USPTO to partner with National Inventors Hall of Fame and Ad Council to promote innovation in youths Today the USPTO scheduled a press conference for Tuesday, April 10, to discuss details of a new public service advertising campaign to "engage a new generation of children to make innovation, invention and technological development an integral part of their lives." The USPTO will be partnering with the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation, operators […] Continue Reading →
Reebok files patent infringement against Nike over collapsible shoes Earlier this week, #2 shoe manufacturer Reebok sued #1 shoe manufacturer Nike for patent infringement. The patent at issue, number 7,168,190, just issued in the end of January, and relates to collapsable shoe technology. The idea is that the shoe design allows it to be rolled or folded for easier packing into, for example a […] Continue Reading →
Trademark infringement helping the needy? In November, 2006, approximately $200,000 worth of action figures were detained at the United States-Canada border by US Customs and Border Protection. They were stopped under the authority granted to the US Customs and Border Protection office, to prevent importation of goods that violate another company’s trademark or copyright rights. In order to take advantage […] Continue Reading →
USPTO releases strategic plan for 2007-2012 Today the USPTO released its strategic plan for the next five years, 2007-2012. The summary is available here, and the full plan here. Some thoughts on the strategic plan after the jump.After a quick read-through, much of the strategic plan appears to be a “let’s keep doing what we’re doing right and stop doing what […] Continue Reading →
Wall Street Journal on Viacom v. YouTube Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal has a column discussing the Viacom v. YouTube case (previously blogged about here). Mr. Mossberg thinks the problem is not confined to the particular dispute between Viacom and YouTube/Google, but rather is indicative of a need for greater guidance in copyright law from Congress. The Digital Millennium Copyright […] Continue Reading →
FTC charges various invention promotion companies with contempt The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed contempt charges against several companies and individuals who had been found to be swindling inventors under the guise of providing so-called “invention promotion services.” In 1998, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia entered an order preventing these individuals and companies from fraudulenty promoting: the […] Continue Reading →
Leo Stoller v. Google: the final chapter? Over at the TTABlog, John Welch has a report about what appears to be the final chapter in notorious “intellectual property entrepreneur” Leo Stoller’s fight with Google over the rights to the Google trademark. Mr. Stoller, through his various entities, had both opposed Google’s application to register the Google mark and also filed for registration […] Continue Reading →
First patent issues from USPTO’s accelerated examination program On Tuesday, Brother, the company best known for printers and copiers, received the first patent issued based on an application filed under the USPTO’s accelerated examination program. The patent, number 7,188,939, relates to ink cartridges, and resulted from an application filed on September 29, 2006, just over a month after the accelerated examination procedure became […] Continue Reading →
Viacom sues YouTube, Google for copyright infringement In a press release today, Viacom, owner of the MTV and Comedy Centraltelevision networks (among others), announced it is suing YouTube and its parent company, Google, for copyright infringement. The lawsuit seeks over $1 billion in damages. The parties had been in negotiations for YouTube/Google to have a license to provide Viacom’s content on YouTube, […] Continue Reading →
USPTO to institute pilot project to allow public comments on pending applications The Washington Post today provided more detail about a pilot program previously mentioned in this post. Under the program, the USPTO would post pending patent applications that have become accessible to the public (such as after they have been published). Members of the public would then be able to comment on the applications, and even […] Continue Reading →