- Sri Sankaran, Patent Attorney, Winthrop & Weinstine Recent developments in executive, legislative, and judicial branches present new challenges for patent trolls (or less pejoratively “non-practicing entities” or “assertion entities”). The White House recently outlined a series of initiatives to address the impact that patent assertion entities have on the economy. The administration cited a… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Patents
Subscribe to Patents RSS FeedHow much is your IP worth? Don’t Ask Your Accountant
Posted in Famous Marks, FDA Approval, Guest Bloggers, Patents, Trademarks- Nick Olson; Summer Associate; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP In 1971, an assistant professor at Portland State University was trying to get his start-up company, then called “Blue Ribbon Sports,” up off the ground. While teaching a class on accounting, the professor noticed one of his students—Carolyn Davidson—had a gift for design,… Continue Reading
Rapala Billboard Ads Continue to Engage
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Patents, Product Configurations, Search Engines, Sight, Trademarks, USPTOIt’s that time of year again. The fishing opener in Minnesota is upon us this coming Saturday, so Rapala is sporting its new billboard advertisement. Judging from USPTO trademark filings, it looks like the cutesy “Bass Friends Forever“ tagline is intended to adorn clothing items too. You will recall that we have consistently covered various iterations of the Rapala billboard… Continue Reading
Protecting Non-Functional Product Design Features Through The Entire Life Cycle: From Conception to Grave
Posted in Branding, Contracts, Guest Bloggers, Idea Protection, Patents, USPTO- Jeffrey Stone, Patent Attorney, Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. IP protection for product designs is typically found in a combination of one or more of the following protective mechanisms: 1. Contracts which are typically used with employees and 3rd parties to prevent loss of novelty as well as provide notice of ownership. Contractual protections such… Continue Reading
Body Shaping Manufacturers Butting Heads Over Cami Designs
Posted in Guest Bloggers, Infringement, Law Suits, Patents- Jeffrey Stone, Patent Attorney, Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. Two previously unrelated topics, Spanx and the Real Housewives television shows, are now connected by a legal dispute that is shaping up to be a real battle of the bulge (or muffin top) with neither party seemingly interested in smoothing things over. Thanks to recent, and ongoing, design patent… Continue Reading
Hey Brand, Shh!: Is De-Branding the Next Hip Design Trend?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Famous Marks, Food, Marketing, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Patents, Product Configurations, Product Packaging, TrademarksA couple months ago, Selfridges, a high-end department store based in London, launched a “No Noise” campaign. The initiative seems rooted in the company’s history; its original store featured a “Silence Room” to allow shoppers an empty area to relax from the stimulating hustle & bustle of the retail experience. From the site: “As we… Continue Reading
From “First to Invent” to “First Inventor to File”
Posted in Almost Advice, Patents, USPTOOne month from tomorrow, the most significant change to U.S. patent law in recent history will go into effect. Since 1790, when the first patent act was signed into law, the U.S. patent system has been a “first to invent” system. Next month, it will change to a “first inventor to file” system. The U.S…. Continue Reading
7G Wireless: The Next Big Thing?
Posted in Food, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Patents, Product Configurations, Taste, Technology, Trademarks- Brent Carlson-Lee In the past six months, I have applied for a design patent and two trademarks – all food related. When I mention this, a common response is: “I wish I were creative or knowledgeable enough to come up with an idea worthy of patenting or trademarking.” My answer is invariably: “You are!”… Continue Reading
Trademark Licensee’s Rights Remain Unsettled When Licensor Files Bankruptcy
Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers, Law Suits, Loss of Rights, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Patents, Trademarks- Chris Camardello, Bankruptcy Attorney Those who license the right to use another’s brand need to pay more attention to the resulting risks when the brand owner files bankruptcy, given the uncertainty resulting from some recent legal developments. And those interested in purchasing brands in bankruptcy should sit up straight and pay special attention too…. Continue Reading
Batmobile: The Copyright Rises
Posted in Copyrights, Infringement, Law Suits, Patents, Product ConfigurationsOver the weekend, I saw an article in the Hollywood Reporter (which incidentally likes to quote our very own Catlan McCurdy, like here and here) discussing the copyright dispute over the 1966 Batmobile. Warner Brothers and its subsidiary DC Comics sued the owner of Gotham Garage for trademark and copyright infringement of the Batmobile design. … Continue Reading
If only I could be a Lego product tester…
Posted in Almost Advice, Branding, Famous Marks, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Patents, Product Configurations, TrademarksSanta brought me one of my favorite trademarked and patented products: a LEGO® set! Yes that is Mr. Firefighter dousing the flames on the LEGO® tree while holding a cup of coffee. The hero of my LEGOland! For a Lego geek like me, there was an intriguing story in the Wall Street Journal last week… Continue Reading
Design Patent Flexes Muscles
Posted in Guest Bloggers, Idea Protection, Infringement, Law Suits, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Patents, Product Configurations, Technology, USPTO- Jeffrey Stone and Brett Klein, Patent Attorneys, Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. The design patent is perceived by many designers and patent attorneys as being a relatively weak and impotent patent protection mechanism as compared with the better-respected utility patent. It is typically thought that design patents are only useful in protecting against exact copies…. Continue Reading
The new infringement/opportunity frontier: Everything
Posted in Guest Bloggers, Infringement, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Patents, TechnologyJason Voiovich, Director of Corporate Marketing, Logic PD Bottom Line: It won’t be long before cheap and ubiquitous 3D printing technology will present design patent owners with a choice: Seize the opportunity to license their designs to be created (and modified) at home, or resist patent infringement and litigate millions of potential offenders. My advice? … Continue Reading
Intellectual Property and the Next President
Posted in Articles, Branding, Copyrights, Idea Protection, International, Marketing, Patents, TrademarksAfter months of debates, worn out talking points, and a seemingly endless barrage of ads, election day is finally here! I’m hoping this post serves as a reminder to get out and vote today. Campaigns these days are not without their intellectual property feats and blunders. There are the buttons; the slogans – purposeful and… Continue Reading
Changes to Patent Practice Effective September 16, 2012
Posted in Almost Advice, Infringement, Law Suits, Patents, USPTOWe here at the DuetsBlog like to make sure that you’re up to speed with any significant changes to intellectual property laws that may affect your rights in whatever may result from the spinning wheels of your noggin. As with most government regulations, the road to change is a slow one. We started off last… Continue Reading
Billion Dollar Baby – Apple and Design Patents
Posted in Almost Advice, Law Suits, PatentsIt’s not too often that the media takes note of a patent dispute, but the Apple v. Samsung dispute has certainly gotten a lot of news attention. Probably because almost 40% of American cell phone subscribers have a phone made by one or the other in their pockets. After a tumultuous trial, on Friday, just… Continue Reading
Marketing 101: Knowing Your Audience
Posted in Advertising, Articles, Copyrights, False Advertising, International, Marketing, Patents, TrademarksBlake Shelton is a brilliant marketer. Whether or not country music speaks to you, for anyone who attended his concert at the Minnesota State Fair this past weekend, it would be hard to deny the chemistry he perfected with his audience. I’ve never witnessed a better concert from the perspective of the storytelling used to lure and charm the audience, while at the… Continue Reading
Breaking the Mold: Virtual Marking of Patent Numbers
Posted in Almost Advice, Patents, Product PackagingWhen I pick up a pen or a razor or some other mundane item and I see “Pat. D487822″, my brain almost instinctively tries to determine what year the patent issued, whether it’s still active, and what part of the product was patentable. Unless you’re a patent attorney, you probably do not pay much attention… Continue Reading
Apple and Google Set to Litigate Their Patents in the Court of Market Opinion
Posted in Fair Use, Famous Marks, Guest Bloggers, Infringement, Law Suits, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Patents, Search Engines, Technology, Touch, Trademarks, USPTO- Jason Voiovich, Director of Corporate Marketing, Logic PD Last week, the US Patent and Trademark Office conferred upon Apple the Excalibur of intellectual property: The GUI patent that covers the general operation of today’s smartphone and tablet universe. Officially, it is patent 8,223,134 and you can read all about it here, or in excruciating… Continue Reading
To Disclose or Not to Disclose, That is the Question
Posted in Almost Advice, Marketing, Patents, USPTOOne important collaboration of creativity and the law not often addressed on this forum is the protection of inventions. Design patents may be granted for new ornamental or industrial design features of a product. Utility patents may be granted for new and useful processes, machines, manufactures, chemicals, materials, or improvements thereof. On September 16, 2011,… Continue Reading
3D Printing Concerns
Posted in Infringement, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Patents, Product Configurations–Susan Perera, Attorney The tech industry has opined on the conflict between 3D printing and intellectual property for a few years, and the debate may be heating up. 3D printers allow a user to create and “print” a 3-dimensional object through the use of a digital file and a “printer” that dispenses material in successive… Continue Reading
Welcoming More Women to Intellectual Property
Posted in Articles, Patents, USPTO–Susan Perera, Attorney Nineteen years after the first U.S. patent was granted, Mary Dixon Kies was the first female recipient of a patent in 1809 covering a technique for weaving. During the following 30 years only 20 more patents were issued to women. While the USPTO doesn’t track patent and trademark applicant gender, a report… Continue Reading
Duets Blog Authors
Steve Baird
Just so you know, I'm all about brands and the law, both professionally and personally. I regularly annoy family and friends in retail stores by focusing on product labels—not to buy the product, but to read the fine print and ask, "Who owns these brands" and "Did they really register those marks?" More...
Brent Lorentz
Although I wish I could say my path to the law was the result of a lifelong dream or calling, it was more the result mere curiosity and an affinity for leather-bound books. More...
Tiffany Blofield
Although my initial career path was to be one of the Supremes (not the musically talented ones with platform shoes and sequins, but rather, the nine wearing sensible shoes and pressed black robes in DC), I will likely stay in Minnesota as I have never lived anywhere else. More...
Brad Walz
My law career started on the ice…as a defensive hockey player (we’re not talking professionally…and if I were, I probably wouldn’t have gotten into law). More...
Derek Allen
In hindsight, writing about creativity and the law may have always been in the cards for me. I began training for a career in litigation at an early age by finding ways to disagree with pretty much anyone about pretty much anything. In my longest-running “case,” I argued with my middle school math teacher, Mrs. Jabs, for the better part of four years over whether, even if I got the right answer, I had to show my work to get full credit. More...
Martha Engel
Although my interest in gadgetry and my aptitude for math eventually led me to become an engineer, my ad executive father and artistically gifted mother fostered an appreciation for the creative from a young age. More...
Anjali Shankar
When I was in elementary and middle school, I loved writing short stories. Creativity and imagination seem to come naturally to people when they are young. More...
Timothy Sitzmann
I have always considered myself to be a creative person. Full disclosure: I'm not claiming that I've created anything good, merely that I have created things that exist.More...
Cathleen Dahl
Trademarks and I met through a small job advertisement in the back of a local newspaper, and little did I know that I would spend the next 18 years (and counting) deriving a living from their existence and importance. More...