Archives for the ‘Newest Post’ Category

The United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) announced a new test program for handling applicant response filed after a final rejection. Under current law, an applicant does not have the right to amend a patent application, including the claims, after a final rejection. Under current practice, an amendment submitted after [...]

I recently developed a short presentation for estate planners and copyright owners, describing the effect that copyright termination rights can have on a copyright owner’s estate plan.
Never heard of copyright termination rights? Here’s the digest version. Someone who transfers a copyright during life can later un-do the transfer and get the copyright [...]

If you’re an employee or employer in a dispute or lawsuit, you will be tempted– very tempted– to describe events in terms of adjectives or conclusions, i.e. labels.
For example, a worker may want to tell a boss or a legal authority “I was given unfair and impossible expectations” (the operative labels being “unfair” and “impossible”), [...]

Synopsis
The owners of trademark registrations issued before September 1, 2011 have a short window of time within which to block others from registering their trademarks as .xxx domains.
Background
ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is the nonprofit organization charged with coordinating the internet’s naming system. As [...]

The dreaded “frivolous claim” is always a difficult situation. First, you have to show that it is actually “frivolous”, and second, you may still end up spending a fair amount on attorneys’ fees getting even a frivolous claim dismissed.
It is sometimes difficult to define what exactly is frivolous. In most lawsuits the Defendant feels that [...]

Unique Product Solutions, Ltd. v. Hy-Grade Valve, Inc. (N.D. Ohio Feb. 23, 2011)
U.S. District Court Judge Dan Polster ruled that the qui tam provision of the patent false marking statute (Title 35 U.S.C. § 292) unconstitutional under the Take Care Clause of Article II. The Court concluded, in pertinent part:

Applying the Morrison “sufficient control” analysis [...]

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office released additional details on February 2, 2011, regarding their recently proposed “Three-Track” patent examination initiative. The PTO is seeking public comments for a 30 day period beginning with the proposals forthcoming publication in the Federal Register.
In its original proposal, published in June 2010 (75 Fed. Reg. 31,763), the Patent [...]

DePuy Orthapedics, a Johnson and Johnson Family company based out of Massachusetts, recently recalled its ASR XL Acetabular Head System and DePuy ASR Hip Resurfacing System.  DePuy recalled the products as research indicates large numbers of people that received the hip replacement have experienced pain and other symptoms that lead to a second hip replacement [...]

I blogged last week about a Writ of Mandamus directed towards the State Medical Examining Board.  Just this week, Milwaukee County Judge Thomas Cooper signed an Order to Show Cause, which requires Defendant Kelly Sankbiel to appear in court and provide testimony as to why the Medical Board should not provide the petitioner with a [...]

As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first reported, a very unusual writ of mandamus has been filed against the Department of Licensing and Regulation involving Dr. Cully White of Milwaukee.  A writ of mandamus (latin for “we command”) is used in situations where the government has a clear duty to act but has not.  While unusual [...]