Iowa Inventors and Nobel Prize Winners

By Kirk M. Hartung

While there are many significant inventions by people with Iowa roots, there are at least two Iowans whose inventions and discoveries led to the prestigious Nobel Prize. These inventors and their work may not be well known to the general public, but their work clearly was special. Robert A. Millikan was born in 1868 in […]

The Patented Processes for Coffee Decaffeination

By Brian D. Keppler, Ph.D.

While many of us are unable to function without the caffeine in our morning cup of coffee, not everyone can tolerate its stimulating effects. Thus, decaffeinated coffee is a blessing for those who crave the flavor but seek to limit their caffeine intake. Ludwig Roselius, a German coffee merchant, is credited with inventing the first […]

What is Assignor Estoppel and What Implications Remain Post Minerva?

By Blog Staff

Particularly within the patent industry, it is common to see that an employment agreement contains a provision where an employee agrees to assign the rights in any future inventions developed during the course of employment to the employer. Provided the prevalence of assignments filed in patent applications, inventors and patent owners should be aware as […]

Right to Repair: Infringement or Exhaustion Part 2

This post is part 2 of a series of posts relating to a person’s right to repair your purchased products. Part 1 discussed the general background and several policy arguments surrounding both sides of this issue. This post will discuss the main patent laws and legal doctrine related to the right to repair. The central […]

Right to Repair: Can you fix your own things? Part 1

This post is part 1 of a set of posts relating to a person’s right to repair your things. When you buy a thing, you expect the thing to at least work as intended. The thing is usually even warranted for at least a little while to be useable as intended by the manufacturer. However, […]

Practitioners Beware: Hidden MPEP Rule Change May Cause Significant Impacts to After Final Practice

By Blog Staff

With the most recent revision to the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) in June 2020, practitioners have noticed a subtle, but potentially significant modification to one of the MPEP sections. The relevant section pertains to a change to the first-action final rejection (FAFR) practice under 706.07(b), ultimately broadening the criteria to issue a FAFR […]

Meet DABUS: An Artificial Intelligence Machine Hoping to Maintain Two Patent Applications in its own Name

By Blog Staff

Three patent offices face questions stemming from the growing implications of artificial intelligence (AI) disrupting the intellectual property legal framework. The United States Patent Office (USPTO), European Patent Office (EPO), and United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) recently received two patent application filings directed to a beverage container and a flashing device used for attracting […]

Rapper Sues the Makers of Fortnite Claiming Copyright Infringement of Dance Moves

By

Rapper 2 Milly has filed a copyright and right of publicity lawsuit against the makers of the Fortnite video game claiming that they are illegally using a dance move that he created in their wildly popular video game. The Brooklyn-based rapper, whose real name is Terrence Ferguson, alleges that Fortnite-maker Epic Games is misappropriating his dance […]

AUTM’s Recommends Narrow Changes to NIST on the ROI Initiative

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently issued a public Request for Information for the Return on Investment (ROI) Initiative. The Association of Technology Managers (AUTM), who supports the ROI Initiative, stresses in their response that the fundamental principles of the Bayh-Dole Act be preserved. As pointed out by AUTM, Bayh-Dole has significantly […]

Just Because It’s Nanoscale, Doesn’t Mean It’s Not a Big Deal

By Jonathan L. Kennedy

Nanotechnology has been taking innovation by storm for decades now and its only increasing its footprint. This is reflected in the growing number of granted patents and published applications directed to nanotechnology inventions. For example, according to StatNano (an organization that monitors and publishing information regarding nanotechnology global developments), more than 20,000 granted patents and […]