Use Matters: Radio Hosts’ Attempt to Prevent Commercialization of “White Lives Matter” Phrase Unlikely to Succeed By Nicholas J. Krob Late last year, news broke that ownership of the trademark for the phrase “White Lives Matter,” which has been categorized by the Anti-Defamation League as a “hate slogan,” was transferred to the hosts of an Arizona-based radio show focused on racial justice. These hosts—Ramses Ja and Quinton Ward—agreed to the transfer of the trademark in […] Continue Reading →
FDA’s New Pathway for CBD Products: What Businesses Need to Know By Cassie J. Edgar The CBD industry is buzzing with today’s news that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is working with Congress to develop a new regulatory framework for cannabidiol (CBD) products. This is great news for businesses developing CBD products, as it means that there will be a clear path forward for the lawful marketing of […] Continue Reading →
OMG Dolls v. OMG Girlz Ends in Mistrial By Julie L. Spieker On January 25, 2023, a trial between rapper T.I. and doll maker MGA Entertainment Inc. ended in a mistrial after the judge determined that improper testimony regarding cultural appropriation was “incurably prejudicial” to the jury. In December 2020, MGA Entertainment sued Clifford T.I. Harris, his wife Temeka “Tiny” Harris, and OMG Girlz seeking a Declaratory […] Continue Reading →
USPTO Introduces New Tool to Help Creators Identify Their Intellectual Property By Luke T. Mohrhauser This is from a Press Release that was issued yesterday by the USPTO. Yesterday at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Women’s Entrepreneurship (WE) event in Naples, Florida, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office Kathi Vidal announced the launch of the agency’s new […] Continue Reading →
2022 U.S. Patent Filings Statistics By Kirk M. Hartung The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office received 646,855 patent applications in fiscal 2022 (October 1, 2021 – September 30, 2022), according to preliminary data from the USPTO. This is a slight decrease over filings in 2021. These filings include 589,155 utility applications, 54,476 design applications, and 918 plant applications. In addition, 147,339 provisional applications were filed […] Continue Reading →
IP is Everywhere!!! By Luke T. Mohrhauser We attend a lot of conferences and other events, and it is not uncommon to hear someone tell us, “Your job seems exciting, but we just don’t have any IP.” So, let’s step back. What is Intellectual Property (“IP”)? Isn’t it just Patents? No! There is so much more, including patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade dress, […] Continue Reading →
Will non-competes be a thing of the past? By Jill N. Link, Pharm.D. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is starting 2023 off with a bang by publishing a Notice of Proposed Rule-making (available here) that propose a Non-Compete Clause Rule. The topic is causing a buzz in the employment law sector. It should also be closely monitored through the intellectual property law sector. Many – including myself […] Continue Reading →
Staccato Cherry U.S. Plant Patent Invalidated By Brian D. Keppler, Ph.D. On December 30, 2022, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Washington granted a motion for summary judgment seeking to invalidate U.S. Plant Patent No. 20,551, covering a variety of cherry known as Staccato. Staccato is a sweet cherry variety developed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The Canadian government, the owner and assignee of […] Continue Reading →
AI in Healthcare: What You Need to Know About the FDA’s Regulatory Role By Cassie J. Edgar Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is increasingly being used in the healthcare field, and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plays a crucial role in regulating these applications. Below, we examine the different ways that the FDA regulates AI technology in healthcare and look at some of the challenges and opportunities presented by this rapidly […] Continue Reading →
U.S. Copyright, Patent and Trademark Offices to Conduct Publicly Available Roundtable Discussions Regarding NFTs in January 2023 By Gregory Lars Gunnerson NFTs represent unique and individualized digital identifiers that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, unlike cryptocurrencies. Both technologies are built and reside on blockchain technology. Both NFTs and cryptocurrencies have a complicated relationship with the patent, trademark, and copyright systems. For example, U.S. copyright laws do not automatically give an NFT owner any rights in […] Continue Reading →