Protectable rights are created the same way a successful brand is established — linking your Mark and your company’s offering in the minds of the consumer is a must. The good news? Regardless of your company’s size or marketing budget, this necessary connection can be achieved.
Just three months ago, Acting Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Coke Morgan Stewart rescinded existing guidelines governing the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) discretion to deny petitions for inter partes review (IPR) and post-grant review (PGR) when parallel litigation is already pending in federal district court or the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). Acting Director Stewart replaced those guidelines with new interim processes that rely on the Director to issue decisions on patent owners’ requests for discretionary denials.
“Not Merely Monkey Business”: The Bored Ape Case and NFT Branding in the Ninth Circuit
On July 23, 2025, the Ninth Circuit issued a pivotal decision regarding digital art, blockchain technology, and trademark law. The ruling not only clarifies that non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are protectable “goods” under federal trademark law, but also sets important standards for how courts should analyze consumer confusion, fair use, and First Amendment protections surrounding artistic expression in the rapidly evolving NFT marketplace.
While the EU AI Act certainly deserves compliments for both its pioneering nature and numerous thoughtful provisions aimed at the efficient and effective regulation of modern AI, it is not without its drawbacks.
Federal Circuit: District Court Did Not Err In Declining to Find Infringement By Moderna’s Activities Involving COVID-19 VaccineFederal Circuit: PTAB Did Not Err In Finding that Prior Art Reference Disclosed Negative Limitation Without Stating a Feature’s Absence
A federal judge handed Meta a major win on June 24 in a closely watched copyright case over its use of books to train large language models, but the ruling stopped well short of giving tech companies blanket protection to scrape creative works for artificial intelligence.
In today’s competitive marketplace, a company’s most valuable assets are often not found on its balance sheet. The proprietary formulas, customer databases, pricing models, and operational processes that give businesses their competitive edge represent intellectual capital that can literally be worth millions — or lost in an instant. As innovation drives business success, protecting these trade secrets has become critical to maintaining market position and profitability.
In brand protection, as in bridge engineering, the strength of brand differentiation (trademark distinctiveness) depends on the integrity of each supporting cable. When one snaps, the question is not only whether you can fix that component, but also whether the whole structure will hold together long enough for the repair crew to arrive.
In Ex parte Michalek, the PTAB evaluated an invention involving medical health technology and artificial intelligence. While this case involved medical health technology, the implicated issues inform patent strategies for AI enabled inventions across all industries.
