Market Intelligence

For invention interviews, separate three questions: What result does the customer want? What technical obstacle prevents it? What mechanism did the team devise? Use the answers to decide whether the claims describe the mechanism or merely request the result.

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have sued My Chemical Romance over the band's use of look-alike DCC uniforms during performances featuring staged gunfights. This case raises critical questions about where trademark protection ends and First Amendment rights begin when protected trade dress appears in expressive artistic works.

The USPTO's deployment of AI agents to accelerate patent examination could compress review times from years to months, fundamentally altering how companies should approach patent budgeting and strategy. This shift eliminates the traditional flexibility of pending applications while creating new risks around competitor patents and clearance monitoring. Companies must now reconsider their filing strategies, quality standards, and budget allocation to adapt to a faster-moving patent office.

Addressing a variety of challenges to a judgment against defendants in a trade secret misappropriation action, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit found that the plaintiff had standing on the basis of lawful possession...

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that, under Texas law, a plaintiff can sustain an action for trade secret misappropriation even if the plaintiff voluntarily communicated the alleged trade secrets to the defendant.

The Sedona Conference has released final model jury instructions for the Defend Trade Secrets Act, incorporating significant refinements to guidance on trade secret identification, misappropriation theories, and damages calculations. The instructions address unresolved circuit splits on key issues including inevitable disclosure, combination trade secrets, and the scope of unjust enrichment remedies, while emphasizing that they serve as a starting point requiring case-specific tailoring.