In a decision sure to give litigants pause before requesting district court review of a Board’s affirmance of an examiner’s refusal, Judge T.S. Ellis of the Eastern District of Virginia held in Shammas v. Focarino, 12-cv-1462, E.D. Va., that the PTO is entitled to recover attorneys’ fees as “expenses” under Section 21(b)(3) of the Lanham Act, and that ex parte plaintiffs must pay those fees whether they win or lose.
