Copyrightable Karaoke Tracks Not Protected By Trademark Act
September 01, 2016
Slep-Tone Entertainment Corporation and its successor in interest, Phoenix Entertainment Partners, filed more than 150 Lanham Act suits throughout the country. The suits alleged that defendants had committed trademark infringement by making unauthorized copies and performing commercial karaoke files containing Slep-Tone's registered trademark "Sound Choice" and graphically displayed trade dress.
IP News
August 01, 2016
A Patent on the Method of Filtering Internet Content Survives '101 Challenge <br>Public Interest Factor Does Not Bar a Permanent Injunction Against a Direct Competitor<br>Patent Owner Does Not Have to Prove Non-Obviousness In IPR Proceedings
Federal Circuit Provides Clarity For Contract Manufacturing On-Sale Invalidity Claims
August 01, 2016
In <i>The Medicines Company v. Hospira</i>, the Federal Circuit provided clarity and guidance to companies that rely on contract manufacturing, holding that "to be 'on sale' under '102(b), a product must be the subject of a commercial sale or offer for sale, and that a commercial sale is one that bears the general hallmarks of a sale pursuant to Section 2-106 of the Uniform Commercial Code."
<i>Cuozzo</i> Upholds PTAB Authority
August 01, 2016
In June, in <i>Cuozzo Speed Technologies</i>, the Supreme Court upheld the prior Federal Circuit decision that a patent owner cannot, in most circumstances, appeal the decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to institute an inter partes review.
Intellectual Property Rights in the UK After Brexit
August 01, 2016
While the dust continues to settle from Brexit, questions abound regarding how the United Kingdom's historic vote to leave the European Union will affect the future. Intellectual property owners have a variety of mechanisms available for the protection of their patents, designs and trademarks, and Brexit has different significance depending upon how intellectual property protection in the UK was obtained.
<i>Kirtsaeng</i> Clarifies Attorney's Fees Standard In Copyright Cases, Injects More Uncertainty Into Availability of Fee Awards
July 01, 2016
Issuing its second decision in Supap Kirtsaeng's long-standing dispute with John Wiley & Sons ' and its first copyright decision in nearly two years ' the SCOTUS recently clarified the applicable standard for evaluating the appropriateness of an attorney's fee award under Section 505 of the Copyright Act, holding that a district court should give substantial weight to the objective reasonableness of the losing party's position, while also taking into consideration all other circumstances relevant to the attorney's fees inquiry.
IP News
July 01, 2016
Federal Circuit Remands PTAB Decision Due to Claim Construction Change <br>Supreme Court Restricts Challenges to PTAB's Institution Decisions and Upholds Broadest Reasonable Interpretation Standard in IPR Proceedings
Patent Agent Privilege Exists, But Is Limited
July 01, 2016
In <i>In re: Queens University at Kingston,</i> the Federal Circuit determined that there is a "patent agent privilege" that protects communications between patent agents and their clients, so long as the communications relate to the patent agent's limited authority to practice law. While this is a promising protection for patent agents and their clients, the scope of the privilege is limited and uncertain, so reliance on the privilege should be discouraged.
New USPTO Rules for Post-Grant Trials
June 01, 2016
New changes to rules for post-grant administrative trials before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) went into effect on May 2, 2016, after much public comment and gnashing of teeth. Among the plethora of rule changes that were announced, two in particular stand out as most substantive for both patent owners and their challengers.
