Articles on Intellectual Property | Illinois State Bar Association

USPTO gives patent examiners new subject matter eligibility guidelines following Vanda By Michael J. Weil Intellectual Property, November 2018 The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued new guidelines to patent examiners in June 2018 following the ruling in Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. West-Ward Pharmaceuticals.

New federal government ruling approves companies’ employment policies By Alan M. Kaplan Business Advice and Financial Planning, October 2018 To protect a company’s intellectual property, companies need to be mindful of federal and state statutes and regulations as well as decisions by different government agencies.

Canada looks to foster innovation, business growth with new IP strategy By Anthony Turco International and Immigration Law, July 2018 The Canadian government recently unveiled its long-awaited intellectual property strategy, which is designed to increase intellectual property awareness and foster an ecosystem that supports business growth, innovation, and competition.

Canada looks to foster innovation, business growth with new IP strategy By Anthony Turco Intellectual Property, June 2018 The Canadian government recently unveiled its long-awaited intellectual property strategy, which is designed to increase intellectual property awareness and foster an ecosystem that supports business growth, innovation, and competition.

Hold the Mayo: Vanda ruling reviews patent subject matter eligibility By Michael J. Weil Intellectual Property, June 2018 The recent Vanda v. West-Ward decision cut a distinct path through the controversial Mayo and Alice rules for evaluating subject matter eligibility of patents.

Intellectual improbabilities™ By Daniel Kegan Intellectual Property, June 2018 An eclectic gathering of recent intellectual property developments.

Seventh Circuit: Personal jurisdiction over a defendant cannot be established merely by an allegation of deliberate infringement of a trademark owned by a forum entity By Steven L. Baron & Dale R. Kurth Intellectual Property, June 2018 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently rendered a decision that reminds the holders of trademark rights that, when suing for infringement, the need to establish personal jurisdiction over the allegedly infringing defendant must not be overlooked.

Intellectual Improbabilities™ By Daniel Kegan Intellectual Property, March 2018 An eclectic gathering of recent intellectual property developments.

“Pomodoro” is a trademark: Consumer perception prevails over dictionary definition By Filipe Fonteles Cabral Intellectual Property, March 2018 Trademark registration for POMODORO (Tomato in English) for tomatoes is upheld in Brazil, with the appellate court explaining since the public perceives the mark as indicating source and not meaning tomato—only 1% of the Brazilian population know the meaning of the Italian word Pomodoro—this foreign language generic term developed court-recognized secondary meaning.

Ready, Illinois? Cracking the code on eSports By Kenneth Matuszewski Intellectual Property, March 2018 Multiplayer video games played competitively for spectators, eSports, are increasingly popular, increasing both acceptance and legal challenges. While Chicago has a professional eSports team, most eSports developments in Illinois occur in universities and high schools.

Stop the music? Spotify sued for $1.6 billion By Michael J. Weil Intellectual Property, March 2018 Wixen Music sued music streamer Spotify for not obtaining required composition and mechanical licenses, and not publishing the required Notices of Intent. The Congressionally pending Music Modernization Acts, H.R. 4706, S. 2334, may reduce such suits, eliminating some legal remedies for music publishing copyright infringement suits, while creating a blanket license and new database, and changing current royalty rate setting practices.

Brief summary of precedential patent case law for October 2017 (13 Sept-11 Oct) By Rick Neifeld Intellectual Property, November 2017 Relevant points of law briefly summarized from patent cases between September 13 and October 11, 2017.

Helsinn v. Teva: The America Invents Act on “sale” By Michael J. Weil & Andrew C. Warnecke Intellectual Property, November 2017 In 2017, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) rendered an impactful decision regarding what constitutes the sale of an invention under the America Invents Act (“AIA”). The decision, Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharm. USA, Inc., 855 F.3d 1356 (Fed. Cir. 2017), is already shaping subsequent patent law decisions in the district courts and altering the U.S. Patent Office’s (“PTO”) evaluation of AIA patents.

Intellectual Improbabilities™ By Daniel Kegan Intellectual Property, November 2017 An eclectic gathering of recent intellectual property developments.

The new rule for privilege in PTAB trials By Rick Neifeld Intellectual Property, November 2017 The Patent Trial and Appeal Board issued a new rule for Privilege for Patent Practitioners, effective December 12, 2017. Here’s the rule and a synthesis of PTO comments, and changes from the proposed rule.

Pirate Joe sails away By Margo Lynn Hablutzel Intellectual Property, November 2017 Pirate Joe’s buys lots of goods at retail from Trader Joe’s in Bellingham, WA and resells them at Pirate Joe's Vancouver, Canada store. Trader Joe’s stores are located only in the USA. Trader Joe’s Lanham Act complaint claimed reputation, health, and safety concerns because perishable items were subject to varying temperatures, creating a health risk. Ninth Circuit, following precedent that the Lanham Act’s “use in commerce” requirement is separate from the jurisdictional grant, as they appear in different sections of the Act, and thus the federal courts unquestionably have subject matter jurisdiction over Lanham Act cases, decided only “some effect” on USA commerce was required for jurisdiction, and remanded to address the case merits. Then the parties settled.

Mohawk sovereign immunity tactic vs. inter party review By Daniel Kegan Intellectual Property, September 2017 Can an asset transfer to a sovereign, here an Native American Indian tribe, in the midst of an Inter Party Review (IPR) deprive the PTO of jurisdiction? Allergan Plc transfer to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe for billion-dollar annual sales drug Restasis.

A ruse by any other name: Normalizing trademark infringement by domain name sabotage By Phillip R. Van Ness Intellectual Property, September 2017 Increasingly, Internet domain names orchestrate trademark collision and confusion. Law firms O’Keefe Lyons & Hynes LLC v. O’Keefe Law Firm Ltd. Discovered the disharmony. The elaborate dispute resolution process adopted by ICANN might sometimes be a sham, losing trademarks their vitality.

Sandoz v. Amgen: The Supreme Court makes its first decision on biosimilars By Michael J. Weil & Steven L. Baron Intellectual Property, September 2017 In its first major biosimilar case, Sandoz v. Amgen, the US Supreme Court held that under federal law the BPCIA's provision requiring applicant (Sandoz) to provide sponsor (Amgen) with its application and manufacturing information could not be enforced by injunction; that applicant’s failure to provide the information was a question of state law; and that an applicant (Sandoz) is not required to wait until the FDA licenses its biosimilar to provide notice of commercial marketing to the sponsor (Amgen). The decision eliminates at least 180 days of exclusivity from brand name biologics.

Simple IP evaluations By Daniel Kegan Intellectual Property, September 2017 Perspectives on evaluating intellectual property, prompted by Internet elist queries: Breach of non-compete damages, Internet domain and associated trademarks, and Seeking accountant with IP experience.

Taking back (the Eastern District of) Texas: Judge Gilstrap broadens the definition of venue in patent cases in Raytheon Co. v. Cray Inc. By Kenneth Matuszewski & Isaac Rabicoff Intellectual Property, September 2017 The Supreme Court limited venue in patent cases to where the defendant is incorporated or commits acts of infringement and has a regular and established place of business in TC Heartland. However, Judge Gilstrap, in the Eastern District of Texas, established a 4-part test to determine patent venue after TC Heartland in Raytheon Co. v. Cray Inc.

Will the Northern District of Illinois’ Mandatory Initial Discovery Pilot program end copyright trolling in the District? By Jonathan LA Phillips Intellectual Property, September 2017 The Northern District of Illinois ordered a Mandatory Initial Discovery Pilot Program (MIDP) beginning 1 June 2017. Before 1 June 2017, the earliest discovery available to copyright-troll defendants were Rule 26(a) disclosures; the MIDP expands parties’ responsibilities at the outset of the case. Before MIDP, plaintiffs were only required to provide information that it might use to support its claims. Now, MIDP parties must provide mandatory disclosures of information “regardless of whether they intend to use the information in presenting their claims or defenses” and “whether favorable or unfavorable.” Some copyright infringement defendants have paid settlements rather than undertaking the cost of proving their innocence. The new MIDP rules level the playing field of questionable complaints, especially against bulk copyright complaints lacking core plaintiff evidence.

Federal Circuit clarifies injury-in-fact requirement for standing after PTAB proceedings By Kenneth Matuszewski & Isaac Rabicoff Intellectual Property, June 2017 The Federal Circuit held Phigenix did not have standing to bring its appeal, because it did not suffer an injury in fact when the Patent Trial and Appeal Board decided the inter partes review petition.

Intellectual Improbabilities™ By Daniel Kegan Intellectual Property, June 2017 New and notable intellectual property updates.

Sandoz v. Amgen: Biosimilars arrive at the Supreme Court By Steven L. Baron & Michael J. Weil Intellectual Property, June 2017 “Biologics” are made from living cells, typically engineered bacterium or yeast. Unlike small-molecule drugs, like Ibuprofen, which are made from chemicals in a duplicate process, biologics, made from living material, are dynamic, and extremely effective treting many diseases. The 2010 Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA) permits drug manufacturers to product biosimilars that are “highly similar” to a reference product. In Sandoz v. Amgen the US Supreme Court will deal with the mandated 180 day waiting period and patent infringement allegation.

Trademark infringement for unicorn beverages is no fantasy By Margo Lynn Hablutzel Intellectual Property, June 2017 Montauk Juice Factory filed, January 2017, a trademark application for “Unicorn Latte,” and its The End Brooklyn cafe started serving the “healing beverage” late 2016. Starbucks promoted its limited-edition “Unicorn Frappuccino” in April 2017. The Juice was upset Starbucks horned in.

Intellectual Improbabilities™ By Daniel Kegan Intellectual Property, January 2017 New and notable intellectual property updates.

Repairing disparagement: A slant on language and trademarks By Daniel Kegan Intellectual Property, January 2017 The arc of the moral universe reportedly is long, but bends toward justice. Will the US Supreme Court accelerate or impede that curvature when it decides Lee v. Tam, which is scheduled for hearing on January 18, 2017?

Supreme Court potentially slashes design patent value: damages could be limited to individual components By Kenneth Matuszewski & Isaac Rabicoff Intellectual Property, January 2017 The Supreme Court expanded the definition of 'article of manufacture,' as used in the design patent damages test. In doing so, it opined that damages could be awarded for profits associated with components of an infringing product.

Ten cybersecurity tips for lawyers By Margo Lynn Hablutzel Intellectual Property, January 2017 Lawyers have an ethical obligation to protect their clients’ information. Electronic records add accessibility—and responsibility. Cybersecurity tips include Change the Password Often, Consider Dual Authentication, Limit Access to Need-to-Know, Disable Passwords When People Leave, Plan for Cyber Incidents, Train Staff and Attorneys, Document with NDAs, Investigate Your Vendors, Review Policies and Processes.

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