Supreme Court Term Promises to Be IP Blockbuster
October 18, 2016
With four IP cases on the docket and several more knocking at the door of certiorari, the U.S. Supreme Court is poised for a banner year of patent, trademark and copyright decisions.
Board of Editors
October 06, 2016
Accounting and Financial Planning for Law Firms
Lawrence L. Bell
Advisors, LLC, Kensington, MD
Wayne Berkowitz
Berdon LLP, New York
James…
IP News
October 01, 2016
Federal Circuit: Actual Controversy Existed When Patent Owner Did Not Know Existence of Specific Products<br>Federal Circuit Upholds Prosecution Estoppel Determination<br>
To Sue or Not to Sue for Trademark Infringement
September 01, 2016
A strong trademark can be a company's most significant asset. Infringement, however, can strip the trademark of its value by causing "confusion among consumers" as to the identity and origin of the client's product.
Patents: When the 'Plain and Ordinary' Meaning Is Neither Plain Nor Ordinary
September 01, 2016
It is common in patent cases for the patentee to ascribe "plain and ordinary" meaning to terms in a patent claim, while the defendant often seeks a narrower construction. But what if the parties agree that "plain and ordinary" applies but then dispute what the plain and ordinary meaning should be?
IP News
September 01, 2016
Federal Circuit: <i>Halo Electronics</i> Sent Back to District Court <br>
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.