On January 3, 2022, the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) announced an extension of the modified COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program. Compliant requests filed on or before March 31, 2022, will be accepted. We covered this modified Pilot Program in our post three months ago, and we covered the original program in prior posts … Continue Reading
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has today announced it is closing its investigation into the refusal of British Airways and Ryanair to provide refunds to consumers who were unable to travel on previously booked flights as a result of Covid lockdown restrictions due to uncertainty in the underlying law.… Continue Reading
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced the final deadline for submission of applications for its Patents for Humanity COVID-19 award: The submission deadline is 5 p.m. ET, September 30, 2021. Patents for Humanity is the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) awards competition recognizing innovators who use game-changing technology to … Continue Reading
On Tuesday, May 5, 2021, the U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai released an unprecedented statement supporting a “Covid-19 TRIPS Waiver.” Specifically, Ambassador Tai stated “[t]he Administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for COVID-19 vaccines. We will actively participate in text-based negotiations … Continue Reading
As a companion to the COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program and patent-related relief provided by the 2020 CARES Act, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) recently announced a similar Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program for patent applications claiming a process or product requiring FDA approval for COVID–19 use. In general, under 35 U.S.C. § … Continue Reading
False claims of use and fake specimens of use have bedeviled the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and legitimate trademark owners for many years. The Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (“TMA”) — part of the COVID-19 relief legislative package signed by President Trump on December 27, 2020 — provides significant relief for trademark owners’ … Continue Reading
Copyright owners seeking damages under $30,000 now have the choice of adjudicating their claims outside of federal court. Passed as part of the December 2020 COVID-19 relief bill, the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019 (“CASE Act”) created an alternative small claims tribunal system that can adjudicate certain copyright infringement claims.… Continue Reading
On September 16, 2020, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced a new pilot program for COVID-19 related inventions. The new program allows for the deferral of filing fees for provisional patent applications directed to a product or process related to COVID-19, where the product or process requires Food and Drug Administration (FDA) … Continue Reading
On June 23, 2020, the President of the Russian Federation told the nation about new measures supporting the Russian economy amid the pandemic of COVID-19. In particular, he announced a plan to support IT companies by a major reduction of taxes on them.… Continue Reading
On July 3, 2020, China released the second draft amendments to the Patent Law. This second draft introduces significant changes to both the current Patent Law and the 2019 draft amendment. It also comes at a time when China is introducing significant legislative and judicial changes to other key IP rights, like new criteria for … Continue Reading
If you regularly have documents notarized as part of your practice, you’re probably like me. Under normal circumstances, you probably have the privilege of walking down the hall or perhaps driving down the street to your local notary. As a result, you rarely consider the legal requirements for a proper notarization and how to get … Continue Reading
For many of us, working from home is the new norm as we deal with the outbreak of Covid-19. While this means that creature comforts are delightfully close, access to printers, scanners or the boss’s wet ink signature may be difficult to come by, leaving some wondering how to properly execute contracts and deeds. In … Continue Reading
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has announced further COVID-19 relief by extending time periods to file patent and trademark related documents and providing waivers for the payment of certain fees. The USPTO has twice previously provided extensions of deadlines and fee waivers, as outlined here, here and here. Recognizing the continued hardships … Continue Reading
Like many other Federal Agencies and U.S. District Courts, the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) is open for business during the COVID-19 crisis, but on a limited basis. Modifications to the ITC’s business began on March 17, 2020. On May 14, 2020, the ITC’s COVID-19 Action Plan was extended through July 10, 2020. Although limited … Continue Reading
As previously blogged, even before potential treatments could yield results in trials, relevant stakeholders quickly pushed their respective (and, in most cases, expected) positions relating to the balance between IP rights and access. Back in April, the World Health Organization announced support for an IP pool proposal relating broadly to COVID-19. Offered by Costa Rica, the proposal … Continue Reading
The last several months have presented new and formidable challenges for virtually every industry in light of COVID-19. Among these challenges are what to do about the various industry meetings and conferences that are used for networking, introducing new ideas, securing supply/distribution contracts, and developing technology standards. These types of events have historically been held … Continue Reading
Today’s litigators are advocates and strategists, excelling in the application of rules, the art of negotiation, and the power of oral argument, and they use these tools to achieve the best possible outcomes for their clients. In the age of COVID-19, with stay-at-home orders in effect across much of the nation, litigators may have lost … Continue Reading
Since March 2020, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has announced numerous types of relief in view of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) outbreak. As of May 6, relief will be offered to plant patent applicants. Typically, electronic filing of plant patent applications is not permitted. However, in the May 6th announcement, the USPTO indicated … Continue Reading
On May 8, 2020, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) began a Pilot Program to provide prioritized examination of patent applications of a product or process related to COVID-19 diagnosis or treatment. Examples of such patents include: an Investigational New Drug (IND) application, an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE), a New Drug Application (NDA), … Continue Reading
With most of us staying at home, it is boom time for social media and video-streaming platforms. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok have each experienced an exponential growth in users. Now, more than ever, we are signing-in to access newsfeeds, connect with loved ones or to fill in time while stuck indoors.… Continue Reading
Earlier this month, we provided posts here and here, outlining the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (“USPTO”) announcement of the availability of certain deadline waivers to help patent and trademark applicants and owners file papers during the COVID-19 outbreak. The original notice granted a 30-day extension on certain deadlines falling between March 27 and … Continue Reading
The coronavirus global pandemic has brought with it very serious health risks and untold economic damage. In an effort to do what they can to limit the misery, brands are now having to re-think their marketing plans to engage with consumers responsibly.… Continue Reading
On April 10, 2020, 3M Co. sued an unauthorized vendor for attempting to sell an NYC agency $45 million worth of 3M-brand respirator masks at 500% of 3M’s list price, or more. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as government agencies scramble to procure personal protective equipment (PPE), unscrupulous parties are capitalizing on the crisis through price … Continue Reading
As COVID-19 continues to spread worldwide, with the number of new cases each day still increasing in most countries, research and the development of new technologies to combat and eradicate COVID-19 has blossomed. As discussed in an earlier post, countries and companies are looking for ways to contribute, with many now making available and expanding … Continue Reading