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Columns & Departments

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IP News

Shaleen J. Patel

VARA Lives On: A $6.75M Lesson on Respecting Moral Rights

Features

You Know What It Is: Taco Tuesday and the Failure-to-Function Doctrine In Trademark Law Image

You Know What It Is: Taco Tuesday and the Failure-to-Function Doctrine In Trademark Law

Brandon Leahy

The foundational requirement that a trademark function as a trademark has received little attention in the case law. More recently, however, there has been an apparent uptick in scrutiny of trademark use by the USPTO and TTAB, as well as fresh academic attention paid to the issue.

Features

Swedish Music Industry Views as European Union Countries Work on Drafting Home Laws for Enacting EU Copyright Directive Image

Swedish Music Industry Views as European Union Countries Work on Drafting Home Laws for Enacting EU Copyright Directive

Stan Soocher

This article is Part One of a two-part article This article examines the Copyright Directive and music-industry structure issues through the lens of Sweden, which has both a robust music business and a strong technology sector, two divergent perspectives in the development of the directive.

Columns & Departments

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IP News

Jeff Ginsberg

Northern District of Texas: Even Post-Berkheimer, Patent Claims Continue to be Ineligible for Patenting as a Matter of Law When They Are Not Drawn to Particular Technical Solutions or Advances Described in the Specification Federal Circuit: The PTAB Cannot Institute Inter Partes Review on Obviousness Grounds Not Included in the IPR Petition, But Can Consider Evidence of "General Knowledge" in the Art

Features

'Vanicorn' Lawsuit Filed over Pixar, Disney Film Image

'Vanicorn' Lawsuit Filed over Pixar, Disney Film

Scott Graham

A unicorn-loving tattoo artist alleges that Pixar and Disney have tricked her into letting them use her "Vanicorn" in the upcoming film Onward. Her suit accuses the companies of copyright infringement, and violations of state and federal laws protecting artwork.

Features

U.S. Supreme Court Reaffirms the American Rule In De Novo Challenges to the PTO Image

U.S. Supreme Court Reaffirms the American Rule In De Novo Challenges to the PTO

Jonathan Moskin

In 2013, the PTO adopted a new policy under which any party commencing a de novo proceeding challenging a PTO decision would be responsible to pay a pro rata share of the salaries of the government attorneys working on the matter. On Dec. 11, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the PTO's new interpretation of the Patent Act and held that the American Rule, a centuries-old principle under which each party bears its own attorneys' fees, does apply to this statute.

Features

The Trademark That Got His Goat Image

The Trademark That Got His Goat

Mary A. Donovan

In a recent trademark cancellation case that has drawn "human interest" attention in the news, the plaintiff appealed an adverse decision to the Federal Circuit. The plaintiff was not "kidding" when he expressed his opinion that the registered mark, described as "goats on a roof of grass," is demeaning to goats which, in turn, is offensive to him.

Columns & Departments

IP News Image

IP News

Shaleen J. Patel

Do Not Pass Go? U.S. Supreme Court to Review Federal Circuit's Finding of Justiciability

Features

Patenting Diagnostic Tests: Can We Expect Changes? Image

Patenting Diagnostic Tests: Can We Expect Changes?

Leslie Kushner

This article discusses the jurisprudence applied to determining patent eligibility of claims for diagnostic methods, and the expectation for changes in analysis of patent eligibility under §101 in the near future.

Features

Safeguarding Your Intellectual Property Image

Safeguarding Your Intellectual Property

Matthew Calcagno

Documents are the lifeblood of any law firm. The documents that a firm produces are its greatest asset, especially the intellectual property — trade secrets, patent information, etc. — contained in those documents, yet firms historically have not made sufficient efforts to safeguard those documents from both internal and external threats.

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