IP News
October 30, 2007
Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.
Online Interviewing for Use in Lanham Act Litigation
October 30, 2007
Internet interviewing will undoubtedly become the norm over the next decade. Being familiar with the ways to enhance its reliability and validity will be necessary to create scientifically valid, controlled, and reliable studies that can be used in Lanham Act litigation.
Copyright Misuse: An Overview
October 30, 2007
The doctrine of copyright misuse is a fairly recent development in copyright law. Since it was first recognized less than 20 years ago, the judicially created doctrine has emerged as a valid defense in at least several circuits, while other courts have been reluctant to accept it.
A Summary of the New Rules for Litigating Before the TTAB
October 30, 2007
On Aug. 1, 2007, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ('USPTO') issued a final rulemaking action titled 'Miscellaneous Changes to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Rules' (the 'Amendments'). This article summarizes the most significant Amendments affecting Board <i>inter partes</i> proceedings.
IP News
September 27, 2007
Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.
Proving Willful Infringement: In re Seagate Technology, LLC
September 27, 2007
Many complaints for patent infringement allege that a defendant's conduct is willful, justifying an award of enhanced damages. The <i>Seagate Technology</i> decision substantially increases the difficulty of proving willful infringement. <i>In re Seagate Technology, LLC,</i> 2007 WL 2358677 (Fed. Cir. 2007).
Combinations and Components: Determining Similarity in TTAB Proceedings
September 27, 2007
In determining whether competitors' trademarks are confusingly similar, some of the most vexing issues involve comparisons between marks that contain multiple terms or components, and comparisons between multiple marks. A pair of recent decisions by the Federal Circuit and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ('TTAB') clarifies how these issues should be approached. In <i>Schering-Plough HealthCare Products, Inc. v. Huang,</i> 2007 TTAB LEXIS 67 (TTAB June 18, 2007), the TTAB synthesized various precedents governing challenges to a trademark application based on combinations of separately registered marks. In <i>China Healthways Institute, Inc. v. Wang,</i> 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 14815 (Fed. Cir. June 22, 2007), the Federal Circuit clarified the antidissection rule governing marks with multiple components.
Building a Patent Portfolio in View of the New Patent Rules
September 27, 2007
The latest change in the rapidly evolving field of patent practice emerged in August 2007, when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ('PTO') published its new rules for practice. Covering examination of patent claims and continued examination filings, these rules may be the most fundamental change to patent practice in decades. In particular, they will significantly limit applicants' ability to present patent claims in a single application, and they will in many cases prevent applicants from pursuing additional claims in continued application filings. These rules will generally make the patent process significantly more time-consuming, more complicated, and, as a result, more expensive.
