Last month, the USPTO announced it would be studying the impact that the decision of Therasense v. Becton, Dickinson would have on the agency and its practices and procedures. You can find the press release here. The Therasense v. Becton, Dickinson Decision concerns the duty of disclosure and the standards for inequitable conduct. The decision [...]

If you happen to be in the Fairfield, CT area and would like to learn more about the fundamentals of intellectual property, please consider attending a seminar that we are conducting for the Women’s Business Development Council on June 8th at 6pm. For more information, please go to http://www.ctwbdc.org/Intellectual-Property-What-Is-It-P17C34.aspx

To celebrate the upcoming Memorial Day holiday, we searched the records of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to uncover some patriotic-themed patents. We found quite a few!  Here’s some of the light-hearted patents we uncovered. First up, US Design Patent D513578, for Cutter Tool Next up, patriotic duct tape, which can be found in U.S. [...]

If you haven’t heard, the USPTO has taken steps to be more communicative with its patrons. The USPTO Director, David Kappos, has a blog, which can be found at http://www.uspto.gov/blog/ Also, you can subscribe to various e-publications the USPTO publishes on a regular basis. To learn more about the publications and to sign up, visit [...]

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has just announced that it will host the 2011 National Trademark Expo on October 14-15 at its headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. This year’s theme is “Unusual Trademarks” and the “Evolution of Marks.” If you own a federally-registered trademark and wish to participate at the expo you must submit [...]

On Tuesday, May 3, 2001 Miami Heat player Chris Bosh sued Allison Mathis, the mother of his child, for infringing his trademark and publicity rights. Mathis is starring in the third season of the VH1 reality show Basketball Wives. The lawsuit claims Mathis is commercially exploiting Bosh’s likeness and trademark, and Mathis’ appearance on the [...]

Easter goes hand-in-hand with candy and bunny rabbits but of course it is also connected to intellectual property.   Did you know that in 1923 Cadbury introduced the “CADBURY CRÈME EGG®” which, according to the Hershey Company’s website, is the most famous Cadbury product?  While these crème eggs have been around for a long time [...]

Samuel L. Clemens is best known as Mark Twain, the famous American author of books such as Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  However, did you know that Clemens was also an inventor? Clemens was a listed inventor on three U.S. patents.  The first patent he received was foran adjustable strap that could be [...]

In the last post in our series regarding spring cleaning of your IP, we discuss patent portfolios. With respect to patent portfolios, we recommend similar action items as discussed with respect trademark portfolios.  First, we recommend reviewing your docket for any outstanding office actions and identify any upcoming foreign filing deadlines.  Decisions with respect to [...]

The “American Invents Act” or Senate Bill 23 which proposes reform to federal patent law has been passed by the U.S. Senate by an overwhelming favorable vote of 95-3.  The Act includes proposed legislation intended to improve the patent application process, add certainty to patent infringement litigation and improve the quality of patents.  The Act [...]