USPTO Issues Patent Eligibility Examination Guidance Under Berkheimer

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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

Governor Greg Abbott has ordered the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to immediately halt all environmental permits for data center projects, expanding a statewide regulatory freeze that now encompasses power, water, and environmental approvals. This directive establishes strict operational mandates requiring data centers to fully fund infrastructure costs, report all resource consumption...

The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) intensified its sanctions enforcement in September 2026, with sweeping actions targeting Iran's aviation and financial sectors, new Cuba sanctions regulations, and a comprehensive overhaul of its enforcement architecture. How will these expanded restrictions and the new presumption of denial for Iran-related licenses reshape compliance strategies for multinational companies and financial institutions?

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed two new AI in employment bills that will go into effect as of January 1, 2027. These bills will limit and regulate the use of artificial intelligence decision making in the employer-employee relationship.

California Governor Newsom signed seven data center bills into law on September 21, 2026, establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework that takes effect January 1, 2027. These bills create new tariff regimes administered by the California Public Utilities Commission, impose extensive reporting requirements on data center operators, and establish water disclosure mandates and CEQA treatment protocols.

As U.S. utilities commit record capital to grid expansion, equipment procurement has emerged as a critical constraint. Lead times for transformers now stretch beyond two years, while material scarcity, inflation, and labor shortages compound delays across conductor, switchgear, and substation components.

Proposed IRS regulations would significantly simplify dependent care assistance program (DCAP) nondiscrimination testing by excluding employees who receive no benefits from the 55% average benefits test. This participant-only approach should reduce testing failures and the need for employers to cap highly compensated employees’ elections.

Oilfield service firms responding to the Dallas Fed Energy Survey for the third quarter of 2026 reported substantially broader increases in input costs than in the prices they received. The input-cost index was 60.4, compared with a prices-received index of 16.3. Each index represents the percentage of respondents reporting an increase minus the percentage reporting a decrease.

Texas has launched a sweeping investigation into hundreds of data center developments that failed to comply with mandatory water use surveys, marking the latest escalation in a seven-week regulatory crackdown. The state's actions have frozen permits, paused interconnection studies, and exposed projects to criminal and civil enforcement, all while the industry faces mounting scrutiny over its rapidly growing demands on electricity and water infrastructure. With multiple state agencies now coordinating enforc

California employers face new decisions about compensation arrangements following Governor Newsom's signing of Assembly Bill 1697, which postpones restrictions on employment-related repayment obligations and expands statutory exceptions. The legislation raises practical questions about whether changes already made to sign-on bonuses, retention agreements, and other compensation structures should remain in place or be reconsidered under the amended law.

Diesel prices have shattered records, hitting $6.529 per gallon nationally while distillate inventories plunge below five-year lows and are expected to remain there through most of 2027. With crack spreads exceeding $106 per barrel and global supply disruptions intensifying, fleet operators and oilfield services companies face mounting fuel costs that many existing contracts weren't designed to handle.