Rebecca Tapscott
Posts by Rebecca Tapscott
From Home Security to VoIP: Honoring Black Women Inventors of the Last Half-Century
Throughout February, we have recognized some of the earliest Black women inventors, beginning with Martha Jones in 1868 and her patent directed to a corn husker, ending with …
Sarah Boone: the ‘Ironing Table’, Perfected
Sarah Boone is believed to be the fifth African-American woman to be awarded a U.S. patent Her invention, U.S. Patent No. 473,653, issued in 1892 and was …
Eighteen Dollars for Her Patent: Ellen Elgin and the Story of the Clothes-Wringer
In August 1888, Ellen Elgin, a black woman housekeeper, invented a clothes wringer which allowed clothing to be washed and dried faster by feeding clothes through two rollers …
Signed with an ‘X’: Judy Reed, Improved Dough Kneader and Roller
Judy W. Reed, one of the first recorded African American women to receive a U.S. patent (No. 305,474), is known for her invention titled “Dough Kneader and …
A Cooking Revolution: Mary Jones De Leon
In 1873, Mary Jones De Leon was granted U.S. patent No. 140,253 for her invention titled ”Cooking Apparatus.” De Leon, who resided in Baltimore, Maryland, is believed to …
A Better Way to Husk: Martha Jones, First Black Woman to Receive a U.S. Patent
Martha Jones of Amelia County, Virginia, is believed by many to be the first black woman to receive a United States patent. Her application for an “Improvement …
Complete Genomics Sues Illumina for Antitrust and Unfair Competition Violations
Complete Genomics, Inc., BGI Americas Corp., and MGI America’s Inc. (Complete Genomics) have filed suit against Illumina, Inc. alleging violation of federal antitrust statutes and California …
Minaj-Chapman Copyright Settlement is a Warning to Artists
Last week, documents were filed confirming that singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman accepted Onika Tanya Maraj’s (who performs rap under the stage name Nicki Minaj) Rule 68 Offer of …
Federal Circuit Reverses Holding of Infringement Based on Faulty Claim Construction
On January 5, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) reversed a decision of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of …
Former CAFC Chief Judge Michel Backs Ericsson in FRAND Dispute
On January 5, the Honorable Paul R. Michel filed an amicus brief in support of Ericsson’s Emergency Application for an Anti-Interference Injunction related to Samsung’s lawsuit …
Federal Circuit Vacates PTAB Holding that Raytheon Patent is Non-Obvious
On December 23, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) vacated a decision of the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeals Board (PTAB), holding …
The Year in Patents: Ten Developments We’ll Remember From 2020
As we end 2020— a year most of us probably wish to forget— it appears that after much litigation it is finally safe to call Joe Biden the …
The Copyright Top Five of 2020
From the Google v. Oracle arguments to Congress’ year-long discussion around reform of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 2020 was a big one for copyright law. A …
Senator Tillis Releases Draft Bill to Modernize the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property released a discussion draft copyright reform bill titled the 'Digital Copyright …
PTAB Precedential: Two Decisions Against Exercising Discretion to Deny Institution Made Precedential
On December 17, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) designated two opinions as precedential, both decisions where the PTAB considered the so-called Fintiv factors and decided …