News

The Federal Circuit on February 6, 2019, affirmed a district court decision against Athena Diagnostics, holding their patent covering methods for diagnosing neurological disorders invalid because it was directed to a natural law and lacked an inventive step.

President Donald J. Trump on February 5, 2019, highlighted intellectual property during the State of the Union speech to Congress.

Beginning July 1, the United States Patent and Trademark Office will accept new international applications to the IP5 Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Collaboration Search and Examination Pilot (CS&E).

The United States Patent and Trademark Office correctly interpreted the Lanham Act as requiring an award of attorneys' fees, win or lose, to the Office in district court proceedings that review decisions of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held on February 4, 2019.

The United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) on January 31, 2019, published its Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) for the 2018 fiscal year; the PAR serves as the USPTO’s annual report, which it publishes each year to update the public on its performance and financial health.

The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on January 29, 2019, ruled that Inguran LLC’s patent infringement suit against ABS Global will need a new trial because it found that the jury’s assessments of two out of the three patent claims at issue could not be reconciled under the rules governing dependent claims and enablement.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on January 25, 2019, vacated and remanded a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision concerning General Electric Co.‘s successful validity challenge of a patent relating to a coating that protects a substrate used in turbine engines.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on January 23, 2019, reversed a district court entry of summary judgement that had prevented patent owner Supernus and its licensee from extending U.S. patent 8,747,897.

January 27 is the last day to sign up for the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s February 12 and 13 Virtual Instructor Led Training (vILT) course “Legal Analysis and Writing Workshop.”

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on January 9, 2019, held that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) did not err procedurally when it invalidated the claims of a patent on a ground that it did not institute in its institution decision.

The Supreme Court held that the America Invents Act (AIA) did not change the on-sale doctrine, affirming the decision of the Federal Circuit.

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has started a pilot program for cancellation proceedings involving claims of abandonment and/or nonuse. The pilot program will explore a faster, more cost-effective way to remove unused or abandoned registrations from the Trademark Register.

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on January 14, 2019, vacated and remanded the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s decision to deny registration of the mark “GUILD MORTGAGE COMPANY” and its design based on likelihood of confusion with the registered mark “GUILD INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT.”

The USPTO is offering training to members of the public on topics related to examination practice and procedure derived from the recent training delivered to experienced USPTO examiners.

The USPTO is seeking nominations for the 2019 National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

Applied Underwriters Inc., a financial services firm that provides workers’ compensation insurance to businesses across the United States, can’t proceed with its trademark infringement claims against Providence Publications LLC, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held January 15, 2019.

Realtime Data LLC’s patent describing a system for lossless data compression is invalid because its claims are obvious due to the prior art, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held January 10, 2019

AIPLA on December 28, 2018, argued in an amicus brief to the Precedential Opinion Panel of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that the circumstances in which the Director may grant a motion for self-joinder should be the exception, not the rule.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on January 10, 2019, announced the appointment of Thomas W. Krause as the new Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property Law and Solicitor of the USPTO.

January 13, 2019, is the last day to sign up for the USPTO’s STEPP Agent/Attorney 3-Day Course on March 5-7.