IP Law Digest
US Senate Passes the America Invents Act
September 9, 2011
On September 8, 2011, the Senate overwhelmingly passed S.23, more commonly known as the “America Invents Act”. It is the same bill passed by the House of Representatives in June which makes several significant changes to the U.S. patent system.…
Read MoreDo you work with copyrights? If so, do not forget about an author’s rights to terminate transfers and licenses.
August 29, 2011
The copyright act provides the authors of transferred or licensed works the opportunity to recapture his or her rights. This means that after waiting a specific period of time, an author, or an author’s estate, can terminate a prior transfer…
Read MoreAnother Reason to Keep Lab Notebooks—Tax Credits Upwards of 7-10%
August 12, 2011
Law firms and in-house attorneys are always asking inventors to keep lab notebooks. There are a number of reasons to keep such documentation, including seeking patent protection, but there is another reason that is often overlooked, substantial tax credits. …
Read MoreICANN Approves New Generic Top-Level Domain Names
July 8, 2011
ICANN’s Board of Directors has approved a plan to allow an increase in the number of internet address endings, otherwise known as generic top-level domain names (gTLDs), from the current 22. Internet address names will be able to end with…
Read MoreUS House of Representatives Passes the America Invents Act
June 24, 2011
On June 23, 2011, the House of Representatives passed HR 1249, commonly known as the America Invents Act, which was mentioned in a previous post here (112th Congress Becomes the Fourth To Attempt to Tackle Patent Reform). Of note, the…
Read MoreU.S. Supreme Court Issues Decision in Microsoft v. i4i Case
June 20, 2011
The U.S. Supreme Court has handed down a decision in the much-anticipated Microsoft v. i4i case. In its decision, the Supreme Court affirmed that invalidity of a patent must be proved by clear and convincing evidence. To read the full…
Read MoreSupreme Court Clarifies Patent Ownership Under Bayh-Dole Act
June 16, 2011
As a result of Leland Stanford Junior University v. Roche Molecular Systems, Inc., No. 09-1159, organizations and universities subject to the Bayh-Dole Act should construct more effective assignment agreements with their employees instead of relying on the Bayh-Dole Act to…
Read MoreA Tougher Standard for Proving Inequitable Conduct?
June 8, 2011
In a 6–1–4 decision, an en banc Federal Circuit in Therasense, Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson and Company tries to cure the “plague” of inequitable conduct pleadings by raising the bar for proving that alleged bad acts were material to patentability…
Read MoreWoodard, Emhardt Makes Donation to Improve Patent Searching Terminals at Purdue University
June 2, 2011
Woodard, Emhardt recently made a donation to enhance the PubWEST patent searching terminals at the Siegesmund Engineering library at Purdue University. The PubWEST system is only available to the public at designated Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries (PTDLs) and is…
Read MoreUpdate to New Rule for Prioritized Examination
April 22, 2011
We previously reported a new rule issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) regarding prioritized examination. A copy of this blog posting can be found here. Briefly, this new rule allows an applicant to have a patent…
Read MoreFederal Circuit Hears Oral Arguments in the Myriad Gene Patent Case
April 22, 2011
On April 4, 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard oral arguments in Association for Molecular Pathology, et al. v. USPTO, Myriad Genetics, et al. This case involves the controversial topic of whether human genes qualify…
Read MoreUSPTO Issues Final Rule to Implement Prioritized Examination
April 14, 2011
On April 4, 2011, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a final rule regarding prioritized examination (Track I). The purpose of the rule is to provide a final disposition within twelve months of prioritized status being granted. …
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