Kozinski Angle In 9th Circuit's Led Zeppelin Ruling
April 01, 2020
Defendants Led Zeppelin and its music labels were the winners in the copyright decision by the Ninth Circuit over the song "Stairway to Heaven." But the estate of songwriter Randy Wolfe (p/k/a California) wasn't the only one who got the short end. Among the collateral damage from the ruling was a 2002 precedent written by former Chief Judge Alex Kozinski that endorsed the so-called "inverse-ratio" rule.
IP News
April 01, 2020
VARA Lives On: A $6.75M Lesson on Respecting Moral Rights
IP News
March 01, 2020
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
U.S. Supreme Court Reaffirms the American Rule In De Novo Challenges to the PTO
February 01, 2020
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.
The Trademark That Got His Goat
February 01, 2020
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.
IP News
February 01, 2020
Do Not Pass Go? U.S. Supreme Court to Review Federal Circuit's Finding of Justiciability
Patenting Diagnostic Tests: Can We Expect Changes?
January 01, 2020
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.
Safeguarding Your Intellectual Property
January 01, 2020
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.