Second Circuit: revisions to Federal Trademark Dilution Statute revive Starbucks claim The Second Circuit recently ruled that coffee giant Starbucks could proceed with its trademark dilution case against a defendant using the mark “Mr. Charbucks.” In 2005, the lower court found after a bench trial that Starbucks had not proven actual dilution of its trademark, the requirement under the earlier version of the statute. The statute […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit accepts rare interlocutory claim construction appeal Today the Federal Circuit accepted an interlocutory appeal from a district court relating to patent claim construction. Because of the rarity of such a decision by the Federal Circuit, the court felt compelled to explain, in a precedential order, why it was accepting the order, and so members of the bar wouldn’t get their hopes […] Continue Reading →
Fourth Circuit a “maddening mixture of getting some things right and some things very very wrong” William Patry, author of a treatise on copyright law, has an interesting post on his copyright law blog about a decision yesterday in the Fourth Circuit. The facts of the case are relatively simple the plaintiff owned a copyright on some architectural plans that the defendant obtained an unauthorized copy of. The defendant used the […] Continue Reading →
House passes pilot program for judges to volunteer for patent cases Yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.34, a bill that would establish a pilot program that would enable district court judges who want to hear patent cases to volunteer for such cases as well as receive additional training on patent law. The bill now moves to the Senate, where some expect it will also […] Continue Reading →
Happy National Inventors’ Day! Today is National Inventors' Day, a day to celebrate the contributions that inventors have brought into our lives. National Inventors' Day is today (February 11) because it is also the birthday of one of the most prolific inventors of all time, Thomas Alva Edison, who was awarded 1,097 patents over the course of his lifetime, […] Continue Reading →
Inventors Hall of Fame announces 2007 inductees The National Inventors Hall of Fame has announced this year’s inductees. In all, 16 inventors were inducted, 7 living and 9 posthumously. Those honored include: Paul Baran and Donald Davies for digital packet switching Paul Lauterbur and Peter Mansfield for Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Emmett Chappelle for Bioluminescence techniques Leroy Hood for the automated DNA […] Continue Reading →
Dippin’ Dots: brought to you by inequitable conduct, but not an antitrust violation What do Dippin' Dots, the little beads of ice cream sold at fairs, stadiums, and malls, have to do with patent and antitrust law? For the Federal Circuit, they presented the "close case" where a patent holder can be found to have engaged in inequitable conduct during prosecution of the patent but is not liable […] Continue Reading →
India’s Union Cabinet approves accession to Madrid Protocol Today, India’s Union Cabinet approved India’s accession to the Madrid Protocol, the international treaty relating to registration of trademarks. The next step will be introduction of Bill in India’s Parliament to finalize the accession and to amend India’s trademark laws to include the requirements of the Madrid Protocol. The Madrid Protocol permits trademark applicants to […] Continue Reading →
Seventh Circuit: single sale insufficient use in commerce to support trademark registration In Custom Vehicles, Inc. v. Forest River, Inc., the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a trademark plaintiff did not engage in sufficient use in commerce to support trademark rights. Even worse for the plaintiff, the court held that even if there were sufficient use, the mark at issue was descriptive, and there was […] Continue Reading →