Edited by
Martin L. Saad,
Meaghan Hemmings Kent and
Elissa Brockbank Reese
IP LEGAL NEWS AND UPDATES
USPTO Issues Rules Implementing America Invents
Act
Toni-Junell Herbert,
Jeffri A. Kaminski,
Robert Kinberg,
Michael A. Sartori, Ph.D.,
Fabian M. Koenigbauer, and
Christopher B. Tokarczyk
On August 14, 2012, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued
rules implementing various provisions of the Leahy-Smith America
Invents Act (AIA). Venable has prepared articles outlining the
finalized and proposed rules and how the changes will affect
your organization. Please click
here to read complete articles on the respective
topics.
The $60 Million iPad Trademark Lesson Applies to All
Brands
Justin E. Pierce and
Andrew D. Price
Business people, from both start-ups and major multinational
corporations, often question the value or reasoning behind the
trademark advice they receive from their lawyers. For instance,
business people often ask "do we really need to do this?"
after being told that extensive trademark searching must be done to
find a potential brand name that is legally available. Oftentimes
the cost of careful trademark work seems to outweigh its benefits
and seems too speculative – too far in the future to
really worry about today. Apple's recent experience with the
"iPad" mark in China teaches otherwise.
Patent Insurance – It's Not Just for
Defendants Anymore
Christopher T. La Testa
When purchasing insurance, an insurance-buyer generally seeks to
protect him or herself against potential liabilities or risks of
loss. For example, many companies will purchase patent liability
insurance to offset the costs of defending against an infringement
claim. While such "defensive" patent liability insurance
is fairly common, a lesser known type of "offensive"
insurance is available to patent owners to help offset the costs of
enforcing a patent against an alleged infringer.
Lights! Action! Deduct!
Joshua J. Kaufman
There may be a documentary film to be made about the documentary
filmmaker who stood up to the IRS and won. A recent tax court case
could be an extremely important precedent for independent
filmmakers and documentarians. The issue in the case was the
ability of the filmmaker to take deductions for expenses incurred
in creating a documentary film given the fact that many documentary
films do not make a profit.
Determining Subject Matter Eligibility: How CLS Bank v.
Alice Corp. Makes a Difficult Question Even More
Difficult
Christopher B. Tokarczyk
In CLS Bank v. Alice Corp., the Federal Circuit addressed the
question of subject matter eligibility for the first time since the
Supreme Court issued its decision in Mayo Collaborative Services v.
Prometheus Laboratories earlier this year. Many hoped that the
Federal Circuit would provide clear guidance on how it would apply
Prometheus when determining whether claims are ineligible under 35
U.S.C. § 101 for encompassing abstract ideas. However, the
majority and dissenting opinions take vastly different approaches
that seem to only further muddy the waters.
Protecting Your Intellectual Property –
Monitoring Licensees' Use of Your Trademarks in Advertising
Claims
Amy Ralph Mudge and
Randal M. Shaheen published "Protecting Your
Intellectual Property – Monitoring Licensees' Use of
Your Trademarks in Advertising Claims" in ACC
QuickCounsel on August 6, 2012.
Click
here to view this article on ACC's website.
Best Practices in Anti-Counterfeiting in the Toy and Game
Industry
Justin E. Pierce and
Meaghan Hemmings Kent published "Best Practices in
Anti-Counterfeiting in the Toy and Game Industry" in the Toy
Industry Association weekly newsletter.
Click
here to view the full text of this article on TIA's
website.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
