Two New ex Parte Trademark Cancellation Proceedings On December 18, 2021, new regulations implementing the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (“the TMA”) will officially go into effect allowing individuals, businesses, and the USPTO to clear unused registered trademarks from the federal trademark register. New ex parte expungement and reexamination proceedings are said to provide a faster, more efficient, and less expensive alternative […] Read Post →
US Copyright Office Issues Best Practices to Reduce Unclaimed Royalties As directed by the Music Modernization Act (“MMA”), on Thursday, July 8, 2021, the US Copyright Office (the “Office”) released a public report to recommend best practices for the Mechanical Licensing Collective (“MLC”) to effectively match copyright owners with unclaimed royalties for musical works, and ultimately reduce the incidence of unclaimed royalties. Unclaimed royalties are […] Read Post →
Clearly using “clear” for Non-Transparent Goods is Deceptively Misdescriptive. Dolce Vita Footware, Inc. sought registration of the mark CLEAR for various bags, purses, wallets, and card cases – excluding transparent goods. The Examiner refused registration on the grounds that it is deceptively misdescriptive and on April 29, 2021 the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “TTAB”) affirmed. In its original registration, Dolce Vita identified […] Read Post →
Federal Circuit Revives SynQor Patent On February 22, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s decision that SynQor’s US Patent No. 7,072,190 was unpatentable. SynQor’s ‘190 patent relates to technology that converts DC current from one voltage to another for use in large computer systems and data communication equipment. […] Read Post →
“Naked” at the Federal Circuit On December 4, 2020, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) denied petitions by Naked TM, LLC for a panel rehearing and a rehearing en banc of the decision in Australian Therapeutics Supplies Pty. Ltd. v. Naked TM, LLC, 965 F.3D 1370 (Fed. Cir. 2020). The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board […] Read Post →
Known Method of Administering a Known Treatment Made by a New Process is Not Novel On September 28, 2020, in Biogen Ma Inc. v. EMD Serono, Inc, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) reversed a district court’s grant of judgment as a matter of law of no anticipation, reinstating a jury verdict. The claims at issue in Biogen’s patent cover the multiple sclerosis treatment Avonex […] Read Post →
Federal Circuit Reinstates Patent Claims Previously Found Obvious by Patent Trial and Appeal Board On July 31, 2020, in the precedential opinion Alacritech, Inc. v. Intel Corp., the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (hereinafter the “Federal Circuit”) reinstated three claims of Alacritech’s patent, holding that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (hereinafter the “Board”) did not adequately support its finding that the asserted prior art […] Read Post →
Dropbox’s Patents Invalidated for Patent-Ineligible Subject Matter On June 19, 2020 The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (hereinafter the “Federal Circuit”) affirmed a district court’s ruling that Dropbox’s three patents claim abstract ideas and further provide no inventive concept transforming the abstract idea into patentable subject matter. Dropbox and their wholly owned subsidiary, Orcinus Holdings, (hereinafter referred to […] Read Post →
Fish Hook Claims Can’t Catch a Patent On April 24, 2020, The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) held that claims concerning a method for fishing, specifically that of selecting a fishing hook based on observed water conditions, are directed to an abstract idea. According to 35 U.S.C. § 101, “[w]homever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, […] Read Post →
UK to Back Out of the UPC Last year, this blog brought news of the impending Brexit vote and the supposed impact of Brexit on intellectual property laws in the UK. Brexit was thought to have largely no effect on patent law because European and UK patents are governed by the European Patent Convention (EPC) which is a non-EU agreement. Further, the European Patent […] Read Post →
Federal Circuit Clarifies Standard for Determining Nexus Between Claims and Secondary Considerations On December 18, 2019, in Fox Factory, Inc. v. SRAM, LLC, the Federal Circuit (the “Court”) vacated and remanded the Patent Appeal Board’s (the “Board”) obviousness determination. Fox challenged SRAM’s patent for bicycle chain rings in an inter partes review. The Court found that the Board applied the wrong standard for determining whether or not challenged […] Read Post →
IP Post-Brexit: What Does the “FEUture” hold? On December 12, the United Kingdom (UK) will hold a general election, in which Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes to secure a clear majority so as not to lose the prospect of Brexit after failing to leave the European Union (EU) by the end of October as previously promised. Currently, Johnson enjoys a healthy lead […] Read Post →