John Squires Nominated as Under Secretary of Commerce for IP and USPTO Director John A. Squires has been nominated to serve as the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The nomination was sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 10, 2025. Squires brings decades of IP experience to the role, having served as Chief Intellectual […] Read Post →
Copyleft or Copyright: Exploring Copyright Protections of Memes Memes have been ubiquitous with internet culture for decades now. In the context of the internet, memes often take the form of images, videos, phrases, or concepts that are shared and remixed by users. They can be humorous, satirical, or convey a particular message or emotion. Memes often are best at communicating a shared experience […] Read Post →
The Supreme Court Will Finally Hear the “Trump Too Small” Trademark Case In June, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the trademark dispute over “Trump Too Small”. The Supreme Court will finally start hearing this case starting November 1, 2023. This case arose out of Steve Elster’s efforts to register the phrase “Trump Too Small” for printing on shirts. In attempting to register this trademark, the Examining […] Read Post →
Atari’s Trademark Troubles with Redbubble 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 […] Read Post →
No longer a little blue bird, what will IP look like for Twitter’s new “X”? Recently Twitter announced that they are attempting to rebrand into “X”. When businesses are rebranding, there can be significant implications on intellectual property rights and certain considerations one should consider such as a trademark search, trademark registration, and copyrights. Trademarks and copyrights can cover single letters, like “X”. A trademark is used to distinguish and […] Read Post →
Will the Supreme Court Finally Clarify Patent Eligibility? To be eligible for a patent, an invention must be a “useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter.” However, in recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court has narrowed the scope of patent eligibility. In the landmark cases Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc. (2012) and Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International (2014), the […] Read Post →
AI and Copyrights: Getty Images Suit Brings Up Interesting Challenges to Current Copyright Law AI continues to be in the spotlight. In recent years, the development of artificial intelligence (AI) has increased rapidly and is affecting various industries, including the creative arts. As AI continues to change the way we create and consume content, it is important to consider the impact it has on copyrights. Copyrights are exclusive legal […] Read Post →
The Supreme Court Agrees to Review Jack Daniels Dog Toy Case November 21st, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a trademark dispute between Jack Daniel’s and the dog toy company VIP Products. VIP Products creates a dog toy line called “Silly Squeakers” which are squeaking toys that look like the Jack Daniel’s square-shaped bottle of Old No. 7 Whiskey but replace the Jack Daniel’s wording. VIP […] Read Post →
The USPTO Takes Steps to Encourage International Green Technologies Last month, the USPTO announced that they have become a technology partner to WIPO GREEN, a World Intellectual Property Organization partnership aimed at highlighting green technologies. WIPO GREEN was established in 2013 and includes over 2,000 international users and over 130 international public and private companies, offices, organizations, research institutes, and business groups. This program […] Read Post →
USPTO Issues Report on Current State of Patent Eligibility Law Earlier this week the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a report to Congress regarding public comments and insight into the state of patent subject matter eligibility. See report here. Patent eligibility law has been complicated by recent Supreme Court decisions like Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank (2014) and Mayo v. Prometheus (2012). Even […] Read Post →
Sycamore Brewing versus Stone Brewing Over “Keep it Juicy” Phrase on Packaging Stone Brewing might have to change its marketing and packaging around its popular Hazy IPA beer. On April 21, The District Court for the Western District of North Carolina granted Sycamore Brewing’s request for Stone Brewing to stop using the phrase “keep it juicy” on their boxes of Hazy IPA beer. This case centered on […] Read Post →
Could AI be An Inventor? Stephen Thaler is an AI researcher who has developed a device for the autonomous bootstrapping of unified sentience, or DABUS, an AI machine. In recent years he, or rather DABUS, has been producing both copyrightable and patentable work. Yet, countries around the world aren’t quite convinced. Many countries, like the US, clearly distinguish who may […] Read Post →