Illuminating the path in intellectual property law.
Effective January 18, 2025, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) will update some of its trademark proceedings and fees. The changes aim to provide the USPTO with the additional funding needed to continue to improve its operations and streamline its services, including reducing processing delays, improving examination, enhancing IT systems, and addressing the …
Continue reading “Get Ready for Changes to USPTO Trademark Proceedings and Fees in January 2025”
In a recent article on BloombergLaw.com titled “TikTok Forced Sale Bid Embroils ByteDance’s Vast Patent Trove,” the spotlight is on ByteDance’s formidable patent portfolio, which poses a significant challenge to any mandated sale of TikTok. With over 900 US patents covering pivotal technologies, the divestment process entails navigating legal intricacies and financial considerations, particularly given …
Continue reading “Recap of TikTok Forced Sale Bid Embroils ByteDance’s Vast Patent Trove”
In our prior posts, we discussed the two issues that should be at the forefront of any branding strategy: Avoiding potential trademark infringement claims, and Protecting the business’ brand through trademarks In this post, we briefly discuss how cannabis businesses can implement employment agreements to further protect their intellectual property. Terminating an employment relationship carries …
Picasso said: “good artists borrow, great artists steal.” Or maybe he took the phrase from someone else. In any case, the US Supreme Court has again confounded the legal world by upending expectations, if not years of precedent – though this time in the intellectual property arena. Warhol v. Goldsmith[1] also has the potential to …
Continue reading “Warhol and Prince: Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists…Litigate”
A basic understanding of Intellectual Property (IP) law is essential to managing an Amazon storefront, as IP issues can be a minefield for the uninformed. Amazon sellers must understand the major forms of intellectual property –patents, trademarks, and copyrights–and the common pitfalls associated with each form to avoid infringement allegations, storefront disruptions or closures, and …
Continue reading “A Seller’s Guide to Navigating Intellectual Property Law on Amazon”
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 …
Continue reading “PROTECTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY THROUGHOUT THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS”
Recently, Jennifer Ko Craft (Member, Las Vegas) and John Krieger (Member, Las Vegas) presented at ACC Nevada’s monthly virtual CLE webinar on “The Who, What, Why, and How of NFTs, the Metaverse, and IP.” They discussed the basics of blockchain technology and opportunities in the metaverse as well as enforcement strategies for protecting digital assets. …
Continue reading “The Who, What, Why, and How of NFTs, the Metaverse, and IP”
What is a freedom to operate opinion, and why is it important? A freedom to operate opinion (FTO) is a legal opinion from a qualified intellectual property attorney that concludes a proposed commercial product or process may be made, used, sold, or offered for sale without infringing another party’s intellectual property rights. Although there is …
Continue reading “Freedom to Operate Opinions: What Are They, and Why Are They Important?”
The Canadian government has provided notice of a number of proposed changes to the Canadian Patent Rules. These particular changes will impact patent Applicants’ costs and may call for different prosecution tactics. As of this writing, the date the proposed changes are to come into force has not officially been announced. However, we expect this …
Continue reading “Proposed Changes to the Canadian Patent Rules”
Good News! In 2021, applications filed in Canada went up 13.7%, partly due to Canada’s accession to the Madrid Protocol. When Canada is designated via the Madrid Protocol, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) will communicate directly with the applicant if a Canadian trademark agent is not appointed. Correspondence from the CIPO, such as office …