Federal Circuit Reverses PTAB Obviousness Decision for the Board’s Failure to Adequately Articulate an Obviousness Rationale In Black & Decker, Inc. v. Positec USA, Inc., a non-precedential opinion, the Federal Circuit reversed the Patent and Trial Appeal Board’s (PTAB) finding of obviousness of two claims. The appeal arose from an Inter Partes Review (IPR) of U.S. Patent No. 5,544,417 owned by Black & Decker directed to a string trimmer. The PTAB […] Continue Reading →
USPTO Releases New Guidance on Life Sciences Patent-Eligible Subject Matter The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued new guidance for Subject Matter Eligibility of Life Sciences patents. A memorandum with the subject “Formulating a Subject Matter Eligibility Rejection and Evaluating the Applicant’s Response to a Subject Matter Eligibility Rejection” was released May 4, 2016. The Memorandum was accompanied by a new set of […] Continue Reading →
UPDATE: Federal Trade Secret Act Signed into Law Today (May 11, 2016), the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) of 2016 was signed into law by President Obama. The DTSA was passed in the House of Representatives on April 27, by a vote of 410-2. The Senate had previously passed the DTSA on April 4 by a vote of 87-0. The DTSA was presented […] Continue Reading →
Trademarks in China Apple recently lost what may turn out to be a significant trademark infringement case in China. Apple, having a registration for the mark “IPHONE”in international class (IC) 9, opposed Xintong Tiandi Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd.’s trademark application for the mark “IPHONE”in IC 18 covering leather goods, including cell phone cases. Apple argued that the IPHONE […] Continue Reading →