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More for Your Money – Cost Savings on UK/EU Trademark Protection
Jul 09 2020
In the current climate, we understand that businesses are looking to make cost savings while maximizing the return on their spend. Here are some simple measures that organizations should explore to make the most of their funds when it comes to trademark management in the United Kingdom and European Union.
Christopher Hall in IPWatchdog: Lessons on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility from Dropbox v. Synchronoss
Jul 09 2020
Since the Supreme Court decided Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International et al. on June 19, 2014, the number of patent application rejections by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the number of cases in the courts, and the uncertainty about whether an issued patent will hold up in court over an inquiry into patent subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. §101 have all increased. Dropbox, Inc., Orcinus Holdings, LLC, v. Synchronoss Technologies, Inc., decided June 19, 2020, is a relevant recent (albeit nonprecedential) ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that serves as a useful case study on what worked and went well and what didn’t for both plaintiff and defendant in a Section 101 case.
The Supreme Court, Federal Circuit, and PTAB Dance to Boloro Over the Constitutionality of Administrative Patent Judges
Jul 09 2020
In a string of appeals from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”), the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has called into question the constitutional legitimacy of numerous inter partes and – as of this week – ex parte proceedings from the PTAB’s administrative patent judges (“APJs”). It is now up to the Supreme Court to take the stage, should it so choose, and decide whether those APJs were constitutionally appointed such that their decisions should stand. Should the Supreme Court grant certiorari, its decision could give many patent owners who lost at the PTAB the chance to have their ex parte and inter partes cases reheard.
Frequently Asked Questions: Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness
Jul 09 2020
On May 15, 2020, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the U.S. Treasury Department released their much anticipated Loan Forgiveness Application and corresponding instructions (Forgiveness Application) for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which includes updated guidance and a detailed procedure on how borrowers and lenders will calculate forgiveness. The SBA’s press release also announced the SBA will “soon issue regulations and guidance to further assist borrows as they complete their applications, and to provide lenders with guidance on their responsibilities.”
John Garziglia Discusses FM Translator Geo-Targeting Proposal on In Focus Podcast
Jul 08 2020
As GeoBroadcast Solutions seeks FCC approval to broadcast original, localized content via FM booster stations, a group of 24 radio broadcast licensees represented by Womble Bond Dickinson telecom attorney John Garziglia says the same opportunities also should apply to FM translators. The licensees, known collectively as Broadcasters for Limited Program Orientation, have filed a petition with the FCC asking that the opportunities to broadcast different or original geo-targeted programming under consideration for FM boosters also be extended to FM translator stations. Garziglia joined Radio + Television Business Report’s In Focus podcast to discuss the proposal and issues surrounding geo-targeted programming.
Womble Bond Dickinson’s Nadia Adams Named to North San Diego Business Chamber Emerging Leaders Network Advisory Council
Jul 08 2020
Womble Bond Dickinson attorney Nadia Adams has been appointed to the North San Diego Business Chamber’s Emerging Leaders Network Advisory Council.
PTAB Precedential Opinion Panel Sides with Womble Bond Dickinson Client DynaEnergetics in Precedent-Setting Patent Decision
Jul 08 2020
Womble Bond Dickinson client DynaEnergetics Europe GmbH earned a complete and closely watched victory in a precedent-setting decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s Precedential Opinion Panel.
Jon Wolfsberger, Bill Jacobs, Dan Ovanezian and Pure Storage’s Joe Kucera Write on USPTO Deferred Examination Program for IAM Media
Jul 07 2020
The US Patent and Trademark Office’s Deferred Examination Program allows applicants to delay examination of a filed application for up to three years. Such a delay can, for example, help inventors much-needed extra time to secure funding, develop products and conduct market research. So it isn’t a surprise that the Deferred Examination Program has seen a dramatic increase in applications in recent years.
Morris Ellison in Commercial Property Executive: Expect Increased Property Taxes
Jul 07 2020
Macro impacts of the microscopic COVID-19 virus will subject the property tax system to unprecedented strains, raising the threat that local governments will turn to property tax increases as a panacea for their fiscal woes. Womble Bond Dickinson attorney Morris Ellison explains more in Commercial Property Executive.
