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Supreme Court Petition Challenges PTAB’s Constitutionality Under the Takings Clause
Advanced Audio’s petition for writ of certiorari notes, all five patents were filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office prior to the enactment of …
Narrowly Construing the Bright-line Eligibility Prohibition Does Not Prevent Policing of Overbroad Claiming
Narrowly construing the § 101 eligibility exception for abstract ideas is not only suggested by Supreme Court guidance, but also could potentially allow for increased coherence and consistency while …
Petition for En Banc Review Asks Federal Circuit for Clarity on Single Reference Obviousness
The focus of the appeal is the need for clarity with respect to hopelessly irreconcilable caselaw on the issue of single reference obviousness... Decisions from the Federal …
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Complaint Alleges Balenciaga Copied Design of Affordable NYC Souvenirs for Luxury Knockoffs
A New York City-based souvenir and apparel firm City Merchandise filed a complaint alleging claims of copyright infringement against the American subsidiary of French luxury fashion house …
Compromise on Music Modernization Act Leads to Unconditional Support From Music Industry Organizations
A collection of trade organizations representing music publishers and songwriters recently released a joint statement in which all announced unconditional support for S.2823, the Music Modernization Act (…
The CRISPR Tug of War
The University of California (“UC”) and The Broad Institute, Inc. (“Broad”) are among the leaders in the development of CRISPR technology. Both UC and Broad filed patent …
Nintendo Files Copyright, Trademark Infringement Suit Against Operator of ROM Websites
Nintendo’s complaint targets the operator of LoveROMS.com and LoveRETRO.co who has made thousands of Nintendo titles available online for free from platforms including the …
United Cannabis Responds: Highly enriched extracts of plant cannabinoids are inventive
I note that the ‘911 patent claims are novel and inventive because they are directed to never before made liquid formulations of highly enriched extracts of plant cannabinoids. …
The Chinese “Super Trademark”: A Creative Strategy for Overseas IP Protection
Enforcement of trademark rights in China is an ongoing issue faced by numerous corporations. Invalidating or canceling a trademark registration in the Chinese market is time-consuming and …
CAFC Upholds 101 Invalidation of Database Claims on Summary Judgment Despite Berkheimer
On Wednesday, August 15th, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a precedential decision in BSG Tech LLC v. BuySeasons, Inc. which upheld a decision …
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP Seeks Patent Agent or Associate Patent Attorney
The Intellectual Property group in the Seattle office of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is seeking a Patent Agent (preferably) or Patent Associate Attorney with more than two …
Will the USPTO use annual patent practitioner dues to stop the unauthorized practice of law?
It is no secret to anyone in the industry; the unauthorized practice of law is rampant, and OED does nothing to stop it... If charging dues to …
Litigating Copyrights: Is Registration required to get into Court?
While registration is required in order to file a lawsuit for copyright in federal court, there is currently a circuit split with regard to what part of …
Judge Rules Photographer Owned Marilyn Monroe Photo Copyright, Fair Use Moves to Trial
U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York recently entered an opinion and order in a copyright case involving the famed “Last …
In an Abstract Idea Context, Little Is Unmistakably Within the Bright-line Eligibility Prohibition
It seems clear that the Supreme Court did not intend to categorically prohibit patenting of everything which can be characterized as an abstract idea at some level …
Apple’s Declaratory Judgment Backfires, Turns Into $145.1M Damages Verdict Wi-LAN
On August 1st, a jury verdict entered in the Southern District of California awarded $145.1 million in reasonable royalty damages to Canadian IP licensing firm Wi-LAN in a …
Misapplication of Obviousness: What the MPEP gets wrong about obviousness rejections
MPEP 2141 actually cites to Arendi, but then quotes the case entirely out of context. This is a worrisome problem that can be found in many parts of …
Qualcomm Reaches Settlement With Taiwan Free Trade Commission Wiping Out Most of $773M Antitrust Penalty
On Thursday, August 9th, San Diego, CA-based semiconductor developer Qualcomm Inc. announced that it reached a mutually agreed settlement with the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission (TFTC) which …
Amazon CEO Bezos is Knowingly Complicit in Online Sales of Counterfeit Goods, According to Report
Although Amazon is typically quick to reference its anti-counterfeit policy as proof of its commitment to weeding out inauthentic products from its retail platform, watchdog groups continue …
Did the Supreme Court intentionally destroy the U.S. patent system?
Why did the Supreme Court intentionally destroy the U.S. patent system? That is a question many have been asking themselves in the wake of more than …
Iancu: ‘It is unclear what is patentable and what is not, and that can depress innovation’
Earlier today USPTO Director Andrei Iancu testified at an Oversight Hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. In addition to detailing forthcoming changes to post grant proceedings, Director …
The Top 10 Things New Patent Practitioners Should Know
One of the most common questions I receive from these individuals is this: “Once I pass the patent bar exam, how do I learn to actually start …
China extends drug patent exclusivity to 25 years
Among members of the news media, patents have been a popular whipping boy when contemplating why Americans pay higher drug prices relative to the rest of the …
Iancu: People have a right to know what is patent eligible
While the subject matter of the speech was similar, this speech by Director Iancu was different. It was much more direct and forceful than any of his …
Supreme Court win for Patent Owners on Lost Foreign Profits in WesternGeco v. ION Geophysical
Earlier today the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in WesternGeco LLC v. ION Geophysical Corp., which in a 7-2 decision ruled that a patent owner …
‘Cockygate’ Trademark Row Causes Heartbreak in U.S. Indie Romance Novel Publishing Industry
In recent weeks, the U.S. romance publishing industry has been roiling over a trademark issue which has been less-than-affectionately referred to as Cockygate. According to various …
The Collapse of U.S. Patent Policy by a Supreme Court preoccupied with Patent Trolls
U.S. patent policy has collapsed at the hands of a Supreme Court preoccupied with a boogeyman not present in a single dispute they were asked to …
Federal Circuit: No matter how much the advance the claims recite, they are patent ineligible
This case and the passage above merely confirms what we have long known to be true. The magnitude of the innovation does not matter. Whether there is …
Understanding U.S. Patent Prosecution
The journey to a patent begins much before actually filing the patent application, but this article, however, provides an overview of the patent application and patent prosecution …
Google Changes Its Code of Conduct After Years of Being Evil Towards Patent Owners
However, in intellectual property circles, it would be easy question whether Google has lived up to the goal of not doing, or being, evil... Google’s efforts …
PolarityTE stock tumbles, harassed by activist short seller misrepresenting Public PAIR data
Whether the Citron report is intentionally wrong for the purpose of causing PolarityTE stock to tumble, which it has, or whether it is recklessly wrong, or just …
‘Graphical User Interface’ does not necessarily invoke means-plus function analysis
In Zeroclick, LLC v. Apple Inc., before Judge Jimmie Reyna, Judge Richard Taranto, and Judge Todd Hughes, Zeroclick appealed a district court's interpretation of the claims as …
Federal Circuit Reverses District Court’s Invalidation of Patents Asserted Against Apple
On appeal to the Federal Circuit, Zeroclick argued that the district court erred in construing those two terms as means-plus-function limitations, an argument with which the Federal …
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 …
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 …
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. …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Top Patent Firms for 2015
We compiled a list of the top patent firms, which are ranked based on the total number of U.S. utility patents that issued in 2015 where the …
A Post-Alice Playbook: Practical Strategies for Responding to Alice-Based Rejections
Although the Supreme Court in Alice declined to provide an express definition of “abstract idea,” the opinion is packed with evidence that the Court intended for the …
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… …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 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 …
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 …
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 …
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” …
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 …
