A 'trademark' is a legal term that represents the source of a product or service and includes any name, brand, packaging, logo and sound that causes the consumer to associate the good/service with the source. Many businesses seek to formerly register their marks through the United States Patent and Trademark Office to enhance the value and geographic reach of their mark(s) through the fifty states and US territories Read More
The Federal Circuit’s New Obviousness Test for Design Patents
This blog discusses the Federal Circuit’s en banc patent decision in LKQ Corp. v. GM Global Tech. Operations, LLC, No. 21-2348 slip op. (Fed. Cir. May 21, 2024) where the panel overruled the long-standing obviousness test used to evaluate design patents. The decision will likely cause confusion and uncertainty amongst both design patent applicants and design patent litigants for quite a while. The blog is Read More
Merely Descriptive Trademarks: A Tricky Road to Navigate
Key Points A merely descriptive mark is one which the mark is deemed to be merely descriptive of the specified goods and services. Such marks are not registrable on the Principal Register but they may be registered on the Supplemental Register. They may later be registrable on the preferred Principal Register upon a showing of acquired distinctiveness. However, the USPTO’s requirements for meeting this showing to Read More
Another Trademark Application Specimen Bites the Dust
So the applicant for registration of a trademark has met the threshold requirements: 1) there is no likelihood of confusion with existing marks; 2) the mark is not merely descriptive of the goods/services; and 3) the mark is not generic. Will the mark be registered? Not always. One registration requirement that many find confusing is the USPTO’s specimen requirement. A specimen is documentary proof showing how Read More
A Trade Secret Is A Trade Secret…Until It’s Not
Unlike a patent, registered copyright, or registered trademark, all of which are the result of a formal grant by a government agency such as the United States Patent & Trademark Office, a trade secret has no such formal governmental recognition. Instead, the trade secret owner must take proactive steps to both establish and protect its trade secrets. To prevail in a trademark misappropriation lawsuit, the trade Read More
Boosting Enterprise Value Through Trade Secrets
Background & Current Issues: Trade secrets have historically been an outlier in the area of intellectual property (IP) law because they have not been viewed as “real” IP. Today they are being increasingly viewed as valuable IP assets. Indeed Gene Quinn, one of the most influential IP thought leaders in the U.S., has predicted that trade secrets may pass patents in terms of valuation. Nevertheless, trade secrets Read More
Choreographic Works, Video Games & Copyright Infringment
The Moral of the Blog: Choreographic works are copyrightable under the 1976 Copyright Act. However, just how far that protection reaches under the jurisprudence of the various circuits may well depend on whether the circuit adopts the U.S. Copyright Compendium’s definition of choreography which is favorable to choreographers. As with any copyright infringement case, the trier of fact is tasked with determining Read More
Famous South Florida Deli Restaurant’s Service Marks Subject To Cancellation Proceedings As A Result Of Non-Use
The Moral of the Blog: Perhaps one of the most misunderstood requirements for obtaining and maintaining the registration of a service or trademark is that the mark’s recited services/goods must be being offered in commerce to maintain a viable registration. Otherwise, the registered mark is subject to cancellation by the USPTO as this blog discusses. A Little Personal Background. Wolfie Read More
Got a registered trademark? Don’t lose it by forgetting to maintain or renew it!
Background & Current Issues. Trade secrets have historically been an outlier in the area of intellectual p This blog, part 1 of a 2-part series on the cancellation of federally registered trademarks, focuses on the cancellation of registered trademarks by operation of law. The maintenance of federally registered trademarks should be part of a strategic planning approach for protecting and enhancing the value of Read More
Patent claims related to methods and systems for matching users based on their answers to polling questions are not patent-eligible under § 101.
In Trinity Info Media, LLC, et al. v. Covalent, Inc., the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals (CAFC) held that the patent claims were directed to an abstract idea of “matching users who gave corresponding answers to polling questions.” As such, they do not involve an inventive concept under § 101 and are patent ineligible. The holding itself is not surprising based on previous case law in this post-Alice world. The Read More
