Author: John Richards | Practices: | Tags: , , , ,

Proposed Increases of United States Patent Fees

On April 3, 2024, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a notice of rulemaking setting out the fees that it proposes for the fiscal year starting on September 29, 2024.  Although the proposed fees are subject to public...

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Author: Dennis S. Prahl | Co-Author: Edward Baxter | Practices: , | Tags: , , , , ,

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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Authors: Dennis S. Prahl, Jerry Jakubovic, Edward Baxter | Practices: , , | Tags: , , , , , ,

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...

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Author: John Richards | Practices: , , | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

American 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...

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Author: John Richards | Practices: , | Tags: , , , , , , ,

THRYV 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...

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Author: John Richards | Practices: , , | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

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....

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