News & Publications

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on March 31, 2020, held that VIP Products LLC’s dog toy that parodies a Jack Daniel’s whiskey bottle may be protected from the distillery’s trademark infringement claims by the First Amendment.

The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on March 27, 2020, held that a former grad student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who helped discover a patented process that made his academic adviser $5 million wasn’t entitled to proceeds from the sale.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in a March 30, 2020, Federal Register notice, announced that it is waiving its original handwritten signature requirement.

The US Copyright Office on March 31, 2020, announced that it will adjust certain deadlines relating to copyright registration and notices of termination in specific cases for persons unable to comply due to the COVID-19 national emergency.

The USPTO, on March 31, 2020, announced extensions to the time allowed to file certain patent and trademark-related documents and to pay certain required fees.

The USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board on March 24, 2020, designated two decisions as precedential.

The Ninth Circuit on March 24, 2020, held that Burbank High School’s music education program didn’t infringe copyrights by incorporating four songs into show choir medleys.

The US Senate on March 25, 2020, passed by unanimous consent the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act which grants, among other things, “emergency relief authority” for a limited amount of time to the USPTO Director and the Register of Copyrights.

After serving as Executive Director for more than five years, Lisa K. Jorgenson is leaving AIPLA. In the time she has served us in that capacity, she has worked tirelessly to connect with AIPLA members—not only across the country but around the world—and to understand and address the challenges that IP practitioners are facing.

Visit aipla.org/coronavirus for the up-to-the-date information you need for your practice.