As a further update to earlier posts (“How the USPTO is Responding to the Coronavirus Outbreak” and “USPTO and Copyright Office Announces Extensions to Deadlines”) regarding recent actions taken by the United States Patent and Trademark
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Latest from Miller Nash Graham & Dunn LLP - Page 8
Supreme Court Reinforces Position That the Patent Office Has the Final Say on Whether to Initiate an Inter Partes Review
By Sean O'Brien
On April 20, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the USPTO’s decision to institute inter partes review, even after the one-year statutory time limit for requesting the review, is not appealable. In other words, the USPTO has the final…
Governor Inslee Greenlights Re-Opening of Construction Projects That Meet Social Distancing and Other Required Safety Measures
On April 24, 2020, Governor Inslee signed an order re-opening construction projects that meet detailed safety requirements across all sectors (residential, commercial, public, etc.). Under Governor Inslee’s 30-point plan, work may only be resumed on any given project if they…
Straight Talk for Managing Your Business When “Normal” Disappears
By Jim Yand
With businesses facing a barrage of daily challenges, it becomes important to focus on key decisions that can make a difference. We address three of these key issues in this post: your contractual obligations, keeping in mind added legal obligations…
Your Trademark Just Became More Valuable: Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil Group, Inc.
By Brian Esler
Under the Lanham Act, a trademark owner can recover damages (i.e., the owners lost sales because of infringement), but also is entitled to disgorgement of the infringer’s profits from the infringement. But typically (at least in the Ninth Circuit), if…
Protecting Your Business’s Data, and Cyber Insurance, Is More Important Than Ever
By Seth Row & Leila Javanshir
With a majority of businesses being run from home, using less secure networks, and disrupting normal security protocols, hackers are seeking to capitalize. The FCC and the FTC have seen an uptick in scams during the pandemic in the form…
CCPA Enforcement Will Not Be Delayed Due to COVID-19: Is Your Business in Compliance?
Enforcement of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is set to begin on July 1, 2020. The global pandemic has many companies urging the California Attorney General (AG) to delay enforcement until 2021, since testing CCPA-compliant platforms can be much…
COVID-19: Modifications to Loans May Have Unintended Tax Consequences
As we previously discussed, on March 22, 2020, federal banking regulators published the Interagency Guidance (“the Guidance”) to encourage lenders to, among other things, enter into short-term loan modifications (if prudent and appropriate) with borrowers impacted by the COVID-19…
First Amendment Beats Trademark Rights Three Times in One Day
Trademarks protect against consumer confusion. But the First Amendment protects speech even when it may result in some confusion. When these two principles intersect, trademark holders may be surprised to find that the First Amendment often wins. In three March…
Thinking about Using Trademarks to Capitalize on the COVID-19 Pandemic? Think Again.
Over the past few weeks, many entrepreneurially-minded people have filed trademark registration applications with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office in apparent attempts to cash in on the current global health crisis. Example marks from this influx of applications include:…