Europe Europe’s Copyright Reform: What Is So Controversial? By Sarah Blair The controversy surrounding the European Union’s copyright reform is centered on Articles 11 and 13 of the proposed directive, with the final vote expected this spring.
Civil Rights & Constitution The Colorblind Patent System and Black Inventors By Shontavia Jackson Johnson American ideals of innovation and inventing have always applied equally to the demographic tapestry of American inventors, though black inventors have experienced barriers to the American patent system.
International Law Has the Global Patent System Weakened in the Last Decade? Assessing the Strength of National Patent Systems By Gordon Harris, Alexandra Brodie, and Jamie Rowlands A comparison of patent application filings, post-grant validity and court proceedings, and interim and final relief across various developed patent systems indicates the global patent system is struggling to keep up with the pace of technology.
Trademarks Federal Trademark Law: From Its Beginnings By Zvi S. Rosen Early federal efforts regarding trademark legislation include the 1870, 1876, and 1881 Acts and the litigation leading to the Trade-Mark Cases.
Europe The English Origins of the Judicial Exceptions to 35 U.S.C. § 101 By H. Jared Doster The judicial exceptions to 35 U.S.C. § 101, which are in no federal statute, were imported into federal common law from English common law.
Trademarks Fictional Brands, Famous Marks: Recurring Characters, Places, and Elements Can Serve as Source Identifiers for Creative Works By Ian G. McFarland and John T. Winemiller Two recent cases extend trademark protection to fictional elements of books and films in a manner consistent with the aims of the Lanham Act.
Unfair Competition Navigating the National Advertising Division By Terri Seligman and Hannah Taylor Discover how the National Advertising Division (NAD), a self-regulatory forum for competitive advertising disputes, operates, as well as practitioner tips for handling cases before NAD.
Europe The Impact of GDPR on Online Brand Enforcement: Lessons Learned and Best Practices for IP Practitioners By Brian J. Winterfeldt, Griffin M. Barnett, and Janet J. Lee To comply with the European General Data Protection Regulation, ICANN significantly reduced the public information available in its WHOIS database, resulting in challenges for online intellectual property enforcement.
Patents Responding to Nonstatutory Double Patenting Rejections: A Practitioner’s Perspective By Russell S. Timm and JD Wooten Approaching a nonstatutory double patenting rejection in five sequential steps may minimize risks to your client’s patent portfolio while increasing the likelihood of achieving the best outcome.
Intellectual Property Perspective: Lists Are Everywhere, and They Can Matter By Mark K. Dickson A message from the ABA-IPL chair.
Trade Secrets Decisions in Brief By John C. Gatz Brief synopses of recent decisions involving copyrights, patents, trade secrets, and trademarks.
