The United States Patent and Trademark Office on April 27, 2020, published a petition decision explaining that, under current law, only natural persons may be named as an inventor in a patent application.

Copyright protection does not extend to works produced by judges or legislators in the course of their official duties, the United States Supreme Court held on April 27, 2020. Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., U.S., 18-1150.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on April 17, 2020, held that a lower court erred when it invalidated three Spigen Korea Co. design patents covering cellphone cases.

The report highlights how recent actions undertaken by the USPTO have brought greater predictability and certainty to the determination of patent eligibility in the technology areas most affected by the decision.

On April 23, 2020, the United States Supreme Court vacated and remanded the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's decision in Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil, Inc., No. 2018-2417 (Fed. Cir. 2019), ruling that a plaintiff is not required to show that a defendant willfully infringed the plaintiff’s trademark as a precondition to a profits award.