As of October 2025, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director John A. Squires has reclaimed authority to decide all patent review institution proceedings. This responsibility was previously delegated to judges at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The USPTO also recently issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that could significantly reshape how …
Amazon Strengthens Brand Protection for Trademark Owners: Key Updates in 2025
As trademark infringement and counterfeit sales continue to disrupt legitimate business on Amazon, Amazon has developed and expanded its intellectual property enforcement tools. In 2025, Amazon introduced enhancements to its Brand Registry platform to provide trademark owners with more control over their product listings, greater visibility into unauthorized sellers, and more efficient mechanisms for addressing …
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2025 Patent Filing Costs Rise: USPTO Fee Update and Response Strategies
Introduction In January 2025, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) implemented a broad set of fee increases and structural adjustments intended to address rising operational costs and encourage more efficient patent prosecution. These changes affect nearly every stage of the patent lifecycle, from initial patent application filings to subsequent patent application filings and …
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Navigating Copyright Across Borders: How U.S. Registration Strengthens Global Protection
In an increasingly interconnected world, authors and rights holders must understand how their copyrights are treated beyond U.S. borders. Despite the global nature of creative content distribution, international copyright law remains fundamentally territorial, leading to uncertainty over how far U.S. copyright protections extend. While not mandatory, registering a work with the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) …
Amazon’s Patent Enforcement Program Establishes Personal Jurisdiction
The Amazon Patent Evaluation Express (APEX) program offers patent owners a cost-effective way to address claims that third-party product listings are infringing on their utility patents. Under the APEX program, a third-party arbitrator assesses whether a product available on Amazon.com infringes a utility patent, leading to the removal of the listing if the article determines …
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Terminal Disclaimer Rule Proposed to Balance Innovation and Competition
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) periodically evaluates the delicate balance of the U.S. patent system to protect innovation without excessively stifling competition. U.S. patents give patent owners the exclusive right to exclude others from making, using, selling, or importing the claimed invention typically for 20 years; however, the risk of patent infringement …
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You Received a “Notice of Data Security Incident” from the USPTO—Now What?
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently issued a notice that a data security incident exposed domicile addresses of numerous trademark applicants who filed applications between February 2020 and March 2023. A copy of the first page of the notice is below: The USPTO stated that the incident occurred when a vulnerability in …
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The Effect on Trade Secret Protection by the Federal Trade Commission’s Proposed Ban on Non-Compete Agreements
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed a ban on non-compete agreements between an employer and its workers as an unfair method of competition. The FTC’s proposed ban is intended to promote competition and innovation by providing workers with more freedom to move between companies. However, this proposal has raised concerns about …
New USPTO Fee Schedule Reduces Costs for PCT Patent Filings and Small and Micro Entities
The enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 includes the Unleashing American Innovators Act of 2022 (UAIA), directed toward increasing innovation of small businesses and inventors in America. Congress is using the UAIA to reduce barriers to patent system entry, such as the costs associated with filing and prosecuting patent applications as well as maintaining …
Protecting Intellectual Property Throughout the Manufacturing Process
Many companies, including U.S. companies, find manufacturing abroad attractive because of its affordable costs, capacity, and distribution networks. Typically discussions or negotiations with a foreign manufacturer will concern the type of product to be produced, which often involves providing the manufacturer with sufficient detail to enable the manufacturer to provide a proposal. These seemingly harmless …
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