Category North America

The Lexmark Litigation: Why Does Big Pharma Care So Much About Ink Cartridges?

The Federal Circuit will soon hear Lexmark v. Impression Products, a case about ink cartridges. Impression, a foreign buyer, refills spent Lexmark cartridges and resells them in the United States. Impression claims that Lexmark, having sold the cartridges, has exhausted its patent rights, and cannot hold Impression liable for patent infringement. The Federal Circuit will address whether the US patent is exhausted with the sale of the patented product outside the US, write Burcu Kilic and Peter Maybarduk.

German Bundestag Not Happy About Being Kept Out Of TTIP Reading Room In Berlin

Transparency in negotiating free trade agreements continues to be a controversial issue, despite attempts of the official negotiators, especially European Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem, to pour oil on troubled waters. Regardless of Malmstroem's transparency initiative for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the US-EU FTA, a storm is brewing in an area not easily neglected by negotiators.

Your “Reality” Must Be Original To Win Copyright Protection

Since the debut of Candid Camera in the late 1940s, unscripted television of varying genres (from game shows to documentaries) has been a staple of American television. Not until the worldwide success of shows such as Survivor, however, did the genre, and in particular the staged competition variety of unscripted “reality” television, become a dominant source of programming in the US market. Reality television often takes on a familiar pattern – as the season progresses contestants are eliminated by audience and “expert” votes leaving one person or couple to win the grand prize. The myriad ways in which to package this formula has no limits, and in light of the success of such shows, a vast number of people are creating and pitching what they believe to be both original and the next Survivor. And that leads to lawsuits.

Did Kendall And Kylie Jenner Know Outcome Of Their Domain Dispute Before Filing At WIPO?

Teens are way out front when it comes to tech stuff and the internet. So it's totally not surprising that American teen tv stars Kendall and Kylie Jenner announced winning their domain name disputes even before the disputes were filed at the World Intellectual Property Organization. The Jenner sisters are part of the "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" reality television show.

Former USPTO Director Kappos: Inventors Giving Up On Patent System After 200 Years

In a clarion call to policymakers, former United States Patent and Trademark Director David Kappos said recently that this year’s unprovoked drop in patent filings in the United States is unprecedented and signals a shift toward more secrecy by inventors trying to protect their ideas. Meanwhile, the US trend toward antitrust actions at home is having deleterious effects for US businesses overseas, he said.

Proposed PTAB Rules Provide Incremental Change

On August 20, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published proposed amendments to current rules governing trial practice before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) under the America Invents Act (AIA). The new proposals contain more substantive changes than the May package and while all parties will appreciate the USPTO clarifying various issues in the proposed rules, many patent owners may be underwhelmed with the real-world impact of the proposals, especially the portion dealing with motions to amend claims during AIA trials, write Jason Lohr and Stephen Shaw.

Interview: IP Enforcement In The US Fashion Industry

Protecting intellectual property rights in the fashion industry can be a tricky exercise in this fast-moving environment. Several avenues are possible for fashion designers in the United States, such as trademark, trade dress or design patents.

Perkins Coie IP litigation partner Ann Schofield Baker, based in New York, participated in an interview with Intellectual Property Watch’s Catherine Saez on ways fashion designers can protect and enforce their rights in the US.

USPTO Proposes New PTAB Trial Rules

This week the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a proposed rule to amend the existing rules of practice for inter partes review, post-grant review, the transitional program for covered business method patents and derivation proceedings that implemented provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA).