Attention, inventors, in-house counsel, and anyone with a vested interest in the world of intellectual property: the USPTO just issued its final rule for patent fees. This is a follow-up to the 2023 proposal—but with a slightly softer landing.
Starting January 19, 2025, the cost of securing those all-important patent rights is going up
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has officially announced that the After Final Consideration Pilot Program 2.0 (AFCP 2.0) will soon be laid to rest. In a notice dated October 1, 2024, the USPTO confirmed that the program will end on December 14, 2024. Despite being extended numerous times since its launch in 2013
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has canceled long-standing trademark registrations for “Super Hero” and “Super Heroes,” which had been previously jointly owned by Marvel and DC Comics.
The cancellations resulted from a petition filed by Superbabies Limited, a company producing comics about superhero babies. Superbabies initiated the cancellation action after DC Comics attempted
What do a social media content creator and reality television stars have in common? Apart from more followers than I’ll ever have, significant issues regarding their trademarks. Jools Lebron, a content creator, was distraught to learn that several individuals applied to register with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “USPTO”) a catchphrase she
As the prospect of federal rescheduling of cannabis looms, some in the industry are seemingly attempting to preserve their spot in line at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A recent Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) decision underscores a significant hurdle for cannabis
As expected, based on the tenor of the Justices’ questions during oral argument, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against a trademark applicant seeking to register a mark commenting on former President Donald Trump. The decision represents something of a shift from prior decisions striking down portions of the federal Lanham Act on First Amendment
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has proposed significant changes to patent fee structures for the 2025 fiscal year. These proposed changes mark a pivotal shift in the Office’s financial approach toward patent filings.
The proposed fee changes are available here.
These adjustments stand out not just for their size but for
In 2022, the Federal Circuit definitively ruled that artificial intelligence (AI) systems cannot be named inventors or co-inventors on patent applications, reinforcing the longstanding principle that only natural persons are eligible as inventors under the Patent Act. This decision, however, left an important question unanswered: Are inventions created with AI assistance patentable?
Today, the United
As attorneys, we’ve all taken Legal Research and Writing. This is where we first encountered Westlaw and Lexis, using these sites to delve into case law for various assignments while chasing Westlaw and Lexis points in the hopes of getting a free TV or iPod (back when that was a thing). Professors always emphasized the critical process of tracing the history of a case and determining if the case is still considered “good law.”
With the rise of generative AI over the past year, it’s unsurprising that lawyers are turning to this advanced technology for legal research. However, there’s a growing concern: the blind acceptance of AI-generated content. This issue was highlighted in U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Robert’s 2023 year-end report on the federal judiciary. A notable incident involved the Second Circuit reprimanding a New York attorney for submitting a brief with reference to a non-existent case, hallucinated by ChatGPT, without proper verification.Continue Reading USPTO Sets to Clarify Attorney Guidelines in the Age of Generative AI