Section 101: Confusion Over Patentable Subject Matter (Video)

The Board dismissed this petition for cancellation of Roman Atwood's registration for the mark SMILE MORE for various goods (stickers, backpacks, shirts) and for retail store service featuring clothing, denying petitioner's claim that the term fails to function as a mark.

The Federal Circuit reaffirmed that the 1907 Supreme Court decision in Kessler v. Eldred is binding precedent that controls a preclusion analysis unless and until the Supreme Court overrules it.

Intellectual property is central to almost everything we do, as businesses or individuals. As a result, intellectual property rights are important assets to most modern businesses.

Top global brands, famous content creators, and media moguls know the best protection they can secure for their products is Pryor Cashman representation.

Universal Music Group's lawsuit against DistroKid raises a critical question about AI disclosure in consumer markets: when does the use of artificial intelligence become material information that must be disclosed to consumers? The case centers on allegations that DistroKid distributed mass-generated AI music while creating the impression it was created by legitimate human artists, potentially violating existing consumer protection laws even without specific AI disclosure requirements.

On Oct. 7, 2026, at 18:00 UTC, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will publish every new generic top-level domain (gTLD) application proceeding in the 2026 new gTLD Round, including who applied...

The USPTO has released new templates and guidance for AIA trial proceedings, announced key appointments including a Chief AI Officer, and published updated procedures for patent applications and subject matter eligibility declarations. Director Squires delivered multiple addresses emphasizing the constitutional importance of intellectual property rights while the agency expanded its community engagement efforts and international collaboration through WIPO's Global IP Assignment Platform pilot program.

A business decides to file a trademark. Someone on the team searches for a familiar online legal-services brand, clicks the first result, and lands on a site with a similar-sounding name, a polished design, five-star reviews, and a low flat fee. The application gets filed. Months later the business learns the “service” was not who they thought it was, the filing was signed by someone with no authority to sign it, and the USPTO has suspended the application along with hundreds or thousands of others from the same shop.

The U.S. Copyright Office recently released a report on the human authorship requirement for materials to qualify for copyright protection.

Is this AI-generated, or is it real? As generative AI tools have become increasingly capable of creating realistic images, videos, and audio, they have also made it easier to impersonate real people without their consent. In response, states are increasingly adopting laws that impose civil and criminal liability for certain AI-generated content that replicates an individual’s identity, likeness, voice, or other personal attributes.

As we look ahead to 2025, the landscape of debt financing and M&A activity is poised for significant transformation.

On 31 October 2025, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published the outcome of a multi-firm review into consolidation across the financial advice and wealth management sector.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled before U.S. District Court Judge Loretta A. Preska on March 19, 2019.

On June 1, 2023, China's Ministry of Science and Technology (the "MOST") issued the long-awaited Implementing Rules on the Administrative Regulations on Human Genetic Resources...

Yesterday saw another big addition to the U.S. UFLPA Entity List, the largest to date. The Department of Homeland Security, on behalf of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force...

Extradition from Japan is rare, and even more so for Japanese nationals in connection with white collar offenses. But on April 17, 2019,

The UK National Crime Agency (NCA) has successfully defended the first challenge to its new power to require individuals to explain how they have acquired assets which it suspects may represent the proceeds of crime.

In the United States Supreme Court’s historic decision announced today, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("ACA") has emerged substantially intact as the blueprint for national health reform in the coming years.

Today, the Patent Trial & Appeal Bord designated two decisions informative that apply the so-called "Fintiv factors."

What is the current outlook for North American infrastructure? Ropes & Gray attorneys explored this question at the Infrastructure Investor America Forum in New York on November 4–5, drawing...