On April 22, 2019, the US Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) published a notice in the Federal Register regarding the existing options available for Patent Owners to amend their patents during or after an America Invents Act (“AIA”) challenge proceeding. This notice did not amend or alter existing USPTO practices, but instead summarized and clarified … Continue Reading
The theme for this year is “Reach for Gold: IP and Sports.” Accordingly, the Global Intellectual Property & Technology Blog would like to acknowledge the contributions of all innovators and creators involved in sports, as well as the commitment of the professionals who help secure and enforce their intellectual property and resolve intellectual property issues. … Continue Reading
On April 9, 2019, my IP colleagues Kerry Lee and Matt Jones published an informative post about using the ® and ™ trademark symbols – which are internationally used and recognized to signal trademark registration. As their post had a UK perspective, we thought it would be useful to provide a US perspective as well. … Continue Reading
The Copyright Act often seems to lag behind technology, with infringements rampant on the Wild Internet. Not so, as was evidenced by the robust discussions at the third public meeting on Developing the Digital Marketplace for Copyrighted Works, hosted by the US Department of Commerce’s Internet Policy Task Force on March 28, 2019. The Internet … Continue Reading
In post-patent issuance proceedings before the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) – inter partes review (IPR), covered business method (CBM), and post-grant review (PGR) – parties almost invariably submit expert testimony. Depending on the type of post-issuance proceeding, the testimony can relate to prior art, claim construction, patent-eligibility, or formal requirements for patentability including … Continue Reading
The best preparation for diligence begins well in advance of any discussions with companies interested in investing in or purchasing assets of the innovating company. Ideally, the innovating company should implement policies and practices from day one of the company to help avoid problems that will inexorably come to light under the scrutiny of diligence. … Continue Reading
ArsTechnica published an excellent piece on how the United States’ “broken” patent system permitted Theranos to obtain hundreds of patents for technology that did not work and did not meet the “enablement” requirement of 35 U.S.C. section 112. According to author Daniel Nazer, the USPTO did virtually nothing to ensure that Theranos’ technology had been … Continue Reading
The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has been a consistent punching bag for the Supreme Court over the past ten or so years. The high court has repeatedly reversed the Federal Circuit in key decisions such as Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int’l, 573 U.S. 208 (2014) (patentable subject matter), TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft … Continue Reading
On January 4, 2019, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced new guidelines for “Examining Computer-Implemented Functional Claim Limitations for Compliance with 35 U.S.C. § 112.” These guidelines, published in the Federal Register on January 7, 2019, take immediate effect and apply to all pending applications and issued patents. While nothing in these … Continue Reading
