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Features

U.S. Supreme Court Reaffirms the American Rule In De Novo Challenges to the PTO Image

U.S. Supreme Court Reaffirms the American Rule In De Novo Challenges to the PTO

Jonathan Moskin

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.

Features

The Trademark That Got His Goat Image

The Trademark That Got His Goat

Mary A. Donovan

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.

Columns & Departments

IP News Image

IP News

Shaleen J. Patel

Do Not Pass Go? U.S. Supreme Court to Review Federal Circuit's Finding of Justiciability

Features

Patenting Diagnostic Tests: Can We Expect Changes? Image

Patenting Diagnostic Tests: Can We Expect Changes?

Leslie Kushner

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.

Features

Safeguarding Your Intellectual Property Image

Safeguarding Your Intellectual Property

Matthew Calcagno

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.

Features

When Are Short Phrases in Songs Protectable? Image

When Are Short Phrases in Songs Protectable?

Robert W. Clarida & Robert J. Bernstein

It's a common fact pattern: A songwriter alleges that another songwriter has infringed the lyrics of Song A by using a similar short phrase, frequently a current slang phrase, in the lyrics of Song B. Claims like this do not often succeed because "words and short phrases such as names, titles, and slogans" are "not subject to copyright."

Columns & Departments

IP News Image

IP News

Joshua R. Stein & Jeff Ginsberg

Federal Circuit Holds PTAB Judges Unconstitutional, Constructs a Fix—But Not All Judges Agree on What Happens Next

Features

IP Issues and Esports Athletes Image

IP Issues and Esports Athletes

Frank Ready

A new esports-centric survey released by the law firm of Foley & Lardner projects that esports revenues will climb above the $1 billion mark this year. But the increased stakes and growing sophistication of the industry will likely not be without their headaches.

Features

Supreme Court, Finally, Takes Up Google v. Oracle Image

Supreme Court, Finally, Takes Up Google v. Oracle

Scott Graham

The U.S. Supreme Court has jumped into a titanic copyright battle between Oracle Corp. and Google LLC with both barrels. The court's involvement is sure to reignite a 50-year-old debate over how much, if any, software should be subject to copyright, and the contours of the fair use defense in the digital age.

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MOST POPULAR STORIES

  • Private Equity Valuation: A Significant Decision
    Insiders (and others) in the private equity business are accustomed to seeing a good deal of discussion ' academic and trade ' on the question of the appropriate methods of valuing private equity positions and securities which are otherwise illiquid. An interesting recent decision in the Southern District has been brought to our attention. The case is <i>In Re Allied Capital Corp.</i>, CCH Fed. SEC L. Rep. 92411 (US DC, S.D.N.Y., Apr. 25, 2003). Judge Lynch's decision is well written, the Judge reviewing a motion to dismiss by a business development company, Allied Capital, against a strike suit claiming that Allied's method of valuing its portfolio failed adequately to account for i) conditions at the companies themselves and ii) market conditions. The complaint appears to be, as is often the case, slap dash, content to point out that Allied revalued some of its positions, marking them down for a variety of reasons, and the stock price went down - all this, in the view of plaintiff's counsel, amounting to violations of Rule 10b-5.
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