Leveraging Free Online Tools for DIY Patent Searches: A Guide for Garage Inventors By You’ve got an invention—now what? Protecting your work may be the next step, but perhaps you’re unfamiliar with the patent system, don’t know any patent attorneys, or don’t really want to reach out for fear of incurring attorney’s fees. Below I provide two free resources for checking to see if it is worth your time […] Continue Reading →
Beyond the Basics: Leveraging Secondary IP to Protect and Elevate Coffee Shop Branding in a Crowded Market By Sarah M.D. Luth In the crowded coffee shop and roastery industry, establishing a unique brand identity is essential to standing out among competitors. While protecting “central” intellectual property (IP) like brand names, logos, and domain names is absolutely critical, strategically identified and maintained “secondary” intellectual property provides a key avenue through which to establish a strong brand identity […] Continue Reading →
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 […] Continue Reading →
100 Years of Patents – Agricultural Planting Equipment By Luke T. Mohrhauser As McKee, Voorhees & Sease celebrates its 100th anniversary this year (2024), it is good to look back on the technological developments and advances that have occurred. There is no better place to look than through patent filings and grants. One particular area that we in the Midwest are well versed in is agriculture. Let’s […] Continue Reading →
USPTO Proposed 2025 Fee Changes Pass the Notice and Comment Period By Jonathan L. Kennedy Proposed fee changes for 2025 have passed the notice and comment period and are expected to go into effect in the USPTO’s 2025 fiscal year. The USPTO allowed for public comments on the proposal to be received up until May 28, 2024. The notice of proposed rulemaking followed a public hearing held by the Patent […] Continue Reading →
Quality and Reputation Fuel Diesel Heater Dominance By Brian D. Keppler, Ph.D. Diesel heaters, known for their efficiency and reliability, have long been an integral component in a variety of applications ranging from motor vehicles to campers to boats, and even to static installations like cabins and workshops. These heaters utilize diesel fuel to produce heat, making them an ideal choice in environments where electricity might not […] Continue Reading →
Important to keep claim construction in mind when drafting a patent application By Joseph M. Hallman Claim construction, or how claim terms of a patent are understood, interpreted, and construed, is often a major factor in the outcome of a patent infringement lawsuit. Claim construction also can often be a highly contentious point of disagreement amongst parties in an infringement suit. The meaning of claim terms can often dictate the scope […] Continue Reading →
Apple’s Major Products Do Not Infringe Patents By Joseph M. Hallman On August 14, 2023, in One-E-Way, Inc. v. Apple Inc., the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”), in a nonprecedential opinion, affirmed a decision by the Central District of California holding that several popular products sold by tech giant Apple do not infringe U.S. Patent Nos. 10,129,627 (“the ‘627 patent”) or 10,468,047 […] Continue Reading →
Gilead Defeats Federal Government Lawsuit Alleging Patent Infringement for HIV Prevention Drugs By Julie L. Spieker On Tuesday, May 9, 2023, a jury found that Gilead did not infringe on three patents held by the federal government, and furthermore, that the patents at issue are invalid. The government was seeking more than $1 billion in damages related to the sale of Truvada and Descovy for an HIV prevention regimen call pre-exposure […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit Confirms “Known-Technique” Rationale as an Indicator of a Motivation to Combine By Joseph M. Hallman In KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 419 (2007) (“KSR”) the U.S. Supreme Court criticized rigid application of the so-called “teaching, suggestion, or motivation” test (“the TSM test”) which, prior to KSR, had often been applied by courts when determining obviousness of patent claims. Under the TSM test, “a patent claim is […] Continue Reading →