Federal Circuit Runs Interference for Marshawn Lynch’s BEAST MODE Trademark Registration
PTAB Appellants May Improve Outcomes by Filing Supplemental Expert Declarations
On November 25, 2019, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) affirmed an appeal from IBM that its invention fails to recite patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. §101. U.S. Patent Application Number 15/212,216 claimed a method for mining threaded online discussions, where an information handling system (IHS) would perform a natural language processing (NLP) analysis on multiple web sites containing threaded discussions of a particular…
Telehealth Update: Connect for Health Act
A bipartisan group of senators has introduced the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act of 2019. A summary produced by that bipartisan group is attached.
If enacted, the CONNECT for Health Act solutions would be as follows:
Create a bridge program to help providers transition to the goals of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) and the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) through using telehealth and…
Can Appointment of Administrative Patent Judges be Unconstitutional?
For the Patent and Trial Appeal Board (“PTAB”), the Administrative Patent Judges (“APJs”) are appointed by the Secretary of Commerce in consultation with the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. For an inter parties review of a patent, three APJs conduct the instituted review and determine if claims of a patent are unpatentable. Is the appointment of the APJs unconstitutional because it violates the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution.? The answer…
Fettucine Al Fraudo—New York Pizzaiolo in Hot Water After Alleged Theft of Secret Pasta Recipe
Manhattan restaurant Sottolio, Inc., d/b/a Norma Gastronomia Siciliana hired Giuseppe Manco—“a noted Italian pizza chef, or pizzaiolo”—to consult on its menu. At the same time, Manco and his wife purchased a 9% interest in the restaurant, becoming co-owners of the business. Manco signed a non-compete and non-disclosure agreement in connection with his hiring, under which Manco agreed, for ten years, to not replicate, copy, or duplicate Plaintiff’s confidential information, including its “signature recipes” for arancine,…
Final PTAB CLE of 2019
Cease-and-Desist Letters are Important Tools in an Artist’s Arsenal
SEC’s Advertising Changes for Investment Advisers
Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a press release describing its proposed changes to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The Act contains various advertising and cash solicitation rules for investment advisers when soliciting clients and investors, which the SEC is proposing to modernize.
According to the SEC, the proposed changes are “intended to update these rules to reflect changes in technology, the expectations of investors seeking advisory services, and the evolution of industry…
Foreign Companies Can Use 28 U.S.C. § 1782 to Unmask Anonymous Internet Posters
A random Twitter account tags a Japanese company and badmouths it in a series of tweets. Because the tweets are tagged, a search of the company’s name on Twitter will display the tweets with the negative comments among the search results. Upset over the tweets, the Japanese company wants to sue the tweeter in Japan. But how can it? The tweeter has not used his real name.
This is where discovery under 28 U.S.C. § …
Azure Heroes – Microsoft Partners With Enjin to Offer Crypto Collectible Rewards
Microsoft has announced a partnership with Enjin to offer a blockchain based recognition program. Azure Heroes aims to reward individuals for verifiable acts of impact such as coaching, creating demos, building sample code, blogging about Azure or completing certain challenges. Community members that have demonstrated their contributions will be recognized with badges across a number of categories. Azure Heroes is branded as a new and fun way to earn digital collectibles for meaningful impact in the technical…