Features
Rights and Obligations In Patent Licenses
The owner of a commercially successful patent may have competing desires. On one hand, the patent owner wants to protect the patent and secure its maximum benefit; on the other hand, the patent owner wants to avoid enforcement litigation with competitors because it is expensive and puts the patent at risk.
Features
Did Congress Create Unintended Risks to Innovators In the AIA?
Many observers greeted the passage of the AIA into law as a long-overdue overhaul of U.S. patent law that aligned it with patent systems prevailing in the rest of the world. Who knew what mischief just seven of the AIA's more than 25,000 words contained? The U.S. Supreme Court answered earlier this year.
Features
SCOTUS to Address Whether Lanham Act Requires Willful Infringement for Profit Disgorgement
The decision in Romag Fasteners v. Fossil will bring welcome uniformity, ending the status quo where eligibility to recover profits under the Lanham Act depends on which court is deciding the dispute
Features
Limit in Supreme Court Striking Down Ban On 'Scandalous' Trademarks
In the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Iancu v. Brunetti, Justice Sonia Sotomayor's dissent cautioned that the decision is likely to pave a path to a "coming rush to register [vulgar, profane, or obscene] trademarks." The reasoning stems from the court's majority finding that a portion of 15 U.S.C. §1052 — which had previously prohibited the registering of "immoral" or "scandalous" trademarks — is unconstitutional. Practically speaking, however, this "coming rush" will likely not be the case, even via the entertainment industry.
Features
Supreme Court Holds Bar Against Registration of Immoral or Scandalous Marks Violates the First Amendment
Iancu v. Brunetti The Supreme Court held the bar against registration of immoral or scandalous marks "collided" with well-established free speech doctrine, namely, that laws disadvantaging speech based on the views expressed thereby violate the First Amendment.
Features
Case on 'Coolcore' Marks Settles a 34 Year Debate Regarding Bankruptcy and IP Law
The U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in <i>Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology </i>, ruling that a trademark licensee can retain its rights under a trademark license agreement that is rejected by the licensor as an executory contract in bankruptcy.
Features
Takeaways from the Recent Qualcomm Decision
The DOJ's intervention, and the judge's ultimate decision, has exposed tensions between the DOJ and FTC, and within the FTC itself, and public scrutiny is far from over as the case heads to the Ninth Circuit on appeal.
Features
Reflections on Potential Legislative Reform of the Patent Eligibility Standard
In the last five years, the courts have instead began wading into policy setting without the tools and resources to fully consider all the issues and various interests. Thus, the recent congressional efforts to consider these questions is welcome and, frankly, overdue.
Features
States Not Immune from PTAB Proceedings, Federal Circuit Rules
Fifteen states had argued that they and their public universities shouldn't have to expose their patents to validity review at the patent trial and appeal board.
Columns & Departments
IP News
Federal Circuit Finds District Court Erred in Analysis of Motivation to Combine Prior Art References, Yet Affirms Ultimate Conclusion of Non-obviousness Due to the Lack of a Reasonable Expectation of Success<br>Federal Circuit Rules that Issue Preclusion Bars a Party from Arguing in an Appeal of an Inter Partes Review Decision an Issue Previously Decided in Another Inter Partes Review Proceeding that Was Not Appealed
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