January 1, 2024, brought numerous hangovers along with an unprecedented amount of media attention to intellectual property law. That is because, as of the new year, one of the most famous cartoon characters in history – Mickey Mouse – was
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Double Patenting in Canada
Similar to other jurisdictions, a patent in Canada is granted for one invention only. Accordingly, in instances where multiple inventions are claimed in a single application, it may be necessary to parse out the inventions and protect them by filing…
Patenting with Artificial Inventors
Guidance on using AI to Invent
Due to the quick rise of artificial intelligence (AI), most (if not all) of the laws relating to the US patent system were not written with AI in mind. Court precedent and the United…
Doobie-ous Competition: How a Cannabis Company Can Use Employment Agreements to Protect Intellectual Property
In our prior posts, we discussed the two issues that should be at the forefront of any branding strategy:
- Avoiding potential trademark infringement claims, and
- Protecting the business’ brand through trademarks
In this post, we briefly discuss how cannabis businesses…
How To Protect Your Cannabis Trademarks in a Legal Landscape That Is Half-Baked
In our previous post, we discussed how a cannabis business can take steps to avoid potential trademark infringement claims. In this release, we will discuss how a cannabis business can use trademarks for brand protection – despite the fact that…
Avoiding a Bad Trip: How Cannabis Companies Can Mitigate the Risk of an Infringement Lawsuit
Over a decade has passed since recreational cannabis began to see legalization at the state level. Yet cannabis businesses continue to grapple with protecting their brands, as trademark protection at the federal level remains unavailable. The current hodgepodge of state…
Warhol and Prince: Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists…Litigate
Picasso said: “good artists borrow, great artists steal.” Or maybe he took the phrase from someone else. In any case, the US Supreme Court has again confounded the legal world by upending expectations, if not years of precedent – though…
Canadian Intellectual Property Fees on the Rise in 2024
On June 1, 2023, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) introduced amendments to fee schedules set out in the Patent Rules, Trademarks Regulations, Industrial Design Regulations, and Copyright Regulations and will take effect by January 1, 2024.
The amendments are…
You Received a “Notice of Data Security Incident” from the USPTO—Now What?
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently issued a notice that a data security incident exposed domicile addresses of numerous trademark applicants who filed applications between February 2020 and March 2023. A copy of the first page of…
A Seller’s Guide to Navigating Intellectual Property Law on Amazon
A basic understanding of Intellectual Property (IP) law is essential to managing an Amazon storefront, as IP issues can be a minefield for the uninformed. Amazon sellers must understand the major forms of intellectual property –patents, trademarks, and copyrights–and the…