By Stephen P. Scuderi Any person or organization that has accepted government funds for research and development has been touched by the Bayh-Dole Act. Bayh-Dole addresses the rights to inventions made in the performance of federally funded agreements and is implemented by title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations parts 401 and 404 (37 CRF…
By Aleksandar Nikolic The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the courts have had difficulty determining whether computer, software and diagnostic method inventions qualify as patentable subject matter. Now, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) has expanded the subject matter confusion to include claims in the electrical and mechanical arts….
By Lloyd J. Wilson The idea that machines, rather than humans, could invent something on their own is a concept that was once thought to be a futuristic fantasy. However, the U.S. patent office is now being confronted with patent applications listing an artificial intelligence (AI) system as the inventor. Existing U.S. patent laws seem…
New York State Chief Judge Janet DiFiore has proposed amendments to the State Constitution that would eliminate New York’s complex maze of 11 separate trial courts and replace it with a simplified three-level structure to make the courts easier to navigate, increase operational efficiency and reduce costs to litigants, among other potential benefits. These proposed…
By Stephen P. Scuderi This article will present an overview of some of the issues pertaining to the disposition of patent rights to inventions made under a government R&D contract. As will be seen, without careful adherence to the statutes and regulations governing such patent rights, it is possible for a contractor to unintentionally lose…
By Kristian Ziegler As more than half of the states in the U.S. have recently decriminalized cannabis/marijuana to some extent, the domestic cannabis business has been growing rapidly. As of the date of this publication, marijuana is legal for medical use in 33 states and the District of Columbia, and for recreational use in 11…
Effective August 3, 2019, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will require all foreign-domiciled applicants, registrants and parties to be represented by a U.S.-licensed attorney in USPTO trademark proceedings. Who does the new rule affect? This rule applies to all foreign-domiciled applicants, registrants and parties. This means that an individual with a permanent…
By Alexsandar Nikolic On June 24, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) provided its long-awaited decision in Iancu v. Brunetti, 588 U.S. ___ (2019) by invalidating the Lanham Act’s prohibition on immoral or scandalous trademarks. In short, the Court held that the provision is unconstitutional because it conflicts with the First Amendment. Before…
Susan E. Farley, Esq. HRFM partner, has been certified as a life member of both the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. The Million Dollar Advocates Forum is recognized as one of the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers in the United States. Membership is limited to attorneys who have won…
By Wayne F. Reinke It has been about nine months since my last patentable subject matter (aka “Alice”) update, tracking cases and other important information in the wake of the Alice Supreme Court decision. Things continue to improve at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and with examination at the U.S. Patent and…