Articles for attorneys and the IP-savvy about substantive IP topics
Questioning the Hanson / Crown Packaging Patent Marking Exceptions
Patent marking involves indicating the patent number on a patented article, or in some limited instances on its packaging or a label. Marking can allow a patentee to recover pre-notice back damages. However, courts have said that marking is not required when a patent has only method claims. But this becomes a somewhat complicated question…
New and Upcoming Changes in U.S. Patent & Trademark Law for 2025
Important Developments As 2025 begins, some recent and upcoming changes in patent and trademark practice before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) for patent and trademark matters merit attention, along with developments from U.S. courts pertaining to those areas of intellectual property (IP) law. (Click the preceding links to jump to desired content). Patents…
Analogous Art for Design Patents
The Federal Circuit issued an en banc decision in LKQ Corp. v. GM Global Tech. Operations LLC that substantially altered the obviousness analysis for design patents. The so-called Rosen–Durling framework was overruled (largely sidestepping the question of its abrogation by KSR). The patentability of ornamental designs of useful articles will now be under the same…
New and Upcoming Changes in U.S. Patent, Trademark, & Copyright Law for 2024
Important Developments As 2024 begins, some recent and upcoming changes in practice at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) for patent and trademark matters and at the U.S. Copyright Office for copyright matters merit attention, along with developments from U.S. courts pertaining to those areas of intellectual property (IP) law. (Click the preceding links…
Patent Marking Program
Materials from a presentation by Austen Zuege about patent marking in the United States are available here: “Patent Marking: Legal Standards and Practical Issues” These downloadable materials from a past live presentation address basic marking requirements and best practices for patent marking, as well as requirements for virtual marking, alternative marking on a label or…
Federal Circuit Columbia Decision Both Clarifies and Muddies the Proper Use of Comparison Prior Art
When can prior art be used to assess alleged infringement of a design patent? This has been an evolving area of U.S. patent law. The question matters because looking at only the asserted patent and the accused product might not allow an ordinary observer to understand the ways in which the patented design is similar…
Virtual Patent Marking Program
Materials from a presentation by Austen Zuege, Grant Peters, and Bryan Wheelock about virtual patent marking are available here: “Virtual Patent Marking: Practical Considerations, Recent Court Guidance, and Ideas for Designing Your Own Virtual Patent Marking Program” This presentation and downloadable materials addresses basic requirements and best practices for virtual patent marking, as well as…
Patent Assignments and Priority in an International Context
Materials from a presentation by Austen Zuege and Jonathan Bench about patent assignments and rights of priority, including presentation slides and an on-demand video recording, are available here: “Patent Assignments and Priority in an International Context”
New and Upcoming Changes in U.S. Patent & Trademark Law for 2023
Important Developments At the beginning of 2023, following a year in which new filings declined, some recent and upcoming changes in practice at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) for patent and trademark matters merit attention. Patents Reduced official fees for small and micro entities A change in the U.S. patent laws governing fee…
Assignor Estoppel for Patent Assignments
The following article is available at SSRN: “Assignor Estoppel for Patent Assignments: A Shifting Landscape” Abstract: This article provides critical analysis of the doctrine of assignor estoppel for patent assignments following the Supreme Court’s Minerva v. Hologic decision, which limited the situations in which the doctrine is available to those that involve a “contradiction” by…
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