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A Summary of the Constitutional Issues Raised by the Respondent in Oil States
The respondent immediately takes issue with the argument that patents are not public rights, summarily citing MCM Portfolio LLC v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 812 F.3d 1284 (Fed. Cir. 2015), cert. …
No Actual Controversy for Foreign Manufacturer for DJ, Even if Product is Manufactured in US
The dispute arose from a Mexican patent infringement suit between Stellar and two of Allied’s Mexican distributors. Allied manufactures the products accused of infringement in the …
Claims can be invalidated for reasons first articulated in rebuttal to a Patent Owner’s arguments in an IPR
Idemitsu Kosan Co. v. SFC Co., the Federal Circuit affirmed the Board’s decision to invalidate as obvious certain patent claims directed to a device that emits …
Evo of Tech: Harold Froehlich invents Alvin deep sea submersible while working at General Mills labs
Interestingly enough, the world of deep sea exploration actually owes a great deal of gratitude to a major American cereal company for providing a major advance in …
Peter McLaughlin Joins Burns & Levinson
Burns & Levinson announced that Peter McLaughlin, a highly respected cybersecurity and data privacy attorney, has joined the firm as a partner in its rapidly expanding Intellectual Property (…
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What I Want and Why: An Open Letter to the Next PTO Director
Inasmuch as the new Director can change, or do whatever they want once in the job, and will be subject to political winds, I thought I’d …
A Summary of the Constitutional Issues Raised by the Petitioner in Oil States
In arguing that inter partes review (IPR) violates the U.S. Constitution, the petitioner in Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC advances …
San Diego Comic Con succeeds on several motions in trademark infringement case against Salt Lake City Comic Con event organizers
On September 12th, Judge Anthony Battaglia of the Southern District of California entered an order granting motions made by the San Diego Comic Convention in a trademark …
Former Oblon Attorneys Launch Patent Firm Grüneberg and Myers
Dr. Kirsten Grüneberg and Eric Myers are pleased to announce the launch of a new international patent firm, Grüneberg and Myers PLLC. The attorneys both …
Patent Drafting 101: Going a Mile Wide and Deep with Variations in a Patent Application
You absolutely want to file a patent application with a description that is a mile wide — that part is good — but you also need to also drill …
PETA, photographer settle copyright ownership of monkey selfie
A complaint was filed in the Northern District of California on behalf of Naruto, at the time a six-year-old crested macaque residing in the Tangkoko Reserve located …
Indian Tribe files Motion to Dismiss RESTASIS Patent Challenge based on Sovereign Immunity
Earlier today the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe filed a Motion to Dismiss in six separate inter partes review (IPR) proceedings relating to the Allergan drug RESTASIS®. The …
Federal Circuit Lacked Jurisdiction Over Claims that Assignment Agreement was Invalid
Inselberg and Interactive filed a motion to dismiss Bisignano and First Data’s declaratory judgment claims and state court counterclaims, and moved to remand the action to …
CAFC says Equitable Estoppel Cannot Compel Arbitration in Waymo v. Uber
Uber Technologies, Inc. and Ottomotto LLC (“Uber”), appealed the district court’s order, denying Uber’s motion to compel arbitration of pending litigation with Waymo, LLC (“Waymo”). …
Intervenor Not Entitled to Mandamus Relief on Discovery Dispute in Waymo v. Uber
Waymo, a Google spin-off, sued Uber and Ottomotto for patent infringement and violations of federal and state trade secret laws. Waymo alleged that its former employee, Mr. …
CAFC upholds validity of Intellectual Ventures patents, reverses infringement findings
The Federal Circuit affirmed a district court decision upholding the validity of two patents belonging to Intellectual Ventures (“IV”), but reversed all findings of infringement regarding one …
Federal Circuit strikes down Gilstrap’s four-factor test for patent venue
After briefly parsing the statutory language of §1400(b) critical to the decision the Federal Circuit concluded that Judge Gilstrap's four-factor test was not compliant with the statutory …
A patent without enforcement value has no licensing value
Enforcement of patents through litigation occurs when licensing has failed to result in an arms length negotiated resolution. In other words, patent owners resort to litigation when …
DAIRY PRIDE Act would clear up consumer milk confusion between dairy products and plant-based beverages
Both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are currently contemplating versions of the Defending Against Imitations and Replacements of Yogurt, Milk and …
Trademarked Stork Upheld in Canadian Copyright Case
A recent trademark infringement case between Stork Market Inc v. 1736735 Ontario Inc. (Hello Pink Lawn Cards Inc), 2017 FC 779 has resulted in a win for the plaintiff and …
$17 million: The real and staggering cost to patent in the US in the PTAB age
At least $17 million. That is what my Bunch O Balloons patent has cost so far. It could grow to $50 million. Yes, we are talking about water balloons, …
Court affirms TTAB refusal to register ‘FIRST TUESDAY’ trademark for NC Lottery
In re N.C. Lottery, Appellant North Carolina Lottery (“N.C. Lottery”) sought to register the mark “FIRST TUESDAY” in connection with lottery services and games to …
A section-by-section look at the STRONGER Patents Act introduced in the Senate
In late June, the Support Technology and Research for Our Nation’s Growth and Economic Resilience (STRONGER) Patents Act of 2017 was introduced into the U.S. Senate …
Trump nominates Andrei Iancu to be USPTO Director
On Friday, August 25, 2017, the Trump Administration announced several nominations, one of which was the nomination of Andrei Iancu to be the next Under Secretary of Commerce for …
USPTO admits to stacking PTAB panels to achieve desired outcomes
The USPTO admits that the Director does not have statutory authority to adjudicate an issue after a panel has been chosen, but argues that the Director can …
US Inventor sets patents on fire as part of PTAB protest at USPTO
Despite going on with the protest after the USPTO denied a use permit application for the event, a source from the event reports that all planned aspects …
Thomas Massie: America’s Inventor Congressman
“I can tell you, every day Congress is in session there are lobbyists here trying to weaken the patent system,” Massie explained. In Massie’s words, those …
The PTAB: Number One Enemy of Inventors
When we apply for a patent, we are sharing our secret, our discovery, with the world. In exchange for sharing our secret we are promised 20 years of …
Why are these people giving testimony to Congress on patent reform?
Why does Mapbox’s viewpoint on patent litigation echo in the halls of Congress given the fact that it doesn’t appear that it has faced abusive …
Qualcomm ramps up its patent battle against Apple by asserting six non-SEPs in Section 337 complaint filed with ITC
The Qualcomm complaint alleges Section 337 violations of patent infringement caused by the importation and sale of certain mobile electronic devices and radio frequency and processing components facilitated …
Can cake designs result in intellectual property protection?
Excluding any questions regarding the rare patentability of a cake recipe, cake designs, under certain circumstances, may be protected under the laws of copyright and trademark. Specifically, …
China streamlines patent examination for Internet, big data patent applications
On July 28th, 2017, China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) announced a new set of regulations which are intended to streamline the examination of patent applications in …
Is Congressman Darrell Issa a patent troll?
Only $128,000 collected from a combined 13 cases? That is less than $10,000 per case, which doesn't even approach the nuisance value the truly bad actors, the true patent trolls …
Event planner Blue Ivy wins motion for early discovery in trademark opposition case against Beyoncé
On June 21st, however, an administrative trademark judge at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) granted Blue Ivy’s motion for early discovery. The discovery is …
Generic Examples of Claimed Compounds Do Not Satisfy Enablement Requirement
On June 21, 2017, In Storer v. Clark, the Federal Circuit affirmed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s interference decision, which awarded priority to Clark’s pending application (…
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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’…
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 …
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 …
Top Ten Law Firms in Technology Center 2400
Technology Center 2400 covers the technologies of computer networks, multiplex communication, video distribution, and cybersecurity. In terms of average time to allowance, it is the slowest-moving technology center, …
Open Innovation for the Electric Vehicle Market
Ford and Tesla have offered their patents for licensing in the hope of increasing electric vehicle (EV) adoption and improving the supporting infrastructure. In contrast, Toyota is …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 "…
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 …
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” …
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, …
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 …
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 …
