On Monday the Supreme Court issued a highly anticipated decision in United States Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com, ruling that a term is generic for a class of goods or services only if the term has that meaning to consumers, and rejecting the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (“USPTO”) per se rule
Intellectual Property
COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program
By Marcella M. Bodner on
Posted in Intellectual Property
Small business efforts to patent technology which deals with the COVID-19 outbreak will be getting a boost thanks to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Effective May 14, 2020, the USPTO has opened an express lane for certain patent applications which are directed to COVID-19 related technology, and are filed by applicants who…
A New Age of Digital Piracy
By William W. Stroever on
On Monday the United States Supreme Court addressed a case of piracy about pirates. In a unanimous decision in Allen v. Cooper, the Supreme Court ruled that states have sovereign immunity against copyright infringement claims, based on both Court precedent and the language of the Copyright Remedy Clarification Act of 1990 (CRCA). The case…
New USPTO rule requires U.S.- licensed attorneys
By William W. Stroever & Nicole Indelicato on
Posted in Intellectual Property, Trademarks
Beginning August 3, 2019, all foreign-domiciled trademark applicants, registrants and parties to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) proceedings must be represented by an attorney who is licensed to practice in the United States, according to the final rule recently issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This means that all new…
Peloton Strikes Back at Music Publishers
By William W. Stroever on
In March, news broke that stationary bike maker Peloton Interactive had been slapped with a copyright infringement lawsuit seeking more than $150 million in damages (Downtown Music Publishing LLC, et al. v. Peloton Interactive, Inc., Case No. 1:19-cv-02426 (S.D.N.Y.). The lawsuit, filed by ten music publishers, claimed that “more than 1,000 musical works”…