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 →
WIPO issues the Green Technology Book By Jill N. Link, Pharm.D. Today WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) released a digital resource called The Green Technology Book. The reference provides a 2022 report of technology trends and solutions for combating climate change. It further addresses how the intellectual property system can assist in adapting for climate change. This intersection of green technology and intellectual property provides practical […] Continue Reading →
Genetically Modified Purple Tomatoes By Brian D. Keppler, Ph.D. Purple tomatoes developed by Norfolk Plant Sciences in the UK may be coming to grocery stores in the not too distant future. Last month, USDA APHIS announced that, from a plant pest risk perspective, the purple tomato may be safely grown and used in breeding in the US. The purple color of the tomato is […] Continue Reading →
Who Owns the Copyright in A Tattoo? By Brandon W. Clark 17 U.S.C § 201. Ownership of a Copyright. (a) Initial Ownership. — Copyright in a work protected under this title vests initially in the author or authors of the work. The authors of a joint work are coowners of copyright in the work. The ownership of the copyright in a tattoo has long been the […] Continue Reading →
New Path to Accelerated USPTO Examination with the Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program By Jill N. Link, Pharm.D. A few weeks back my colleague posted here about how to receive faster examination before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Now there is another avenue available for inventions related to climate change. On June 3, 2022 the USPTO announced a Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program to speed up examination for certain types […] Continue Reading →
COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program Extended By Brian D. Keppler, Ph.D. The USPTO recently announced on March 25, 2022 that the COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program has been extended for a third time. Requests for prioritized examination filed in qualifying patent applications will now be accepted until midnight on June 30, 2022. The pilot program began accepting requests on July 13, 2020 and was initially limited […] Continue Reading →
Oatly – wow no cow, yes patents By Brian D. Keppler, Ph.D. Oatly, the Swedish oat milk company, has been in the news recently with their initial public offering occurring just last month. Initially priced at $17, shares jumped to $22 on the first day of trading and have been as high as $29 since (which equates to a market cap of over $17 billion!). In the […] Continue Reading →
Breakthrough in Protein Structure Prediction By Brian D. Keppler, Ph.D. Knowing the three-dimensional structure of a particular protein is critical in determining its function and has implications for everything from treating human disease to herbicide resistant plants. Researchers currently use experimental techniques such as x-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance, or cryo-electron microscopy to establish the structure. However, these techniques are time consuming and can take […] Continue Reading →
Obtaining Copyright Registrations for Blogs and Social Media Posts Just Got Easier By Brandon W. Clark Online content creators including bloggers and social media influencers are now able to take advantage of a new group copyright registration option for short online works such as blog entries, social media posts, and other short online works. The Copyright Office recently adopted the rule implementing this new group registration to help ease the burden […] Continue Reading →
USPTO to Provide a Deferred-Fee Provisional Patent Application Pilot Program By Luke T. Mohrhauser In yet another effort to encourage innovation to combat COVID-19, the United States Patent and Trademark Office recently announced a pilot program that attempts to expedite the protection and disclosure of innovations. The pilot program, titled “Deferred-Fee Provisional Patent Application Pilot Program and Collaboration Database to Encourage Inventions Related to COVID-19”, allows inventors to file […] Continue Reading →