Features

The 'New NAFTA' and How It Will Affect Intellectual Property Law
The stage is set for the 24-year-old north American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to end and the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), which has implications for intellectual property, to take its place.
Columns & Departments
Bit Parts
<i>Friday the 13th</i> Screenplay Author's Copyright Termination Notice Found Valid<br>Infringement Suit over Justin Timberlake's “Damn Girl” Allowed to Proceed
Columns & Departments
IP News
Obviousness Determination Can Be Different for Apparatus and Method Claims<br>Petitioner “Bears the Burden” On Demonstrating Real Parties in Interest
Features

How Entertainment and Media Brand Owners Can Prepare for Brexit Scenarios
Following the “Brexit” vote by the United Kingdom signaling its intent to leave the European Union, there was a rush of speculation and guesswork about how EU trademark and design rights would be treated. What progress has been made and what obstacles remain to a smooth transition?
Features

'Star Wars' Sabacc Game Lawsuit Is Resolved
Lucasfilm Ltd. won a dispute over the rights to the card game that plays a pivotal, if small, role in the greater Star Wars galaxy.
Features

The High Bar for Challenging an Improperly Revived Patent
The recent <i>In Re Rembrandt Technologies</i> decision is a reminder of both the potential consequence of a patent holder's disingenuous assertion of unintentionality and the challenges that defendants face when raising the improper filing of a petition to revive a lapsed patent as a defense.
Features

Fair Use, First Sale and Marilyn Monroe
Recently, the Southern District of New York resolved a question that neither the Southern District nor the Second Circuit had ever squarely faced: Can the lawful owner of an art object create and post a photograph of that object in connection with the sale of the object through an online platform such as eBay, without the permission of the owner of copyright in the object?
Features

Non-Traditional Trademarks: The Elusiveness of Branding a Trend
A look at several unique trademark cases where the plaintiff fashion brand proactively sought to invalidate a competitor's non-traditional trademarks, an action which reflects a push back on increasingly aggressive litigation tactics by fashion brands seeking to blur the lines between a non-protectable fashion trend and a protectable trademark.
Features

PTO Gives Iancu More Control over PTAB Precedents
The USPTO announced revisions to PTAB procedures that formalize Andrei Iancu's control over the 250 administrative patent judges and their policy-making, while making that control more transparent.
Columns & Departments
IP News
Federal Circuit: IPR Petitioner Always Retains Burden of Establishing Timeliness<br>Federal Circuit: Framework for 'Overlapping Cases' Applies in IPR
Need Help?
- Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
- Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.
MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Risks of “Baseball Arbitration” in Resolving Real Estate Disputes“Baseball arbitration” refers to the process used in Major League Baseball in which if an eligible player's representative and the club ownership cannot reach a compensation agreement through negotiation, each party enters a final submission and during a formal hearing each side — player and management — presents its case and then the designated panel of arbitrators chooses one of the salary bids with no other result being allowed. This method has become increasingly popular even beyond the sport of baseball.Read More ›
- Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the RoughThere is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.Read More ›
- Do FL and CA Talent Agency Law Cover Social Media Influencers and Esports Talent?If the definition for "artist" under Florida's Talent Agencies Act applies to influencers and esports players, then likely a lot of unlicensed representatives are in violation of the state's statute — and the penalties are pretty serious.Read More ›
- Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About ItWhy is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?Read More ›
- The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year LaterThe DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.Read More ›