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Expanded Collaborative Search Pilot Program – New Combined Petition Option For Participation

By Gregory Lars Gunnerson

Yesterday, March 29, 2022, the USPTO published a notice on the Federal Register, announcing it is making it easier to participate in the Expanded Collaborative Search Pilot (CSP) program. Specifically, the USPTO collaborated with its counterpart offices, the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the Korea Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), to develop a combined petition form […]

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Copyright, Fair Use, and the Internet

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In the most general sense, copyright infringement is copying, or using, a work protected by copyright without permission from the copyright owner. Almost inevitably, soon after you hear the words “copyright infringement,” you will also hear the words “fair use.” Fair use is one of the most frequently discussed defenses to copyright infringement but it […]

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Policing Copyrights: Dua Lipa Sued for Allegedly Plagiarizing “Levitating”

By Gregory Lars Gunnerson

We often get asked: Just how exactly does one prevail at trial in a copyright litigation? To what degree of likeness do songs have to have in order to be considered a copy? Forensic musicology is the means by which parties can offer evidence in copyright disputes. Forensic musicologists analyze melody, harmony, rhythm, and orchestration […]

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Law Firms Pull Out of Russia

By Kirk M. Hartung

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many multi-national law firms are closing their Russian offices.  At least two dozen big law firms have decided to stop business for the foreseeable future.  This affects upwards of 1000 attorneys practicing in Russia.  Some firms are moving their Moscow-based attorneys out of the country, at least in […]

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USPTO Terminates Global Patent Prosecution Highway with Rospatent

By Luke T. Mohrhauser

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced today, effective March 11, 2022, that it will no longer grant requests to participate in the Global Patent Prosecution Highway (GPPH) at the USPTO when such requests are based on work performed by Rospatent (Russian Patent Office) as an Office of Earlier Examination under the GPPH. […]

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Expanded Export Restrictions Target Russia for Ukraine Invasion

The United States and its allies have imposed a variety of financial sanctions and export control restrictions aimed at Russia and Belarus in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. These sanctions affect companies with business in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, in addition to companies that plan to draw investment from these […]

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Celebrating International Women’s Day

By Heidi Sease Nebel

International Women’s Day on March 8th each year celebrates the social, economic, and political achievements of women around the world. The day also brings international awareness to gender parity. The state of Iowa has a storied history of gender equality with the Arabella Mansfield, the first woman in the country admitted to a state bar […]

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Bruce W. McKee Retirement Tribute

By Richard Marsolais

On February 28, 2022, Bruce W. McKee officially retired after a long and illustrious career at the law firm that bears his name, McKee, Voorhees & Sease, PLC. Bruce practiced law for nearly 60 years where he established himself as one of Iowa’s premier intellectual property attorneys. Bruce was born in 1934 and grew up […]

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Heidi S. Nebel Receives the Prestigious Iowa Biotech Leader Award

By Richard Marsolais

MVS is thrilled to announce that Heidi S. Nebel, Managing Partner and Chair of the MVS Chemical and Biotechnology Practice Group, received the Iowa Biotech Leader Award for 2022 for her accomplishments and significant achievements in biotechnology. Heidi received the award during the Iowa Biotech Showcase and Conference. This award is given by the Iowa […]

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Could AI be An Inventor?

By Ashley E. Holland

Stephen Thaler is an AI researcher who has developed a device for the autonomous bootstrapping of unified sentience, or DABUS, an AI machine. In recent years he, or rather DABUS, has been producing both copyrightable and patentable work. Yet, countries around the world aren’t quite convinced. Many countries, like the US, clearly distinguish who may […]

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