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 →
Four Key Cybersecurity Threats To Your Business By Sarah M.D. Luth In today’s interconnected business environment, data drives business insights and technology are central to operations and customer interactions. While the digitalization of business operations and corporate data can provide immense benefits, it also creates new opportunities for bad actors. Cybersecurity measures help protect your business against vulnerabilities created by reliance on electronic data. It’s important […] Continue Reading →
2023 Cybersecurity Provisions in Iowa: What Your Business Should Be Doing By Sarah M.D. Luth As previously discussed, in March of 2023, Iowa’s Governor signed into law a new comprehensive state privacy law. Just over six months after SF 262 was signed and during cybersecurity awareness month, we would like to focus on the cybersecurity provisions introduces in SF 262. Key changes to Iowa’s laws include amendments to Iowa Code […] Continue Reading →
U.S. Design Patent 1,000,000 By Kirk M. Hartung On September 26, 2023, the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted the 1 millionth design patent to Agustina Huckaby from Fort Worth Texas. The title of this invention is Dispensing Comb, and it looks like this: Design patents protect the ornamental appearance of an object, apart from its functionality. The term for a design […] 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 →
Debut of New Patent Petitions Webpage By Gregory Lars Gunnerson A petition is a request for the USPTO to take certain action in your patent or patent application. They are aimed to allow the Applicant a mechanism to request third party review of almost all procedural matters before the USPTO that are not the subject of Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The Office of Petitions (OPET) […] Continue Reading →
Integrated Circuit Layout Design Protection Series: Part 3 By Gregory Lars Gunnerson Title 17 of the U.S. Code concerns copyright laws. Chapter 9 of Title 17 is entirely dedicated to the protection of Mask Works. 17 U.S.C. § 901 defines a mask work as “a series of related images, however fixed or encoded, having or representing the predetermined, three-dimensional pattern of metallic, insulating, or semiconductor material present […] Continue Reading →
Integrated Circuit Layout Design Protection Series: Part 2 By Gregory Lars Gunnerson A diplomatic conference was held in 1989 in Washington, D.C. The diplomats in attendance were representatives of member states of the United Nations (UN) World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) or representatives of intergovernmental organizations meeting certain criteria. The diplomats were there to consider whether their Member nations were interested in offering additional protections for integrated […] Continue Reading →
Integrated Circuit Layout Design Protection Series: Part 1 By Gregory Lars Gunnerson Did you know that layout designs (topographies) of integrated circuits are a separate field in the protection of Intellectual Property (“IP”)? Most Americans understand IP to be classified within one of patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets, yet this is not always how all countries choose to classify all IP rights. Another form of protection […] Continue Reading →
Atari’s Trademark Troubles with Redbubble By Ashley E. Holland It seems to get more difficult for companies with well-known trademarks to go after online marketplaces like Redbubble for trademark infringement. Atari, the well-known video game maker and one of their products Pong, asked the Ninth Circuit to review a district court decision in their case against Redbubble. Atari, and other companies such as the […] Continue Reading →