Intellectual Property & Technology Blog Posts From April 2020

• Blog: Trademark Lawsuits Used to Stop Exploitative Pricing Markup of Protective COVID-19 N95 Masks
  Date: April 29, 2020 Title: Trademark Lawsuits Used to Stop Exploitative Pricing Markup of Protective COVID-19 N95 Masks
  Summary: At a time when the world is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic and the critical need for personal protective equipment, intellectual property owners have brought trademark infringement lawsuits to stop pandemic profiteers from price-gouging and engaging in other misleading tactics. These lawsuits demonstrate the power that intellectual property law has to protect valuable brands and stomp out outrageous conduct....
• Blog: Federal Circuit Rules That a Jury Must Determine Visual Similarity Between Design Patent and Prior Art as Part of Obviousness Analysis
  Date: April 22, 2020 Title: Federal Circuit Rules That a Jury Must Determine Visual Similarity Between Design Patent and Prior Art as Part of Obviousness Analysis
  Summary: The Federal Circuit issued a precedent-setting ruling that clarifies the appropriate roles of judges and juries when a design patent is challenged as obvious. In doing so, the Court strengthened designers’ rights by confirming that, in certain situations, the question of whether a design patent and the prior art are visually the same should be sent to a jury rather than determined by a judge at the summary judgment phase of litigation....
• Blog: Who May Petition for Post-Grant Review Under The AIA?
  Date: April 20, 2020 Title: Who May Petition for Post-Grant Review Under The AIA?
  Summary: Under the America Invents Act of 2011 (AIA), any “person” other than the patent owner may challenge the patent owner’s patent(s) through post-grant review before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The patent statutes do not specifically define the term “person.” The presumption is that the term “person” does not include the federal government and its agencies....
• Blog: Smooth Sailing for States to Infringe Copyrights
  Date: April 02, 2020 Title: Smooth Sailing for States to Infringe Copyrights
  Summary: The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled 9-0 that a 1990 law intended to provide a means of redress against States that commit copyright infringement is unconstitutional as written, and that sovereign immunity shields States from being held liable for copyright infringement. Though most copyright owners do not have to worry about States infringing their works, the facts of the case offer an important insight that all owners of any IP should note....