News & Publications

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on April 24, 2020, affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) rejection of a fishing patent application because the invention relies on an abstract idea.

The Federal Circuit on April 21, 2020, vacated and remanded a district court ruling that denied Dish Network LLC and Sirius XM Radio Inc.’s motion for attorneys’ fees in a patent case.

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.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on April 22, 2020, rejected Hologic, Inc.’s attempt to block sales for Minerva Surgical, Inc.’s surgical products.

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on April 16, 2020, affirmed a lower court ruling denying successful guitar maker and technician Buddy Webster’s copyright infringement claims against Dean Guitars.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on April 14, 2020, affirmed a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) ruling that denied registration of Stratus Networks Inc.’s trademark on the grounds of a likelihood of confusion with a trademark registered to UBTA-UBET Communications, Inc.