May 14, 2012

In a recent patent infringement case, Amazon.com asked to have the case transferred from the Eastern District to the Western District of Texas. That motion was denied by the Eastern District federal court judge. Amazon appealed to the Federal Circuit…

April 27, 2012

Woodard, Emhardt is hosting “E-Day” (Evaluation Day) for Ball State University’s Entrepreneurship Program on May 1, 2012. Ball State’s Entrepreneurship Program has been nationally ranked in the top ten for about a decade. During “E-Day,” seniors majoring in entrepreneurship present…

February 29, 2012

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), after receiving numerous inquiries and complaints, has posted a warning directly on its Trademark homepage to highlight the problem of non-USPTO solicitations that resemble official USPTO communications. According to the Office, private…

February 23, 2012

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has set forth new rules regarding the ex parte appeal process before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.  The new rules took effect on January 23, 2012, with a majority of the…

January 13, 2012

Twitter is an online social interaction platform which enables users to share their thoughts and interact with the public and other users 140 characters at a time.  Twitter has grown in popularity exponentially over the past few years, and as…

December 28, 2011

Below is a presentation providing a primer on trade secret and copyright law. This is followed by a detailed explanation of a portion of the 1976 Copyright Act that provides copyright holders the ability to terminate their licenses and assignments.…

December 15, 2011

This presentation examines whether the AIA will change patent litigation in the Eastern District of Texas. The presentation explores aspects of the AIA, including changes to joinder, Post Grant Review and Inter Partes Review and how each of these changes…

October 12, 2011

The America Invents Act creates a new way for inventors to shorten the time it takes to obtain a patent.  This is called Prioritized Examination.  Under the PE program, an applicant pays an extra $4800 fee ($2400 for small entities)…

September 22, 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).  Currently 22 gTLDs exist, with .com being the most utilized.  However, internet address…

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.…

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…

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.  …