News & Publications

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.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on March 23, 2020, denied a petition for a full-court rehearing of its Arthrex Inc. v. Smith and Nephew, Inc. decision.

The US Supreme Court on March 23, 2020, ruled that state institutions can’t be sued for copyright infringement, in a case stemming from the use of videos and images featuring the wreck of Blackbeard’s ship, Queen Anne’s Revenge.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on March 13, 2020, overturned the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) unpatentability determination for a nail-fungus treatment patent.

The Fourth Circuit on March 12, 2020, affirmed a North Carolina District Court’s grant of two complementary injunctions granted to protect SAS Institute Inc.'s $79.1 million copyright infringement win against “collateral attacks” on the judgment in UK court.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on March 9, 2020, held that the opening guitar riff in Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” didn’t infringe another band’s copyright.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office on March 16, 2020, announced that it will be closing all USPTO facilities to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The US Patent and Trademark Office has announced that examiner and examining attorney interviews, Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) oral hearings, and other similar in-person meetings with parties and stakeholders scheduled to take place at USPTO offices on or after Friday, March 13, 2020 will be conducted remotely by video or telephone.

The US Patent and Trademark Office is seeking nominations for the 2020 National Medal of Technology and Innovation (NMTI).