In recent years, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has launched several fast-track initiatives — including the electronic priority document exchange (PDX) program and the Global PPH and IP5 PPH pilot programs under the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) — to minimize fees and help accelerate the patent-examination process. Effective July 2, 2020, a new
The UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020 and entered a Brexit transition period, which runs until the end of December 2020. During this transition period, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will continue to apply in the UK and UK businesses should continue to follow existing guidance on it. What happens at
On account of the huge backlog of patent applications and the resultant delay in acquiring patents, several inventors have traditionally chosen to stay away from Indian markets. There is finally some effort to change this situation. As per Indian Patent Office (IPO) records, around 6,000 patents were granted and about 15,000 patent applications were decided
In early July 2019, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced a new rule requiring all foreign-domiciled trademark applicants, registrants and parties to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) proceedings to be represented by an attorney who is licensed to practice law in the United States. The new rule takes effect on August
Only two years ago, in the case of In re Tam, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the federal law (the Lanham Act) that prohibited registration of “disparaging” marks violated the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause. At the end of June 2019, in the case of Iancu v. Brunetti, the Court ruled that the provisions of the
With increasing speculation that no deal will be done between the UK and the EU, the UK Government has published a series of “technical notices” providing guidance on how to prepare for a no-deal scenario. These technical notices are written on the basis that there will be no concluded withdrawal agreement between the UK and
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a Federal Circuit decision dealing with patent damages for lost sales in foreign jurisdictions. In WesternGeco LLC v. Ion Geophysical Corp., 586 U.S. ____ (June 22, 2018), Case No. 16-1011 (Thomas J), the Court concluded that US patent owners can get damages from overseas sales lost through infringement. Although
Russell Kennedy Lawyers, the Ally Law member firm located in Melbourne and Canberra, Australia, has published its Doing Business and Investing in Australia Guide providing a general overview of the key legal issues of which foreign organizations should be aware when seeking to do business in or invest in Australia. Topics covered include an overview on
IT contracts are complex and often contain terms and conditions you may not be familiar with in the daily conduct of your company’s business. When taking on a licence for a new piece of software, or having software or an IT system, including a website, developed for you, it is important that you first read
Often times “intellectual property” is among the last things that an early stage company thinks about, placing behind concerns about sales, marketing, revenue, growing the customer base, etc. However,intellectual property (IP) is among the most important and valuable business assets a company owns and protecting it should be one of top concerns for a young
