News

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.

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).

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on March 6, 2020, upheld Dish Network Corp.‘s win over portions of two patents related to storing personalized ad data on a set-top box.

The US Patent and Trademark Office is hosting another China IP Road Show on March 19, 2020, in Minneapolis, MN.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on March 2, 2020, held that two inventors misinformed the US Patent and Trademark Office with the help of Cantor Colburn LLP.