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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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China joins WIPO’s Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs Effective May 5, 2022

By Julie L. Spieker

Earlier this month, the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) announced that China has joined WIPO’s Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs effective May 5, 2022. An industrial design is a form of intellectual property that protects the ornamental or visual features of an article not related to its functionality. In general, to […]

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Tread Lightly: Nike Trademark Lawsuit Raises NFT Questions

By Nicholas J. Krob

If you have read Brandon Clark’s January 25th “Copyright Ownership, Transfers, and NFTs” article (and if you haven’t, you should!), you will know that the growth of NFTs, or “Non-Fungible Tokens,” has brought with it a whole host of questions regarding intellectual property. Frequently, these questions center around copyright law. However, as demonstrated by a […]

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Federal Circuit holds that applicant admitted prior art in a challenged patent may not form the basis of a ground to institute an inter partes review, but may be considered as evidence

By Joseph M. Hallman

On February 2, 2022, in Qualcomm Incorporated v. Apple Inc., the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) dismissed Qualcomm’s  appeal of two related inter partes review (“IPR”) decisions of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”). The PTAB held several claims of a patent owned by Qualcomm to be unpatentable. […]

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