Avoiding Pitfalls in European filings Subsequent to Filing a United States Patent Application When filing a European patent application subsequent to a United States patent application, via Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) or otherwise, it is essential to draft the claims (and preferably the written description) with an eye to, and a working knowledge of, the intricacies of European Patent Laws. Merely appending foreign filing documents to a copy […] Continue Reading →
Will the U.S. Enact a Federal Trade Secret Law? (Part 4 of Trade Secret Series) In this Filewrapper® series relating to all things trade secrets, we have previously posted on the role and value of trade secrets (available here), described how the value of trade secrets are commonly assessed (available here), and provided an overview on the current protection schemes available for trade secrets in the U.S. (available here). In […] Continue Reading →
How Are Trade Secrets Protected? (Part 3 of Trade Secret Series) Filewrapper® previously introduced a new series of blog postings on the value and role of trade secrets, along with strategies to ensure protection. Previous posts first gave an overview of the role and value of trade secrets (available here), and then described how the value of trade secrets are commonly assessed (available here). In this […] Continue Reading →
Political Campaigns & Unauthorized Music As the presidential caucuses approach so do the opportunities for political candidates to end up in the headlines for using unauthorized music in their campaigns. In nearly every campaign cycle you hear about a recording artist upset that a politician or campaign used the artist’s music without authorization. A list of notable disputes include Bruce […] Continue Reading →
Apple and Fitbit Sued Over Wearable Physiological Monitoring For many, the start of a new year is a time for setting New Year’s resolutions. Many of these resolutions will include goals for the year, like saving money, paying off debts, volunteering in the community more, and living a healthier lifestyle. Living a healthier lifestyle and/or getting in better shape are always popular resolutions. […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit Clarifies Rules for IPR Supplemental Information Submission The America Invents Act (AIA) created a number of new pseudo-litigation proceedings at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the USPTO. While the proceedings, including inter-partes review (IPR), have been in place since September 16, 2012, the specific rules and procedures, as well as the underlying authority, continue to be resolved. On December […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit Holds that USPTO Can’t Deny Trademarks as Offensive or Disparaging On Tuesday, December 22, 2015, the Federal Circuit held that a portion of § 2(a) of the Lanham Act is unconstitutional in a 10-2 decision. The decision was made in In re Simon Shiao Tam, an appeal from the Trademark Office. Mr. Tam is a member of an Asian American rock band called THE SLANTS. […] Continue Reading →
Applying the USPTO Guidance on Patent Eligibility of Software The Supreme Court’s June 25, 2014 decision in Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International, et al., was anticipated as being the case to decide once and for all whether software is patentable. Many were worried the decision would cause the demise of software patents while others hoped it would secure the future […] Continue Reading →
Happy Birthday to All: The Famous Song is Now Effectively in the Public Domain The world of copyrights and the Public Domain can be a complex and confusing place. Generally, any work created or first published in the U.S. prior to 1923 is in the Public Domain. However, to determine if a work that was created or first published in the U.S. after 1923 has passed into the Public […] Continue Reading →
Reminder: Are You Monitoring Your Competitors’ Patents for Post-Grant Review? There were many changes implemented by the USPTO as a result of the America Invents Act (“AIA”or generally Patent Reform). One these is the post-grant procedure (also referred to as Post-Grant Review (PGR)) for challenging the validity of a competitor’s patent. However, there is a very limited time frame during which this useful procedure can […] Continue Reading →