Proving Trademark Fraud: Intent Is The Question

Law360, New York (August 21, 2013, 12:58 PM ET) -- Is fraud dead? Not likely. Is proving fraud before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office dead? Now that's a question.

Before 2002, proving fraud committed against the USPTO was considered incredibly difficult. From 2003 through 2009, it became all the rage - due to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's ruling in Medinol Ltd. v. Neuro Vasx Inc. In 2009, all changed again with the Federal Circuit's reversal of the decision in Bose Corp. v. Hexawave Inc.

And just this year, two further decisions point to the fineness of a distinction in proving fraud committed against the USPTO - showing that if claims of fraud are not entirely dead, they're at least on a respirator.