Blog – Adam Garson Law

21Jan 2021

Bling and the Ordinary Observer Test

January 21, 2021 Patent
patentable-invention

Utility patents protect what things are, how they work, or ways of doing things.  An example is the guillotine mousetrap that works by, well, the name says it all.  Design patents protect the ornamental design of a product, for example this mousetrap that looks like a demented cat.  The topic this month is design patents. Let’s say that […]

14Jan 2021

2021 Brings New Trademark Fees

January 14, 2021 Trademark

2021 brings new trademark fees. The PTO states: “The overall strategy of the Final Rule is to balance a reasonable and affordable fee schedule with sufficient multi-year revenue to recover the aggregate costs of maintaining the USPTO’s trademark-related operations and accomplishing the USPTO’s trademark-related strategic goals. The Final Rule enables the USPTO to continue to enhance […]

07Jan 2021

New Copyright Laws – Tougher Enforcement and New “Small Claims Court”

January 7, 2021 Copyright
New Copyright Laws

At the end of December 2020, Congress passed an “omnibus” bill which justifiably received significant attention for providing financial relief during the coronavirus pandemic. Included in the legislation, in addition to the changes to trademark law discussed above, were also new laws related to copyright: the CASE Act and the Protecting Lawful Streaming Act. The CASE Act […]

31Dec 2020

New Trademark Rules: Legislators Seek to Streamline the PTO

December 31, 2020 Trademark
Congress

On Sunday, December 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the $2.3 trillion coronavirus relief and government funding bill. Included within the massive piece of legislation are a number of new laws specifically addressing intellectual property issues, including the 2020 Trademark Modernization Act (TMA), the Case Act and other copyright related legislation discussed in another article […]

10Dec 2020

It’s Official: Patent Examiner Interviews are da Bomb

December 10, 2020 Patent
Patent Examiner Interviews

The patent application process is essentially a negotiation  between the patent applicant, represented by his or her patent attorney or patent agent, and the Federal government, represented by the patent examiner.  Most communications between the applicant and the examiner are written, in the form of the application itself, office actions by the examiner, and responses and […]

03Dec 2020

Keeping Up with Fast-Changing Privacy Laws

December 3, 2020 Internet Law, Privacy
User Data Privacy

How much personal data do you collect from customers, and what privacy laws apply to your business? Recent privacy violations have resulted in penalties of thousands or millions of dollars, with Facebook paying a record FTC fine of $5 billion. Every business needs to know its compliance requirements and potential exposure. Yet the current proliferation […]

19Nov 2020

Spirit v. Led Zeppelin Case Finally Ascends the Stairway to Heaven

November 19, 2020 Copyright
Led Zeppelin

After six years of litigation, Led Zeppelin has finally won.  Michael Skidmore, the trustee for the estate of Spirit’s guitarist Randy Wolfe, sued in 2014, claiming that Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” infringed Spirit’s copyright in its song, “Taurus.”  On October 5, 2020, the Supreme Court denied Skidmore’s request for a writ of certiorari after the 9th Circuit Court […]

12Nov 2020

SCOTUS To Consider Dog Poo?

November 12, 2020 Trademark
Supreme Court

No joke, sometimes, we come across a trademark dispute that cries out for a mention. Here’s one. VIP Products (“VIP”) sells among other things a line of toys, which it calls “Silly Squeakers.” Dog lovers/readers may be familiar with them. The line of vinyl dog toys consists of vinyl replicas of liquor, beer, wine, and […]

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