COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program Extended

By Brian D. Keppler, Ph.D.

The USPTO recently announced on March 25, 2022 that the COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program has been extended for a third time. Requests for prioritized examination filed in qualifying patent applications will now be accepted until midnight on June 30, 2022. The pilot program began accepting requests on July 13, 2020 and was initially limited […]

Retired Federal Circuit Judge Seeks Patent Law Clarification

By Kirk M. Hartung

With her retirement from the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on March 11, 2022, Judge Kathleen O’Malley feels the need to express her sentiments on several patent law issues that need attention from the Supreme Court or from Congress.  She served on this Court (which has exclusive jurisdiction for patent appeals from U.S. […]

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 […]

Copyright, Fair Use, and the Internet

By Brandon W. Clark

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 […]

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 […]

Copyright Ownership, Transfers, and NFTs

By Brandon W. Clark

Twitter recently went ablaze after Spice DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization, won an auction for 2.66 million euros (a little over $3 million USD) for an unpublished manuscript of Frank Herbert and Alejandro Jodorowsky’s never completed film Dune. The viral reaction wasn’t due to the purchase of the manuscript, rather it occurred after the organization […]

USPTO Creates New Programs to Provide Economic Relief During the Pandemic

Blog by Drew Hirshfeld, Performing the Functions and Duties of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO In response to a January 2021 Executive Order (EO) on economic relief during the COVID-19 pandemic, we established an Economic Relief Working Group (ERWG) comprised of individuals from across the USPTO to identify and […]

Edmund J. Sease Retirement Tribute

By Richard Marsolais

On December 31, 2021, Edmund J. Sease officially retired after a long and illustrious career at the law firm that bears his name, McKee, Voorhees & Sease, PLC. Ed practiced law for 55 years where he established himself as one of the premier intellectual property attorneys in the country. He also taught and mentored students […]

Gaming Company Patents Digging Holes and Filling Holes with Water

By Gregory Lars Gunnerson

They say in patents the name of the game is the claims. So, can you guess which game this claim likely belongs to? A game controlling method comprising: based on input to a controller, digging in a terrain object disposed in a virtual space, placing an object representing a flowable fluid in a dug portion […]

Upcoming Issues of Patent Eligibility in 2022: American Axle v. Neapco

By Sarah M.D. Luth

2022 could bring about big changes in one of the most significant and murky areas of patent law: patent eligibility. In the upcoming year, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether to take up a case which—in a Federal Circuit judge’s words—“bitterly divided” the appellate court on how to apply the law on patent eligibility. […]