The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade has currently issued at least 4,811 force majeure certificates due to the COVID-19 pandemic (link). These certificates qualify the coronavirus outbreak as a force majeure event and certify that a party’s partial performance or failure to perform under an agreement be excused if there
Intellectual Property
David Gooder Appointed as New USPTO Commissioner for Trademarks
By Lamis Eli on
On Feb. 5, 2020, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross had appointed David Gooder as the new commissioner for trademarks. Gooder replaces Mary Boney Denison who retired from the position with the agency on Dec. 31, 2019.
To read the full law bulletin on this…
Injunctions for Standard-Essential Patents? USPTO tells DOJ: “You’ve Got a FRAND in Me.”
By Joey Balthazor on
Ever wonder how so many devices can operate together on a unified network like 4G or Wi-Fi? Ever stop to think about why you can send a selfie from your iPhone to someone else’s Galaxy halfway across the world without distorting your smile?
Smartphones can operate together with other smartphones because hundreds of the inventions…
IP Attorneys Write on Copyright Law Split for Law360
By Adam Wolek & Rashad Simmons on
Taft Chicago Intellectual Property attorneys Adam Wolek and Rashad Simmons contributed, “A District Court Split on Curing Copyright Timing Defects,” to Law360 on Aug. 15. The article discusses the differing opinions of district courts on whether parties can file copyright suits before the copyright registration is issued. Read the full article here.
Wolek protects…
USPTO to Require Foreign-Domiciled Trademark Applicants and Registrants to Engage a U.S.-Licensed Attorney
If you are a foreign company or foreign attorney used to directly filing U.S. trademark applications from overseas, be prepared for a big change on August 3. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced that, effective as of August 3, 2019, all foreign-domiciled trademark applicants, registrants, and parties to Trademark Trial and…
Copyright Litigants Entitled to “Full” Costs, Not “Extra” Costs
By Amanda Wilcox on
Posted in Copyright, Intellectual Property
On March 4, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Ninth Circuit’s expanded view of “full costs” in copyright cases was improper, going beyond the “costs” typically available to litigants in federal court. Rimini Street, Inc. et al., v. Oracle USA, Inc., et al., No. 17-1625, slip op. (U.S. Mar. 4, 2019.) This
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