Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Protecting Weak Online Trademarks
You're launching a new computer keyboard. You'd like to call it “101-Key Keyboard.” After all, the product is a U.S. standard with 101 keys. The name conveys the benefit of the keyboard ' that it is standard ' and the concise name will fit easily into your product catalog. You plan to register the name as a trademark with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) so you can enforce your rights to the name against competitors who try to use the same name.
Solid plan? Not so fast. You've created what is known as a “weak” trademark ' one that will be difficult to register as a trademark and to defend in the marketplace. Creating a brand name that is trademark-worthy and can be defended in the market requires a thoughtful strategy. The standards of the USPTO for trademark registration are nuanced, and the wrong choice of words can make it challenging to obtain a defensible registered mark.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
CLE Shouldn't Be the Only Mandatory Training for Attorneys
Each stage of an attorney's career offers opportunities for a curriculum that addresses both the individual's and the firm's need to drive success.
Discovery of Claim Construction and Infringement Analysis May be Compelled Prior to a Markman Hearing
A defendant in a patent infringement suit may, during discovery and prior to a <i>Markman</i> hearing, compel the plaintiff to produce claim charts, claim constructions, and element-by-element infringement analyses.