USPTO
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Biglaw, Small Law Firms, Sponsored ContentMeet Trademarkabilities: The Best Way To Build Up Your Trademark Law Skillset
As trademark law increases in popularity, attorneys will need instruction and advice they can trust. The founder of Trademarkabilities sits down for an interview to discuss her thoughts on why trademarks are so important, how attorneys can gain the confidence to handle trademark work, and more. -
Intellectual PropertyWhen Generic Isn't Generic: Why The Booking.com SCOTUS Ruling Is Not That Big A Deal
Where evidence shows that the consuming public identifies a descriptive trademark with the trademark owner, it is likely worthy of federal trademark registration. 
SponsoredIs The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get…-
Intellectual Property
What's In A Name? Trademarks, Surnames, And The Search For Secondary Meaning
Someone -- apparently not related to the Floyd family -- has filed a federal trademark application for the name George Floyd. Sigh.
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Intellectual Property, LitigatorsPerspectives From In-House Counsel: Patent Rights -- Who Decides?
Domestic or foreign law, district court or the Patent and Trademark Office, judge or jury? These questions matter. -
In-House Counsel, Intellectual Property3 Questions For IBM's Chief Patent Counsel
Columnist Gaston Kroub interviews Manny Schecter, a leading voice in the IP community. -
Intellectual Property, Politics, TrademarksTrumped By 'Covfefe': 3 Reasons Why Trademarking Trending Names And Catchphrases Is A Bad Idea
Why opportunistic plots to register trademarks for trending terms almost always fail. -
Patents, Technology
Could You Design A Worse Patent Reform Bill Than The STRONGER Patent Act By Senator Coons? Don't Think So
Monopoly patent rights are not the same as traditional property rights. -
Intellectual Property, Patents, SCOTUS, Supreme CourtSupreme Court, Patent Saviors?
The Supreme Court just agreed to decide a profoundly important question in patent law right now. 
SponsoredNavigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm.-
Morning DocketMorning Docket: 02.28.17
* The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has extended a deadline to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request asking who the director of the agency is. That’s all they want. And the PTO asked for more time to respond! The absurdity of this reminds me of Apocalypse Now. [IP Watchdog]
* You’ve heard about Justice Ginsburg’s workout regimen. Well, Politico sent a reporter to do it and… it nearly broke him. [Politico]
* Divorce judge sued for allegedly spitting on a former Mintz Levin attorney. The New York legal community keeping it classy. [Law360]
* In totally unsurprising move, guy who thought the KKK was cool until he found out they smoked pot withdraws the government’s objection to Texas efforts to suppress minority voting. [NY Times]
* More law firms are changing their partner compensation models to create an even more competitive environment. There’s no way this can backfire and create a woefully dysfunctional partnership. Nope. [Law.com]
* The Jeffrey Wertkin case puts a spotlight on the whole whistle-blower unit. [Bloomberg]
* Winston & Strawn are going after laterals pretty hard. [Am Law Daily]
* Now might be a good time to make a donation to legal aid. [Litigation Daily]
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TechnologySupreme Court Delves Into Question Of Whether Or Not You Can Trademark 'Disparaging' Terms
Things not looking good for the USPTO. -
PatentsThis Patent Case Is Destined To Go Down In History
This technology could prove to be the greatest biotech advance in recent history. -
TechnologyUSPTO Rejects Whole Foods 'World's Healthiest Grocery Store' Trademark Because Naaaaaah
Companies attempt to get these kinds of superlative marks all the time, but it's nice to see the USPTO think past the end of its own "Approved!" stamp once in a while. -
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Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
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Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
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Gender, Patents, Sponsored Content, Technology
Gender And The USPTO
Is it better to be in front of a male or female patent examiner? Are women or men more likely to get their patent applications allowed? -
Patents, SCOTUS, Supreme CourtWho Is Alice, And Why Is She Driving Patent Attorneys Mad As Hatters?
Every so often, the Supreme Court hands down a case that causes a seismic shift in our legal system. -
Patents, Sponsored Content, TechnologyApple vs. Google: Who Comes Out Ahead In Patent Prosecution?
Battles between tech companies are some of the most complex and high-stakes litigation in patent law. -
Trademarks
'Nutsack' As Defined By The U.S. Government
Have you ever really thought about the definition of 'nutsack'? -
Sexism, Trademarks
The Best Legal Analysis Of 'Poontang' Ever Briefed
Trademark cases can make for some goofy briefs. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 02.18.15
* Bill Clinton’s professor thought Bubba should have taught tax law. Then maybe something could have trumped this tale. [TaxProf Blog]
* If you’re looking for a hell of a procedural fact pattern, try to unravel the gay marriage situation in Alabama. [PrawfsBlawg]
* Do law professors get lazier over time? [The Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post]
* Our own Tamara Tabo joined the folks at The Docket to discuss 50 Shades of Grey. [MSNBC]
* The USPTO is dumb enough to think people might confuse the Angry Asian Man blog and a children’s comic book called Angry Little Asian Girl, and now a trademark fight is brewing because the author of the latter has… become the latter. [Angry Asian Man]
* Lawyer and bike enthusiast tells bikers they’re part of the problem. Did this need to be said? [Outside Online]
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Intellectual Property
A Window into the Future for Apple’s Trade Dress?
A few weeks back, Steve discussed Apple’s recent applications to register a trio of non-verbal trademarks. Spoiler alert: This post contains the USPTO’s ultimate decision regarding the registrability of the design and layout of various application icons as part of a computer operating system, using rectangular geometric figures in rows. However, it isn’t a spoiler for Apple’s applications referenced above (those applications have yet to be assigned to an examining attorney). No, instead, I’m referring to a since-abandoned application that provides some interesting contrast with Apple’s applications. In 2012, Microsoft filed an intent-to-use application for the mark shown below:
