On February 16th we reported that Ford Motor Company filed a trademark infringement suit against Ferrari S.p.A. for use of the term F150 for it Formula One racing car. Ford believed F150 was an infringement of its trademark F-150 for trucks. After filing the suit Ferrari agreed to change the name of the Formula One [...]

The troubled actor Charlie Sheen, has recently made statements and offered interviews that set off a flurry of news reports.  The “Charlie Sheen Story” has seemingly taken over the internet as well as the airwaves of local and national television and radio.  While it is hard to pinpoint the exact reason of the media frenzy, [...]

Mary Dixon Kies was the first woman to receive a U.S. patent.  Kies’ patent issued on May 15, 1809 for a process of weaving straw and silk or thread, a method which was used for creating women’s hats and bonnets.  Kies received her patent nearly twenty years after the United States enacted The Patent Act [...]

Last week, the USPTO announced a new pilot program for the Patent Prosecution Highway with the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI).  The Patent Prosecution Highway permits each patent office to benefit from work that was done previously by the other patent office in the program.  This work-sharing program is said to expedite prosecution, reduce [...]

Dunkin’ Donuts® (“DD”)  has a new commercial that shows the Patent Office stamping DD’s patent application for its new “re-invented” doughnut.  The commercial can be seen here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150138952077754 So, can you patent a doughnut? Turns out the answer may be yes!  Just this Tuesday, Roskam Baking Company received U.S. design patent no. D632,456 for a “Multi-Layered Doughnut Product.”   Additionally, Donuts [...]

Valentine’s Day is associated with flowers and candy. Normally one does not connect Valentine’s Day with patents and trademarks.  However, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (the “PTO”) has granted many patents and trademarks for both of these items.  According to the PTO the first plant patent issued was to Henry F. Bosenberg on August [...]

Today is the 164th anniversary of Thomas A. Edison’s birthday. Edison is credited with the invention of many items, including the light bulb and the phonograph. Go to www.google.com to see the Google Doodle in honor of Edison. Click on the Doodle to learn more about him.

Copyright law grants the author/owner of a work the exclusive right to copy, reproduce, and distribute.  Anyone else who wants to use the work must obtain permission from the owner.  However, there is an exception to this rule which is called the Fair Use doctrine.  The Fair Use doctrine allows limited use of a copyrighted [...]

Are we running out of space on the internet?  That is, are we are running out of IPv4 (Internet Protocol Version 4) addresses?  Every host on an IP network is assigned an IP address that is used to communicate with others on the same network or globally.  IPv4 has been in place since the 1980’s [...]

Funny commercials with catchy phrasing, bright colors, and comedic timing have helped Dunkin Donuts® restaurants become a household name.  But are its name and its phrases becoming too popular? Recently, some commercials for Dunkin Donuts restaurants concluded with the phrase “America runs on Dunkin’® Coffee” rather than the standard “America Runs on Dunkin’.”  The phrase [...]