Increased Bankruptcy M&A Activity Should Provide Attractive Opportunities for Lenders
July 01, 2022
It seems clear that bankruptcy filings inevitably will increase in the near future, because of rising interest rates, pandemic-related micro-economic forces, global strife, and other macro-economic factors and their continuing strain on the global economy and individual businesses. Consequently, strategic buyers and private equity sponsors should find expanding opportunities to purchase distressed businesses out of bankruptcy.
Recommendations for Evolving Patent Eligibility of Hardware
June 01, 2022
Regardless of whether a patent practitioner's clients favor a stricter or more lenient eligibility regime, patent eligibility decisions continue to evolve. We need a line drawn for what practitioners expect to be clearer. Hardware inventions are facing patent eligibility challenges that would have seemed more likely in software inventions. Recent court decisions have shown that what once made a hardware invention eligible may no longer fly.
Fishing for Joint Patent Ownership Under 'BASF v. CSIRO'
June 01, 2022
A recent Federal Circuit opinion sheds light on the process for settling co-ownership disputes pursuant to an underlying agreement. Although the precedential opinion does not change the rules of contract interpretation, it suggests considerations when drafting ownership agreements.
IP News
May 31, 2022
Federal Circuit: Agreement Between Patent Owner and Third Party Was Not Insulated from The On-Sale Bar
Protecting Clients In the Virtual World
May 01, 2022
The "metaverse" in conjunction with Web 3.0 can be thought of as an immersive virtual reality world or worlds, where users can play games, socialize,…
Trademark Coexistence May Become a Necessity As Market for Trademarks Grows
May 01, 2022
Trademark publication can be an anxious part of the application process, with fear of aggressive opposition and costly proceedings looming in the background. But many oppositions, whether they are only threatened or actually filed, afford the applicant a discussion with the opposer that can ultimately be helpful in nonobvious ways.
IP News
May 01, 2022
Federal Circuit Affirms Precedential Opinion Panel Decision Limiting the Circumstances In Which the Board Should Raise Sua Sponte Patentability Issues Against Proposed Substitute Claims
Federal Circuit Rejects District Court's Claim Construction As Being Too Narrow
Federal Circuit Rejects District Court's Claim Construction Because It Is Not Supported by the Intrinsic Evidence, and Leaves Dependent Claims Without Scope