks Experienced, Registered Patent Attorneys
Unified Patents is again growing its legal department, and seeks experienced, registered, patent attorneys. Applicants must have at least 3 years of law firm or other relevant experience …
The Trademark Cases the Supreme Court Will Hear Next Term
On June 28, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to take up a pair of cases that could affect how trademark cases are argued in federal courts. …
House Hearing Highlights China, E-Commerce Contributions to Cluttering of U.S. Trademark Register
At a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet this morning, titled Counterfeits and Cluttering: Emerging Threats to the …
U.S. Postal Service Seeking Copyright/Trademark Attorney in Washington DC
The Law Department of the United States Postal Service is seeking to fill a Copyright/Trademark Attorney position in the Procurement & Property Law Section. This is a …
Gene Quinn Named Top IP Strategist by IAM For Third Consecutive Year
Gene Quinn, IPWatchdog Founder and CEO, has been named to the IAM Strategy 300 – The World’s Leading IP Strategists for the third consecutive year. The IAM Strategy 300 “…
A Complete Guide to Protecting Images from Photo Theft
One of the first and easiest steps any photographer can take in protecting images against photo theft is to lower the resolution and size of their photos …
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. …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 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 …
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 …
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 …
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 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 …
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 "…
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 …
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 …
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 …
When is an Invention Obvious?
That being said, the possibility that a utility patent could be obtained cannot be definitively ruled out even if an invention seems quite likely to be obvious, …
Utility Patent Applications – Content and Substance
In order to obtain a utility patent one must file what is referred to as a non-provisional application or a non-provisional utility application. It is called “non-provisional” …
The Benefits of a Provisional Patent Application
Like any other patent application, a provisional patent application is effective to stop the clock relative to so-called statutory bars and immediately upon filing a provisional patent …
