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 …
Continue reading “Amazon Strengthens Brand Protection for Trademark Owners: Key Updates in 2025”
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 …
Continue reading “2025 Patent Filing Costs Rise: USPTO Fee Update and Response Strategies”
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 …
Continue reading “Amazon’s Patent Enforcement Program Establishes Personal Jurisdiction”
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 …
Continue reading “Terminal Disclaimer Rule Proposed to Balance Innovation and Competition”
Getting Off on the Wrong Foot: How Marketing Strategies Can Backfire
The European Court of Justice affirmed an earlier decision of the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in a case where Puma was attempting to gain a European Union (EU) Community Design on its “Puma Creeper Shoe.” On March 6, 2024, the EU Court struck down the validity of Puma’s registered EU design, based on a …
Continue reading “Getting Off on the Wrong Foot: How Marketing Strategies Can Backfire”
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”
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?”