PART 1: IP ISSUES CURRENTLY PENDING BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT

In the first part of our series, we briefly summarize the intellectual property issues that the Supreme Court has already agreed to address in 2020. In particular, we provide a brief overview and key takeaways for the Supreme Court’s consideration of:

  • Whether adding “.com” to a generic mark creates a protectable trademark;
  • The scope of appeals from IPR proceedings;
  • The ability to copyright software interfaces;
  • Requirements for recovering an infringer’s profits in trademark cases;
  • State sovereign immunity from copyright infringement claims; and
  • Copyright protection for state law annotations.

Continue Reading Intellectual Property Outlook: Cases and Trends to Follow in 2020 – PART1

A patentee may bring patent infringement claims against the United States government pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1498, in which Congress waived the sovereign immunity of the United States against such claims.  Patent infringement actions against the government are similar to those brought against non-governmental entities, but they do have some idiosyncrasies. For example, patent owners can only sue the government for infringement in the United States Court of Federal Claims, as opposed to a district court, and jury trials are not available in the Court of Federal Claims.
Continue Reading Suing The United States Government For Patent Infringement And Defending Against A Claim Of Obviousness