After the announcement that David Kappos was nominated for the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), there has been much speculation about possible reform programs that Kappos may enact.  The USTPO faces a few major problems due to the increase in applications and complexity of technology.  The USPTO is backlogged with [...]

Filed under: Dead Patents, In Congress, In the USPTO, International Patent, Miscellaneous, Patent, Trademark by brandond
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In the pharmaceutical industry, timing is crucial.  Typically, drugs require years of research and development before they are sold.  A patent for a drug grants the patent owner the exclusive right to research, produce, use, sell, and market the drug for the life of the patent.  When the patent expires, generic companies scramble to enter [...]

Filed under: Alive Patents, Dead Patents, Events, In Congress, In the Courts, Miscellaneous by brandond
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On Thursday, June 18, 2009, President Barack Obama announced his plan to nominate David Kappos as the new Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).  Kappos is considered an IP-guru, and his nomination is widely supported by industry leaders because of reform that may be [...]

Filed under: In Congress, Miscellaneous by brandond
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Since 1914, the Olympic logo, having five interlocking rings that represent five continents, has been displayed by the International Olympic Committee in each host country to promote the Olympic games. This summer, Beijing will have the opportunity to use the logo along with the Olympic motto and mascots (pictured above) to market and promote the [...]

Filed under: In Congress, International Trademark, Trademark by admin
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Introduced into both the Senate and House of Representatives on April 18, 2007, the Patent Reform Act of 2007 contains sweeping patent reform measures that, if passed, will lead to the U.S. Patent System’s most substantial overhaul in over 50 years. The major provision of the Act is to transition the filing system from first-to-invent [...]

Filed under: In Congress, In the USPTO, Patent by admin
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Small businesses are urging Congress to reform some of the current patent laws after warning that the U.S. patent system is broken. In speaking to the House Small Business Committee, Mitchell Gross, chairman and CEO of Mobius Management Systems, Inc. cautioned that the current system leaves small businesses in a position where they are afraid [...]

Filed under: In Congress, Patent by admin
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The House of Representatives on Monday unanimously passed a proposal to allow certain judges to defer patent cases to their more experienced colleagues. Introduced last year by Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the proposal aims to improve the time that patent cases are litigated, raise the level of expertise in patent cases, [...]

Filed under: In Congress, Patent by admin
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