The Conflict Between European Privacy Laws and U.S. Discovery Requirements
August 17, 2009
Recently adopted European data protection laws designed to protect the privacy of European employees can easily conflict with U.S. civil litigation document production requirements. The dilemma for multinational companies can be whether to comply with U.S. court discovery obligations and…
Read MoreKappos Named New USPTO Director
August 1, 2009
David Kappos was sworn in August 13, 2009 as the new Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Mr. Kappos intends to focus on reducing the backlog of pending patent applications and appeals at the USPTO, as well…
Read MoreMidwest Intellectual Property Symposium, Nov. 19-20, 2009
July 29, 2009
ICLEF and WEMMH are working to develop an impressive lineup of speakers for this year’s Midwest Intellectual Property Symposium, a two-day CLE event to be held at University Place Hotel and Conference Center in Indianapolis, IN. The Symposium will include…
Read MoreLitigation in the Digital Age of Discovery: How to Ensure “Reasonable” Searching of Electronically Stored Information
July 29, 2009
We litigate in a digital age. As a result, electronically stored information (ESI) is subject to discovery in a lawsuit. Discovery demands that each side produce to the other side its information that is relevant to the suit. These days,…
Read MoreThe Importance of Conducting Post-Registration “Fraudits” of Trademark Registrations
July 29, 2009
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) has ruled, precedentially, that the correction of a false statement regarding use of a trademark in commerce, if made before a registration has been challenged, creates a rebuttable presumption that the registrant did…
Read MoreUSPTO’s Proposed Patent Rules To Be Challenged Again
July 20, 2009
On July 6, the Federal Circuit granted rehearing en banc in Tafas v. Doll regarding the USPTO’s power to implement new rules on restrictions for continuations and claim limitations. No comment concerning the underlying opinion was given beyond announcing its…
Read MoreDedicated Patent Searching Terminals Available at the Central Library
July 12, 2009
The Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library now provides five dedicated PubWEST patent searching terminals at its downtown Central Library location, thanks to a donation to the Library Foundation by Woodard, Emhardt, Moriarty, McNett & Henry LLP. The five dedicated PubWEST computer…
Read MoreUpcoming Changes to European Patent Office Practice
July 10, 2009
Although it is still several months away, the EPO will dramatically changes its practice effective April 1, 2010 relating to divisional applications and European search reports. A review of the changes is presented below: Limitation on Filing Divisional Applications In…
Read MoreU.S. Supreme Court Grants Review in Bilski v. Doll
June 29, 2009
The U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari in the Bilski case, a challenge to the decision handed down by the Federal Circuit last October excluding pure business methods from patent protection. Additionally, the Bilski decision set some roadblocks in the…
Read MoreTips to Avoid the Pitfalls for Madrid Protocol Trademark Applications
June 16, 2009
While the recently enacted Madrid Protocol System allows trademark owners to seek protection for their respective marks in multiple countries by filing a single application, there are some pitfalls to avoid. For large-scale coverage of your trademark in many countries,…
Read MorePCT Online Update
June 8, 2009
Applicants of international PCT patent applications filed on or after January 1, 2009, can now view the file contents of their published applications online. Over the next couple of months, the service will begin including applications for which early publication…
Read MoreDoctrine of Foreign Equivalents
June 1, 2009
The Federal Circuit recently reversed a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) decision affirming an Examining Attorney’s refusal to register the mark MOSCOVSKAYA as primarily geographically deceptively misdescriptive. In Russian, MOSCOVSKAYA means “from Moscow.” The Examining Attorney relied on the…
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