Education Center
Patents 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 ArticleECJ DECISION IN SKY v. SKYKICK FINDS THAT TRADEMARK REGISTRATIONS WILL NOT BE INVALIDATED FOR HAVING UNCLEAR AND IMPRECISE LISTS OF GOODS AND SERVICES AND ALSO CLARIFIES TESTS FOR BAD FAITH TRADEMARK FILINGS
The eagerly anticipated decision of the European Court of Justice in the case of Sky v. SkyKick was delivered on January 29, 2020. The Court’s decision came as a relief to trademark owners after the Advocate General’s opinion was followed in...
Read ArticleReturn Mail Inc. v. United States Postal Service
On June 20, 2019, the United States Supreme Court held that government entities could not be considered “persons” entitled to challenge patents owned by others before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board...
Read ArticleDESIGN PATENT PROTECTION FOR REPLACEMENT PARTS
The fight between insurers and car manufacturers as to whether and, if so how, to protect the design of spare parts for cars delayed the implementation of an EU regulation on design protection for well over a decade and ended in an uneasy...
Read ArticleTHE MUSIC MODERNIZATION ACT: A PRIMER FOR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS
On October 11, 2018, the Music Modernization Act (MMA) was signed into law resulting in one of the most significant legislative changes to the copyright law in the United States in the last 50 years. The bipartisan legislation, which was written by...
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...
Read Article