Patent Wars III: Return of the iPhone
In the most recent iteration of the titanic intellectual property battle between technology giants Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics, apple took home a $290 million jury verdict. The case (Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (.PDF), centered on Samsung’s alleged infringement of six of Apple’s patents (U.S. Patent Nos. 7,469,381; 7,844,915; 7,864,163; D604,305; and […]
Online Dating Patent Failure
As society progresses into the 21st Century, online dating has been more and more prevalent. To protect their “intellectual property”, some dating websites have gone as far as to patent their online match making systems. A recent Southern District of New York case, FindTheBest.com, Inc. v. Lumen View Technology, LLC, has addressed the validity of […]
Copyright Protection of Architectural Works
The most recent news in architectural copyrights comes from the Milwaukee Federal District Court case Design Basics, LLC v. Midwet Homes, Inc.. In this case, the plaintiff, Design Basics, asserts that Midwest Homes has violated Design Basics’ copyright over two architectural works titled “Hampton” and “Newberry.” The complaint was filed on November 15, 2013. In […]
After Final Consideration Pilot
In May of 2013 the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) initiated a new program known as the After Final Consideration Pilot 2.0 (AFCP). The AFCP authorizes patent examiners to take additional time in considering responses to final patent rejections. During this process, the patent examiner will conduct an interview with the patent applicant […]
Trademark Registration v. COLA Approval
Imagine this: You have finally achieved your life-long goal of fermenting, bottling, and producing your own wine. You have received your COLA (Certificate of Federal Authority) from the Federal Government. You begin selling and advertising your product and you feel like the sky is the limit for your new business. A few weeks go by, […]
Patentability and the Issue of Obviousness
What exactly is obvious? Patent attorneys and independent inventors alike are aware of the standards of patentability; the invention must be (1) new, (2) useful, and (3) non-obvious. Common sense dictates the first two standards of patentability. To be new and useful, an invention must solve an existing problem in a manner which has not […]
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Practice: A Comprehensive Review- Book Review
Trademark law is a staple of any intellectual property attorney’s practice, and should be a topic most independent inventors or business owners are at least familiar with. It is highly likely therefore that these parties will at some point in their ventures have to deal with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), either to […]
Trademarking Wine Goes Beyond Brand Names
Registering a trademark can be vital to competing in the competition laden world of wine making. In fact, trademarks expand well beyond the wine industry into the alcohol industry as a whole. Because registered marks are so important to alcohol-based companies, they are always on the lookout for other producers who may be infringing on […]
TTAB Protects European Wine Mark AOP
The latest turn in wine-related trademark law comes from the recent Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) decision of In re AOP LLC. In this case, the TTAB rejected AOP LLC ‘s (the applicant) attempt to register the word mark “AOP” because the mark was both deceptive and mis-descriptive. What does AOP stand for?: Appellation […]
Recent Settlement Spells Trouble for Patent Trolls
Due to a recent settlement agreement with the Minnesota Attorney General, patent troll MPHJ Technology Investments, LLC has stopped enforcing specific patents within the State of Minnesota. The patents in question taught a commonly used method of the using basic office equipment to scan documents into e-mail. “Patent trolls shake down small businesses to pay […]