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False Declaration of Incontestability Not Enough to Cancel US Trademark Registration
BACKGROUND: Great Concepts has owned Registration No. 2929764 for DANTANNA’S, in association with “steak and seafood restaurant”, since March 2005. In 2006 Chutter Inc’s predecessor-in-interest, Dan Tana, petitioned to cancel the mark based...
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Fourth Circuit Confirms That ‘Gruyere’ is Generic for Cheese
Background The appellants, Interprofession du Gruyère and Syndicat Interprofessionnel du Gruyère, are two consortiums, Swiss and French, that regulate use of the term ‘gruyere’ to refer only to cheeses produced in the Gruyère district of...
Read ArticleAmerican Axle v. Neapco
Introduction On July 31, 2020, in American Axle v. Neapco, the Federal Circuit split 6-6 on the question of whether to grant en banc review of a panel decision on patent eligibility seen by many as an unwarranted extension of the principle that...
Read ArticleTHRYV INC. v. CLICK-TO-CALL TECHNOLOGIES LP
The question of whether the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has any right to examine a decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to institute inter partes review or post grant review, as opposed to...
Read ArticlePatents in Crisis: Is there a Solution in Sight?
Patents in Crisis: Is there a Solution in Sight? Remarks prepared for presentation to the Emily C. and John E. Hansen IP Institute at Fordham Law School on September 19, 2019 I. Introduction II. The Four Sledgehammers Affecting Confidence in U.S....
Read ArticleU.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT HAS HELD THAT NEITHER STATE AGENCIES NOR INDIAN TRIBES ENJOY SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY, WHICH WOULD PROTECT THEIR PATENTS FROM CHALLENGE IN THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD OF THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
Introduction On July 20, 2018 in Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, Allergan, Inc. v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Dyk, Moore and Reyna JJ) held that Native American (“Indian”) Tribes...
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