How to Prevent Theft of Your Corporate Intellectual Property in the Era of Data Privacy and Cybersecurity By Sarah M.D. Luth Intellectual property (IP) theft of corporate intellectual property can have significant ramifications for businesses and other entities. Corporate IP includes a variety of assets, such as patented technologies, trade secrets, copyrighted information and marketing materials, marketing and pricing plans, customer and partner data, and business reputation. IP assets play a valuable role in a business’s […] Continue Reading →
Markman for §101 Eligibility By Kirk M. Hartung Patent attorneys know the importance of Markman as applied to interpret patent claims. Claim interpretation is critical to infringement and validity analysis, and often is decisive in patent litigation. It is axiomatic that claim terms be construed using the common, ordinary meaning of the words, as understood by a person having ordinary skill in the […] Continue Reading →
Linn-Mar Student Wins 2019 MVS Agriculture Award at Invent Iowa Competition By Gregory Lars Gunnerson On April 15, 2019, I had the pleasure of attending the Invent Iowa 2019 Competition. Invent Iowa is hosted annually by the Belin-Blank Center of the University of Iowa’s College of Education. Invent Iowa is a competition which allows students K-8 to pitch a three-minute presentation about their inventions to volunteer judges and other students, […] Continue Reading →
Change is Coming to Alice: Examiners with the Highest Percentage of Alice Rejections, 2014-2017 By Blog Staff Last week, Heidi S. Nebel, Managing Member and Chair of the Biotechnology & Chemical practice group, announced our new software partnership with Juristat as an added service to our clients. Below is an article that Juristat posted regarding Alice rejections that we felt was very important to share. This insight and knowledge from Juristat coupled […] Continue Reading →
MVS Obtains Juristat Software By Heidi Sease Nebel Ever wonder if you have been “blessed” with a difficult Examiner? Wondered if your issue in a case has been successfully resolved in another case? Wondered if your competitors are having the same issues before the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) as you? Wondered how many cases your competitor has filed? Wondered if […] Continue Reading →
CAFC’s Clarification for Using Claim Preambles as Limitation(s) By Blog Staff According to the United State Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) precedential opinion decided on March 26, 2019, ARCTIC CAT INC. v. GEP POWER PRODUCTS, INC., the claim preamble terms, such as “A power distribution module for a personal recreational vehicle comprising” or “A personal recreational vehicle comprising”, are not limiting. Two patents […] Continue Reading →
Judicial Exceptions to IP Statutes: Are They Dead? By Kirk M. Hartung On January 8, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court decided a case involving the Federal Arbitration Act that could have a significant impact on patent law. The Arbitration Act, signed into law in 1925, allows parties to agree to submit disputes to arbitration, rather than litigating in court. Although, sometimes parties disagree as to whether an arbitration […] Continue Reading →
How Many Patents Are Enough for a Product? By Blog Staff The answer to the question of course, depends on the commercial value of the product. However, it is also obvious that the commercial value of a product is closely correlated to the number of patents for its protection. The relationship between commercial value and number of patents is best illustrated by the relevant facts for […] Continue Reading →
Burger King Ribs McDonald’s After Loss of ‘Big Mac’ Trademark in the E.U. By Sarah M.D. Luth In mid-January of 2019, McDonald’s lost its rights to the trademark ‘Big Mac’ in a European case which ruled in favor of an Irish fast food chain, Supermac’s. Supermac’s, founded in 1978 by Gaelic football player Pat McDonagh, offers a burger called the ‘Mighty Mac’. McDonald’s asserted that the ‘Mighty Mac’, along with other Supermac’s […] Continue Reading →
Congress Considers a Patent Eligibility Overhaul By Kirk M. Hartung Some members of Congress have met at least twice to discuss the current difficulties and frustrations with patent eligibility under Section 101 of the patent statutes. While these meetings have been closed-door, attorneys and others representing businesses and industries, have attended. These meetings, in December of 2018 and February of 2019, have been initialed by […] Continue Reading →