firm newsletter
June 3, 2014
Even Without U.S. Use, Trademarks Can Be Upheld
In a precedent-setting case, the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board (TTAB) has rescinded a trademark even though the trademark holder doesn’t use that mark in the United States and has no plans to do so. The case illustrates that the “misrepresentation as to source” provision of the Lanham Act can be a useful tool in […]
> read moreJune 3, 2014
No Congressional Reform on Patent Trolls Likely This Year as Leahy Pulls Bill, Mid-Terms Loom
The prospects for patent law reform being passed by the current Congress disappeared last week when Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) pulled his bill after several contentious months of no consensus. The Senate’s Judiciary Committee Chairman had been fighting to get the Senate to adopt patent reform in the wake of the House of Representatives’ overwhelming […]
> read moreJune 3, 2014
California Gives Heads-Up on Do-Not-Track Practices
As is so often the case, California is again leading the nation in the definition and enforcement of online privacy rules. The latest announcement from California Attorney General Kamala Harris, while not legally effective in other states, should serve as a beginning point for you to begin thinking about how your company will handle these […]
> read moreMay 9, 2014
Now You Can Search Trademark Database Visually
In what may well be the first action of its kind, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) unveiled earlier this month a visual search interface for its Global Brand Database. The new interface is designed to make it possible for users to look for trademarks by their visual appearance. This new interface should open this […]
> read moreMay 9, 2014
Programming APIs Should Not Generally Be Subject to Copyright
The Federal Circuit Court once again revealed its lack of understanding about the intersection of copyright and tech by overturning a lower court verdict and declaring that programming language application program interfaces (APIs) are subject to copyright. The ruling came on appeal of a case brought by Oracle Corp. against Google Inc. for infringement of […]
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