Jack Daniel’s Wins U.S. Supreme Court Battle with Dog Toy Seller
IP Spotlight
by Jim Singer
10M ago
In a win for brand owners, last week the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that potential trademark infringers are not automatically shielded from liability for infringement by simply claiming that their use of another party’s registered mark includes a comical message. My colleagues Patricia Flanagan and Camilia Chediak recently published an article describing the details of the Court’s decision, as well as how the decision will affect trademark owners. The full article is available at this link ..read more
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How long does U.S. patent and trademark prosecution take? (2022 edition)
IP Spotlight
by Jim Singer
1y ago
Each year, IP Spotlight updates our readers who often ask: how long does it take for a patent or trademark registration to grant?  In previous years, we’ve done that by reviewing the USPTO’s annual Performance and Accountability Report. In 2022 the USPTO discontinued that report. Instead, the USPTO now publishes up-to-date pendency information on its Data Visualization Center. The Data Visualization Center includes several dashboards with detailed information about allowance rates, average pendency, and other statistics about patent and trademark proceedings. Patents: In 20 ..read more
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Preparing for the European Unitary Patent System
IP Spotlight
by Jim Singer
1y ago
The European Unitary Patent system is expected to (finally) take effect in late 2022 or early 2023. The system will include two elements: (1) a Unitary Patent Right (UPR), which is a single registration that will apply in multiple countries with no separate validation requirement; and (2) the Unified Patent Court (UPC), in which a patent holder may enforce a patent in multiple European countries in a single proceeding. My partner Kari Barnes and I recently wrote an article describing what clients need to know to prepare for the European Unitary Patent system. For full details and our client al ..read more
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How long does U.S. patent and trademark prosecution take? (2022 edition)
IP Spotlight
by Jim Singer
1y ago
Each year, IP Spotlight updates our readers who often ask: how long does it take for a patent or trademark registration to grant?  In previous years, we’ve done that by reviewing the USPTO’s annual Performance and Accountability Report. In 2022 the USPTO discontinued that report. Instead, the USPTO now publishes up-to-date pendency information on its Data Visualization Center. The Data Visualization Center includes several dashboards with detailed information about allowance rates, average pendency, and other statistics about patent and trademark proceedings. Patents: In 20 ..read more
Visit website
Preparing for the European Unitary Patent System
IP Spotlight
by Jim Singer
1y ago
The European Unitary Patent system is expected to (finally) take effect in late 2022 or early 2023. The system will include two elements: (1) a Unitary Patent Right (UPR), which is a single registration that will apply in multiple countries with no separate validation requirement; and (2) the Unified Patent Court (UPC), in which a patent holder may enforce a patent in multiple European countries in a single proceeding. My partner Kari Barnes and I recently wrote an article describing what clients need to know to prepare for the European Unitary Patent system. For full details and our client al ..read more
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Russia decrees patent owners from the U.S. and other “unfriendly countries” not entitled to compensation for infringement
IP Spotlight
by Jim Singer
2y ago
The Russian government has issued a decree that effectively renders Russian patents worthless for many applicants from outside of Russia. The decree, issued March 5, 2022, states that for Russian patents owned by entities from the U.S., the European Union, and other “unfriendly countries”, the patent holder will be entitled to “0%” compensation for infringement. To date, the Russian government has not altered intellectual property protections for trademarks or copyrights. However, Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development is reported to be considering lifting restrictions on unauthorized use o ..read more
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Russia decrees patent owners from the U.S. and other “unfriendly countries” not entitled to compensation for infringement
IP Spotlight
by Jim Singer
2y ago
The Russian government has issued a decree that effectively renders Russian patents worthless for many applicants from outside of Russia. The decree, issued March 5, 2022, states that for Russian patents owned by entities from the U.S., the European Union, and other “unfriendly countries”, the patent holder will be entitled to “0%” compensation for infringement. To date, the Russian government has not altered intellectual property protections for trademarks or copyrights. However, Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development is reported to be considering lifting restrictions on unauthorized use o ..read more
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End of an era: USPTO proposes to phase out hard copy patent and trademark certificates
IP Spotlight
by Jim Singer
2y ago
As part of its plan to modernize the U.S. intellectual property registration system, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) plans to stop issuing patent and trademark certificates in hard copy format. In a recent blog post, USPTO Director Drew Hirshfeld announced that the USPTO will soon publish a proposed rule to eliminate the USPTO’s regulatory obligation to mail a paper copy of the patent to the correspondence address of record. The USPTO expects the new rule to speed up patent grants by reducing the time required for publication. Under the new rule, patents will issue electronically ..read more
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End of an era: USPTO proposes to phase out hard copy patent and trademark certificates
IP Spotlight
by Jim Singer
2y ago
As part of its plan to modernize the U.S. intellectual property registration system, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) plans to stop issuing patent and trademark certificates in hard copy format. In a recent blog post, USPTO Director Drew Hirshfeld announced that the USPTO will soon publish a proposed rule to eliminate the USPTO’s regulatory obligation to mail a paper copy of the patent to the correspondence address of record. The USPTO expects the new rule to speed up patent grants by reducing the time required for publication. Under the new rule, patents will issue electronically ..read more
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How long does U.S. patent and trademark prosecution take? (2021 edition)
IP Spotlight
by Jim Singer
2y ago
The USPTO recently released its FY 2021 Performance and Accountability Report, which contains detailed information about allowance rates, average pendency, and other statistics about its review of patent and trademark applications this year. Each year, IP Spotlight analyzes this Report and, and we update our readers who often ask: how long does it take for a patent or trademark registration to grant?  To answer that question: Patents: In Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, for the first time in nine years, the USPTO’s average time to first action increased, to 16.9 months in FY 2021 (compared to ..read more
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