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 …
U.S. Marketing Materials Can and Will Be Used Against You in a Canadian Court
Health Canada determined that Texas-based LE-VEL BRANDS, LLC (“Le-Vel”), broke the law by selling its weight loss products to Canadians without seeking product licenses for their natural health products. The products had been distributed in Canada for some time, and Health Canada had flagged no health concerns. In deciding to issue a stop-sale order, Health Canada relied upon …
Continue reading “U.S. Marketing Materials Can and Will Be Used Against You in a Canadian Court”
Canadian Patent Infringement: The Role of Non-Infringing Options in Profit Calculations and the Availability of Springboard Profits
The Supreme Court of Canada recently clarified the role of non-infringing options as well as springboard profits when calculating profits in patent infringement cases. In Nova Chemicals Corp v Dow Chemical Co, 2022 SCC 43 (“Nova”), the Supreme Court reviewed a trial court’s calculation of the profits gained by Nova Chemicals from infringing Dow Chemical’s …
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 …
Continue reading “PROTECTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY THROUGHOUT THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS”
Coming to Canadian Patents on October 3, 2022: Excess Claims and Continued Examination Fees
The Canadian government has now announced that October 3, 2022, is the date on which significant changes to the Canadian Patent Rules, which we had previously reported, will come into force. The changes will streamline examination procedures by instituting excess claims fees, by instituting a procedure for requesting continued examination, and by introducing conditional notices …
The Who, What, Why, and How of NFTs, the Metaverse, and IP
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”
Freedom to Operate Opinions: What Are They, and Why Are They Important?
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?”
Trademark Modernization Act—What New and Upcoming Changes Could Mean for Your Trademarks
The Trademark Modernization Act (“TMA”) was signed into law on December 27, 2020. Among other things, the TMA created new procedures for challenging pending applications and registrations and updated several rules relating to the prosecution of trademark applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”). Several of these changes took effect in December …
Proposed Changes to the Canadian Patent Rules
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”