News & Publications

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board on March 13, 2019, published the fifth installment of its Motion to Amend Study, which tracks and analyzes all motions to amend filed in AIA trials through the end of September 2018.

The USPTO has appointed Scott R. Boalick as Chief Judge for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

The PTAB designated as precedential Lectrosonics, Inc. v. Zaxcom, Inc, an order which provides guidance and information regarding statutory and regulatory requirements for a motion to amend in light of Federal Circuit case law.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on February 26, 2019, held that a “bedside machine” that displays medical information was patent-ineligible because it was directed to the abstract idea of using a computer to gather, analyze, and display data. Univ. of Fla. Research Found. v. Gen. Elec. Co., Fed. Cir., No. 2018-1284, 2/26/19.

The United States Patent & Trademark Office is hosting Virtual Instructor Led Training (vILT) on April 2 and 3. The course is entitled “Examining Computer-Implemented Functional Claim Limitations for Compliance with 35 U.S.C. § 112.”

The US Supreme Court on March 4, 2019, granted the USPTO’s petition to review the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s ruling in NantKwest Inc. v. Iancu.

Acting Register of Copyrights Karyn A. Temple has appointed Kevin R. Amer deputy general counsel of the United States Copyright Office, said the United States Copyright Office in a March 5, 2019 news alert.

The United States Supreme Court on March 4, 2019, issued a unanimous decision holding that winning parties in copyright cases can’t collect expert-witness fees and jury consultant costs.

The Supreme Court on March 4, 2019, ruled that a copyright holder must register their work with the US Copyright Office before suing for infringement, and “registration” within the meaning of 17 USC §411(a) occurs not when an application for registration is filed, but when the Copyright Office registers the copyright.

The American Intellectual Property Law Association filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court arguing that the Lanham Act ban against registering immoral and scandalous marks violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment because it has a viewpoint-discriminatory effect.