WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) recently announced the creation of a new Office of International Patent Cooperation (“OIPC”). The OIPC will be led by Mark Powell who will serve as USPTO’s first Deputy Commissioner for International Patent Cooperation. Deputy Commissioner…
Washington, D.C. – The United States Supreme Court unanimously affirmed a Sixth Circuit ruling that intellectual property lawyers for defendant Static Control Components, Inc. of Sanford, North Carolina had properly pled a counterclaim for false advertising under the Lanham Act against Lexmark International, Inc. of Lexington, Kentucky. The Court held…
Indianapolis, Indiana – On April 10, 2014, the Robert H. McKinney School of Law will host “IP Jurisprudence in the New Technological Epoch: The Judiciary’s Role in the Age of Biotechnology and Digital Media.” The program will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will provide 6.5 hours of…
Washington, D.C. – The Supreme Court of the United States agreed to review the judgments of several Courts of Appeals in four intellectual property disputes. The cases included two patent cases (regarding joint-infringement liability and indefiniteness invalidity), a copyright case (concerning public performances), and a case which may have implications…
Richmond, Virginia – PBM Products, LLC (“PBM”) sued Mead Johnson & Company, LLC (“Mead Johnson”) alleging false advertising in violation of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)(1)(A) and (B), and commercial disparagement. Mead Johnson filed counterclaims against PBM. The district court dismissed the counterclaims and entered an injunction against…
WikiLeaks recently released the entire Intellectual property Rights Chapter from the secret negotiated draft text of theTrans-Pacific Partnership (“TPP”) Intellectual Property Rights Chapter. The TPP is the largest-ever economic treaty, encompassing nations representing more than 40 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (“GDP”). The WikiLeaks release of the text…
Washington, D.C. – Utah Senator introduces a bill which includes both fee shifting and bonding to stop the drain on the economy caused by patent trolls. U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), current member and former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, recently introduced legislation to address the growing threat of…
Washington, D.C. — The Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) finds the number of patent infringement suits and defendants has risen substantially in recent years. Some potential causes of this increase include vague, overbroad patents, the potential for large monetary awards from the courts and the increased perception of intellectual property as…
Alexandria, Virginia – On Wednesday, October 23, 2013, the U.S. Patent Office (“USPTO”) will hold a one-day seminar on using the Madrid Protocol for filing an international application and maintaining an international registration. The target audience is practitioners who are already familiar with and have used the Madrid Protocol. The…
Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Patent Office (“USPTO”) and federal courts may be affected by a government shutdown, which will begin tomorrow if Congress does not enact a continuing resolution to fund government operations today. The federal court system will not be affected immediately. During the first 10 business days…