USPTO

3 More Questions For A Patent Podcast Pro (Part II)

Considering its importance to today's IP-driven economy, it is surprising that there is not more coverage of USPTO goings-on.

Meet 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.

When 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.

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.

Perspectives 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.

3 Questions For IBM’s Chief Patent Counsel

Columnist Gaston Kroub interviews Manny Schecter, a leading voice in the IP community.

Trumped 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.

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.

Supreme Court, Patent Saviors?

The Supreme Court just agreed to decide a profoundly important question in patent law right now.

Morning 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]

Supreme Court Delves Into Question Of Whether Or Not You Can Trademark ‘Disparaging’ Terms

Things not looking good for the USPTO.

This Patent Case Is Destined To Go Down In History

This technology could prove to be the greatest biotech advance in recent history.

USPTO 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.

Citigroup Sues AT&T For Saying ‘Thanks’ To Customers

OK, now this is just getting silly.

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?