Two New ex Parte Trademark Cancellation Proceedings By Julie L. Spieker On December 18, 2021, new regulations implementing the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (“the TMA”) will officially go into effect allowing individuals, businesses, and the USPTO to clear unused registered trademarks from the federal trademark register. New ex parte expungement and reexamination proceedings are said to provide a faster, more efficient, and less expensive alternative […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit dismisses another appeal by Apple Inc. By Joseph M. Hallman On November 10, 2021, in Apple Inc. v. Qualcomm Incorporated (Apple v. Qualcomm), the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) dismissed Apple Inc.’s (“Apple”) consolidated appeal from four decisions made by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”). The PTAB held that claims of patents owned by Qualcomm Incorporated (“Qualcomm”) […] Continue Reading →
When your own patent application counts as prior art: Beware the Continuation-In-Part By Cassie J. Edgar Often during patent prosecution new technologies, concepts and data grow out of an original filing. How can you protect those new innovations? The natural reaction is to file a child application off of the parent filing, in order to preserve the earlier priority date through a continuation or continuation-in-part (CIP) application. A continuation is limited […] Continue Reading →
Congressman/Inventor Introduces Legislation to “Fix” U.S. Patent System By Kirk M. Hartung On November 4th, Kentucky Representative, Thomas Massie, who is the named inventor on two dozen patents, has introduced a bill to the House Judiciary Committee which, if passed, would significantly change U.S. patent laws. The bill seeks to nullify some provisions of the America Invents Act (AIA) passed in 2011, as well as reverse some […] Continue Reading →
MVS Recognized Again By Best Lawyers “Best Law Firm” Rankings as a Top Law Firm By Richard Marsolais McKee, Voorhees & Sease is proud to be recognized by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers® for their “Best Law Firms” Tier 1 rankings in Des Moines for Copyright Law, Intellectual Property Litigation, Patent Litigation, Patent Law, and Trademark Law. Firms included in the 2022 “Best Law Firms” list are recognized for professional […] Continue Reading →
USPTO CALLED TO STEP UP INTERAGENCY COOPERATION By Charles P. Romano, Ph.D. In the immediate wake of the Belcher v. Hospira case where the patent holder made contradictory statements to the USPTO and the FDA regarding prior art, Senators Leahy and Tillis called for “the creation of a smooth, predictable, and regular channel of information from other federal agencies to the Patent Office” in a letter to […] Continue Reading →
The Great Dichotomy: Patent Protection vs. Regulatory Approval By Cassie J. Edgar As a scientist in discovery mode, the primary focus is often on points of novelty and seeking patent protection for the invention. The supporting data in the patent application serves as proof that this is a unique innovation, has never been seen before, and overcomes key challenges. However, when the product is regulated, converse arguments […] Continue Reading →