News

Arlington, VA. January 27, 2023 - The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) submitted comments in response to the Expanding Admission Criteria for Registration to Practice in Patent Cases Before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Arlington, VA. January 18, 2023 - The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) filed an amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc. v. VIP Products LLC (No. 22-148) supporting reversal and remand of the Ninth Circuit’s decision below. The case involves VIP’s “humorous” use of trademarks and trade dress owned by Jack Daniel’s in connection with a dog toy product.

AIPLA is pleased to report that based, in part, on its continued leadership in intellectual property advocacy, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has again delayed implementation of fees on patent applicants who do not file applications in a specific electronic filing format. The USPTO is delaying the effective date of this fee until April 3, 2023.

Arlington, VA. January 1, 2023 - The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) filed a merits-stage amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Abitron Austria GmbH et al. v. Hetronic Int’l Inc., Case. No. 21-1043.

Arlington, VA. December 22, 2022 - The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) submitted comments to China’s State Administration of Market Regulation on the Draft Amendment of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China.

Arlington, VA. December 19, 2022 - The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) submitted comments to the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) on the Draft Revised Chinese Patent Examination Guidelines.

Arlington, VA. November 7, 2022 - The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) submitted comments to the United States Patent and Trademark Office on the Office of Enrollment and Discipline’s (OED) Diversion Pilot Program.

ARLINGTON, Virginia, November 1, 2022 - The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) hosted the 2022 Annual Meeting from October 27-29, 2022 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, where new board members were sworn in for the 2022-2023 year and eight awards were presented to deserving recipients.

Arlington, VA. October 21, 2022 - The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) submitted comments to the United States Patent and Trademark Office on the Office’s guidance on patent subject matter eligibility under Section 101 of the Patent Act.

Arlington, VA. October 21, 2022 - The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) offered its response to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) regarding the USPTO’s Request for Comments on Director Review, Precedential Opinion Panel Review, and Internal Circulation and Review of Patent Trial and Appeal Board Decisions.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is committed to increasing inventor diversity, improving equity in the innovation ecosystem, stimulating the national economy, creating jobs, and ensuring America’s competitiveness. The Patent Pro Bono Program is one of the primary tools the USPTO has to meet these goals and to ensure financially underserved communities can access the patent system. The impact of the Patent Pro Bono Program entirely depends on volunteer services from practitioners like yourself, who can directly make a difference in someone’s life.

Arlington, VA. October 3, 2022 - The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) submitted comments to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit pursuant to the invitation for public comment on several proposed changes to the Rules of Practice.

ARLINGTON, Virginia, August 3, 2022 - The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) released the following statement on the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act of 2022 introduced by Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC):

ARLINGTON, VA. September 30, 2022 - The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) released the following statement in response to the passing of former Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters on September 29, 2022

Arlington, VA. September 16, 2022,- The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) filed an amicus brief in support of the Petition for Certiorari currently pending before the Supreme Court in Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc. v. VIP Products LLC, No. 22-148. The decision below, decided by the Ninth Circuit, involved the unauthorized use of trademarks and trade dress owned by Jack Daniel’s in connection with a dog toy product that purportedly parodied the Jack Daniel’s brand. Jack Daniel’s claimed that the dog toys infringed its rights under the Lanham Act. However, the Ninth Circuit held that the First Amendment protects all “humorous” or parodic uses of others’ trademarks regardless of the nature of the underlying product, becoming the first court to apply such protections outside of Lanham Act disputes involving artistic works.

Arlington, VA. August 26, 2022 - The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) filed comments to the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) on the proposed pilot program for instituting a Final Pretrial Conference (PFC) requirement in certain TTAB opposition and cancellation proceedings. Overall, AIPLA supports the pilot program to give the TTAB an opportunity to evaluate its potential effectiveness, recognizing the burden placed on TTAB Administrative Judges and staff when cases with large records are presented for decision. Therefore, AIPLA supports the TTAB in studying and evaluating ways to make these cases more efficient.

Arlington, VA. August 24, 2022 - The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) filed comments on Draft Provisions Prohibiting Abuse of Intellectual Property Rights to Exclude or Restrict Competition issued by China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (Draft Provisions).  The comments point out that AIPLA generally believes intellectual property rights (IPR) should not be enforced beyond their effective term limits, given the efficient market realities of portfolio licensing, but recommends the Draft Provisions explicitly permit parties to establish license agreements that license an entire portfolio of IPR, notwithstanding the fact that certain IPRs may expire or be found invalid during the term of an agreement. 

On August 4, AIPLA filed an amicus brief in the two PTAB cases of OpenSky Industries, LLC, Patent Quality Assurance, LLC, and Intel Corporation v. VLSI Technology LLC, which USPTO Director Vidal has taken up to address what actions the USPTO Director should take when faced with assertions of an abuse of process or conduct that otherwise thwarts, as opposed to advances, the goals of the Office and/or the AIA. AIPLA’s brief argues that the review procedures implemented in these proceedings are adequate to address the rare instances of alleged abuse of process or alleged conduct contrary to the goals of the Office and/or the AIA.

On July 5, the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) submitted comments as proposed by the Administrative Office of the US Courts on a potential small claims patent court or small claims patent proceeding and its impacts. AIPLA addressed nine proposed questions and will continue to study these issues.

On July 11, the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) offered its initial views to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) in response to the Interim Process for PTAB Director Review. AIPLA appreciates the USPTO’s focus on improving fairness to all parties and achieving greater consistency and predictability in these proceedings.