Sketchbook

September 16th, 2019“You’re Out of Order!” Applying “Moneyball” to Your Litigation ChoicesOver the past decade and a half analytics has exploded to become the driving force in influencing decision making in…Read More

September 4th, 2019Do You Want to Go to Law School?Recently, several friends and family members have asked me if I think they should go to law school. As a…Read More

August 19th, 2019Even if Cited Art is Ancient History, Your Claims Might Still be History: ‘Old’ Art Cited in Office ActionsThe patent statute provides in part that “…Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition…Read More

August 12th, 2019Harry Potter And The Unregistrable Trademark: Beware The Pitfalls of Trying to Trademark Your Book TitleObtaining a trademark registration for the title of your new book may not be as simple as you think. The…Read More

August 8th, 2019Options For Responding To An Examiner’s Answer When The Examiner Has Introduced A New Ground Of Rejection During The Appeal ProcessWhen a patent practitioner and a patent examiner disagree on the interpretation of claim language, it is often beneficial to…Read More

July 30th, 2019Could Oberdorf Open the Door to Infringement Liability for AmazonIn Oberdorf v. Amazon.com Inc., the Third Circuit held that Amazon is a “seller” of products offered by third parties…Read More

July 30th, 2019Attorney Fees in Civil Actions Against the Director under 35 U.S.C. 145 – A review of Iancu v. NantKwest Set for October 7, 2019 Argument Before the U.S. Supreme Court.Patent applicants may seek judicial review of adverse decisions of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in one…Read More

July 30th, 2019Judicial Exceptions and Practical ApplicationsOn January 7 of 2019, the USPTO issued the “2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance” (Guidelines).  The following flowcharts…Read More

July 10th, 2019A Review of the Iancu v. Brunetti – The U.S. Supreme Court Holds that the Lanham Act’s Ban on Immoral Trademarks Violates the First AmendmentThe constitutionality of yet another portion of Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act has been determined by the Supreme Court. …Read More

June 11th, 2019Return Mail, Inc. v. United States Postal Service: The Federal Government Cannot Use IPRs or Other AIA Post-Grant ReviewsOn June 10, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Return Mail, Inc. v. United States Postal Service,…Read More

May 30th, 2019Protecting Descriptive Trademarks Through the Supplemental RegisterIdentifying an effective trademark can be a daunting task.  Besides trying to find a mark that is not already being…Read More

May 28th, 2019Trademark Consent AgreementsSooner or later, most brand owners must evaluate the pros and cons of trademark consent agreements. As the applicant seeking…Read More

May 14th, 2019Patent Trends in AgTechGlobal agricultural productivity more than tripled between 1960 and 2015.[1] Despite such impressive growth, given current trends, global hunger will…Read More

May 7th, 2019USPTO Releases New Examination Guidelines for Trademarks Covering Cannabis and Cannabis-Related GoodsOn May 2nd, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) released new guidelines for the examination of trademarks associated with…Read More

April 30th, 2019The Dirty Secret About Trade SecretsThe idea of a trade secret evokes thoughts of Coca-Cola’s famous secret recipe with its very own dedicated vault or…Read More