Bills in Congress would Revoke the PTAB and Restore Patentability of Several Products

Several bills have been introduced in Congress in the last two months that would have a big impact on patent law if passed. The first, introduced at the end of June is HR6264, referred to as The Restoring American Leadership in Innovation Act. Among the provisions of this bill would be elimination of the Patent […]

Inter Partes Review Proceedings (IPRs) Do Not Violate Article III of the Constitution per U.S. Supreme Court

By Jonathan L. Kennedy

The U.S. Supreme held in a 7-2 decision (Justice Gorsuch and Chief Justice Roberts dissenting), Oil States Energy Servs. V. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC, that the Inter Partes Review proceedings, commonly referred to as IPRs, do not violate Article III or the Seventh Amendment. The Court was deciding two primary constitutional challenges: (1) whether IPRs violate […]

Copyright Small Claims Bill Introduced

Copyright owners are one step closer to being able to pursue copyright infringement actions through a copyright small claims system. A new bipartisan House bill has introduced the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2017 (“CASE Act”). The CASE Act, H.R. 3945, was recently introduced by Congressional representatives to create a small claims court […]

STRONGER PATENTS ACT

On June 21, 2017, U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) introduced the STRONGER Patents Act of 2017 with the goal of strengthening the U.S. patent system by making it easier and cheaper for patent holders to enforce their patents. STRONGER (Support Technology and Research for Our […]

Software patents in the Federal Circuit‚¬¦ One step forward, two steps back.

Following the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in the Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int’l, (S. Ct. 2014) case (which held that abstract ideas are not patentable), the software and computer industry has been fighting and clawing to peel back the layers of the decision in hopes of finding some clarity as to what is […]

Supreme Court Revisits Standard for Awarding Attorneys’ Fees in Copyright Cases

Earlier this week the Supreme Court heard oral arguments addressing the relevant standard for awarding attorneys’ fees in cases involving copyright law. The Court’s ruling, expected later this spring, will likely have a significant impact on copyright litigation cases. Section 505 of the Copyright Act provides that a district court “may”award a reasonable attorney’s fee […]

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 […]

Innovation Promotion Act Could Mean Income Deductions for Patents and Other Intellectual Property

  Current tax laws do not permit deductions or other preferential tax treatment for income derived from intellectual property. This may change based on proposed tax reforms. On July 29th the House Ways and Means Committee members Charles Boustany (R-LA) and Richard Neal (D-MA) released a legislative proposal for public comment outlining the Innovation Promotion Act. […]

Innovation Promotion Act Would Mean Income Deductions for Patents

Currently tax law does not permit deductions or other preferential tax rules for income derived from intellectual property. Proposed tax reforms consider changing this. On July 29th the House Ways and Means Committee members Charles Boustany (R-LA) and Richard Neal (D-MA) released a legislative proposal for public comment outlining the Innovation Promotion Act that would, in […]

Alternative Patent Reform Legislation Proposed in Senate

Even though the America Invents Act is just over 3 years old, patent reform legislation has arisen on several occasions over the past years. The most visible legislative efforts have involved the “Innovation Act” proposed by Senator Goodlatte in 2013, and again in 2015. The version of the Innovation Act introduced in 2013 stalled out […]