In a recent decision (the Sonos case), the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has potentially breathed new life into a dormant doctrine—the doctrine of prosecution laches.

In RAI Strategic Holdings, Inc. v. Philip Morris Prods. S.A.,[1] (RAI), the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) vacated and remanded the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's (PTAB)...

In the United States, one of the reasons a patent claim may not be obvious over various prior art references is if one of those references "teaches away" from the modification or combination needed to arrive at the claim.

While there is a presumption of obviousness that typically applies when claimed and prior-art ranges overlap, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently...

In 2003, Great Concepts applied to register a trademark for "DANTANNA'S" to be used in restaurant services. The mark was registered in March 2005.

In software and life science technologies, many patent applicants eventually receive an office action rejecting their claimed invention as being directed to an abstract idea...

Almost a decade after its Lelo[1] decision, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ("Federal Circuit") clarified the domestic industry requirement of 19 U.S.C. § 1337 ("Section 337")...

The recent Federal Circuit decision regarding U.S. Patent No. 7,072,849 in Chewy, Inc. v. International Business Machines Corp. illustrates the importance of carefully...

In the recent decision Columbia Sportswear North America, Inc., v. Seirus Innovative Accessories, Inc., ("Columbia"), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ("CAFC")...

On April 22, 2025, the Federal Circuit ruled in In re Bonnie Iris McDonald Floyd that a design patent application could not claim priority to an earlier-filed utility...

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided that United States law does not allow trademark owners to enforce U.S. trademarks against otherwise infringing conduct when that conduct occurs outside the United States.

The functionality doctrine in U.S. trademark law states that a functional mark is not registrable. The doctrine prevents the use of trademarks for impeding legitimate competition by ensuring that companies seek protection...

It all began in 1993 with the dream of two 25-year-old entrepreneurs and friends, Jérôme Giacomoni and Matthieu Gobbi, to bring a tethered balloon back to the Tuileries in Paris...

The U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board recently issued a post-grant review decision, denying a post-grant review challenge to U.S. Patent No. 11,696,545 submitted by Inari Agriculture, Inc.

On May 18, 2023, in Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the invalidity of two Amgen patents claiming antibodies.

While a patent practitioner's work may not qualify for hazard pay, significant responsibilities include imagining how a patent may be interpreted in the future and avoiding potential negative consequences arising...

Exemplified by the recent dispute between Masimo and Apple regarding Apple's Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is an important venue that deserves...

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently issued a significant opinion in AMS-OSRAM USA Inc. v. Renesas Electronics America, Inc., clarifying important aspects of trade secret remedies...

On November 28, 2025, USPTO Director John Squires issued new guidance on AI-assisted inventorship and explicitly rescinded the February 13, 2024, guidance that had been issued by his predecessor Director Vidal.

Patent practitioners need to exercise due care when communicating with inventors in the patent drafting process in order to fulfill their professional and ethical obligations to their clients.