February 18, 2015

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) recently announced that the United States has deposited the official instruments needed to ratify the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs (the “Hague System”). The…

February 11, 2015

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter declared February 11 as National Inventors’ Day to celebrate the United States patent system and the role played by inventors in promoting technological progress. February 11 is a significant choice for the date of National…

December 31, 2014

Beginning on January 17, 2015 the fee for electronically filing a trademark application will drop $50 to $225 for an application with confirms to an existing classification (TEAS Plus) and $275 for all other applications. The USPTO just issued a…

December 26, 2014

The USPTO has publicly launched a beta version of its new website. The site is part of the agency’s rollout of “next Generation” technologies that will improve the experience of doing business with the USPTO. The USPTO’s new site aims…

December 19, 2014

On December 16, 2014, the USPTO released its interim guidance (2014 Interim Guidance on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility) for use by USPTO personnel in determining subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. 101. The new guidance was prepared in view of…

September 26, 2014

The USPTO has announced that it will extend the After Final Consideration Pilot 2.0 (AFCP) Program through September 30, 2015. The program was previously scheduled to expire on September 30, 2014. The PTO further announced that Examiners will begin sending…

August 22, 2014

The following presentation discusses the recent patent examination guidelines for patentable subject matter issued by the USPTO concerning the recent Alice decision. To view the presentation, visit: Examiner Guidelines from Woodard, Emhardt, Henry, Reeves & Wagner, LLP

June 27, 2014

On Wednesday, June 25, the Supreme Court ruled that Aereo violated copyright laws by publicly performing copyrighted works. Aereo is a startup whose business model revolves around recording broadcast television programming and storing the programming on their servers. The programming…

June 27, 2014

On Wednesday, June 18, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board canceled the “Redskins” mark in a 2-1 decision stating that it is “disparaging to Native Americans.” A similar case was filed in 1992 and was overturned by a federal district…

June 19, 2014

In the case of Lumen View Tech. LLC v. Findthebest.com, Inc. , the Southern District of New York has become the first court to hand down an opinion and order following the Supreme Court decision of Octane Fitness, LLC v.…

May 7, 2014

The Federal Circuit recently released its opinion for the case In re Packard, providing guidance as to when the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) may properly reject a claim as failing to meet the definiteness requirements of 35…

May 2, 2014

Two recently decided Supreme Court cases have made it easier for a party to be granted attorney’s fees after winning a case. According to 35 U.S.C. §285, a court may award attorney’s fees to a winning party in “exceptional” cases.…