The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled on November 9, 2022, in SoClean, Inc. v. Sunset Healthcare Solutions, Inc.,[1] in a decision involving trade dress, a sub-category of trademark law. SoClean owned a registration for the trade dress of the sanitization devices under U.S. Trademark Reg. No. 6,080,195 (“’195 registration”). SoClean sued Sunset …
Category: patent
Comments Due on §101 Patent Eligibility Guidance
Back in July 2022, the new Director of the USPTO, Kathi Vidal, announced that the USPTO would be seeking comments on its anticipated guidance on §101 patent-eligibility. The deadline for those comments is rapidly approaching on September 15, 2022. The announcement was made against the backdrop of the USPTO’s release of a report to Congress …
Sequence Listing Big Bang Date Has Arrived
July 1, 2022 is the so-called “Big Bang” deadline for new PCT applications which disclose nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences to be filed using the new WIPO’s ST.26 Standard, rather than the previous ST.25 Standard. WIPO, or World Intellectual Property Organization, is the international agency that administers the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), and had announced …
USPTO Terminating Agreement with Rospatent
Just as the war in Ukraine resulting from Russia’s invasion has passed 100 days, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced it will terminate its agreement with its Russian counterpart, the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks (aka Rospatent), effective December 1, 2022. Rospatent will no longer function as either …
DOJ Urges SCOTUS to Take Up Patent Eligibility
On May 24, 2022, the U.S. Solicitor General filed the government’s views on patent subject matter-eligibility as requested by the U.S. Supreme Court way back in May 2021. The Solicitor General requested that the U.S. Supreme Court grant the petition for certiorari in American Axle & Manuf., Inc. v. Neapco Holdings LLC.[1] The Solicitor General …
World I.P. Day
Today, April 26, 2022, is World I.P. Day, where the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized department of the United Nations, focuses attention on educating the public on all aspects of intellectual property rights and regimes. The theme this year is “IP and Youth.” This blog posting, however, will focus on COVID-19, and specifically …
U.S. Patent No. PP34,051 P3, for Cannabis Plant Named AV1-1
Today is an auspicious day for cannabis proponents, so we illustrate one recently issued patent to recognize this date. U.S. Patent No. PP34,051 P3 (‘051) issued on March 22, 2022, for “Cannabis Plant Named ‘AV1-1.’” It was issued to inventor Ytzchak Cohen of Tel Aviv, Israel. The applicant/assignee is Tikun Olam Ltd. of Tel Aviv, …
No April Fool’s: Russia Allowing I.P. Theft in Wake of Ukraine War
The Russia-Ukraine war has just entered its second month, and it appears Russia is using intellectual property piracy as a weapon in retaliation for crippling economic sanctions levied against it after Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The decree was issued on March 7, 2022, just two weeks after the Russian invasion. The decree …
USPTO Cuts Ties with Rospatent, Belarus, EAPO
On March 7, 2022, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it severed its ties with the Federal Service for Intellectual Property of Russia (i.e., Rospatent) and the Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO) (which is based on Russia), as well as the National Center for Intellectual Property of Belarus. This is consistent with …
Ukrpatent Is, Amazingly, Still Operating
As news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine happened last week, the Ukraine State Intellectual Property Institute, or Ukrpatent, announced that it is, in fact, still operating on full-time “providing all the necessary functions and continuous operation of the state system of legal protection of intellectual property.” The Ukrpatent office is located in downtown Kyiv, …