In the fall of 2023, the Biden Administration issued the Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence.[1] In section 5.2 of the order, the administration charged the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USTPO) with three
The Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (“TMA”) becomes effective on December 27, 2021 and makes several important amendments to federal trademark law (the Lanham Act) intended to modernize trademark application examinations and clean house of trademark registrations for marks not used in commerce. USPTO announced on December 21, 2021, that it has created a new
Each year, millions of dollars in counterfeit goods enter the U.S. According to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, the international trade of counterfeit and pirated goods amounted to as much as $509 billion in 2016.[1] From 2003 through 2018, the number of seizures of infringing goods by the U.S. Customs and Border
Trademarks are use-based rights, meaning that a trademark is only entitled to be registered if the mark is actually in use. Likewise, the registrant must continue to use the mark in commerce in order to maintain registration and must take action to renew a trademark registration at various milestones (year 5, 10, 20, 30, etc.).
Buried in the 5,500-page Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2021 among various COVID-19 relief was the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (“TMA”). The TMA, which will become effective on December 27, 2021, makes several important amendments to federal trademark law (the Lanham Act) intended to modernize trademark application examinations and clean house of trademark registrations for
In United States Patent & Trademark Office v. Booking.com B. V.,[1] SCOTUS held that a mark styled as “generic.com” is eligible for federal trademark registration if the applicant shows “generic.com” is not a generic name to consumers. Although the Court did not expressly say so, this decision chips away
We previously reported that the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted a 30 day extension for many proceedings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The time period for this extension has been extended. As of time of publication, the USPTO has issued Orders granting a 30 day extension for (1) the specific filings set
The COVID-19 pandemic has made people race to wash hands, stock up on toilet paper and sanitizer, and transition to working from home. But a separate group of “opportunistic” individuals have run another race—to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. As of April 2, 2020, more than 85 trademark applications have been filed for
In addition to providing financial support to individuals and small business, the much discussed CARES Act also authorized government agencies like the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to extend certain deadlines prescribed by statute. As of time of publication, the USPTO has granted a 30 day extension for (1) the specific filings set forth
The general outlay of this guide is to present some of the who, what, where, when, and why of the patent system in order to be able to explain the all-important how to obtain a patent. This guide aims to acquaint the reader with various aspects of the patent process, laying a proper foundation that