The Supreme Court recently decided a key case addressing the patentability of business methods. In In Re Bilski, 2010 U.S. Lexis 5521(June 28, 2010), the Court rejected the Federal Circuit of Court of Appeals’ “machine-or-transformation” test for determining the patentability of a process. The Court also declined to adopt a rule that business methods are not patentable.Continue Reading Supreme Court Holds Business Method Patents Remain Viable
Trademark Dilution: Visa vs. eVisa
James Kachmar is a shareholder in Weintraub Genshlea Chediak Tobin & Tobin’s litigation section. He represents corporate and individual clients in both state and federal courts in various business litigation matters, including trade secret misappropriation, unfair business competition, stockholder disputes, and intellectual property disputes. For additional articles on intellectual property issues, please visit Weintraub’s law blog at www.theiplawblog.com.
Continue Reading Trademark Dilution: Visa vs. eVisa
Co-existing with Another Trademarked Owner Through a Joint Consent Agreement
The following scenario is common when a business owner attempts to register a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”): The business owner decides upon a seemingly unique business trademark. The business owner conducts a quick internet search for similar trademarks being used in the same industry, and does not find anything. Confident in the uniqueness of the mark, the business owner files for registration of the trademark with the USPTO, pays the required fee, and presumes the application will fly through the registration process with a hitch. A few months later, the business owner receives an “office action” from an Examining Attorney at the USPTO.Continue Reading Co-existing with Another Trademarked Owner Through a Joint Consent Agreement
College Licensing Front: Former Star Student-Athletes, Recent Court Order Move NCAA Licensing Suit Forward
By: In February 2010, a U.S. District Court judge for the Northern District of California denied the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s motion to dismiss a class-action lawsuit that argues the NCAA and its licensees should compensate former student athletes for the use of their images and likenesses. Subsequent to the judge’s order, eleven former college football and basketball players joined former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon in the litigation. O’Bannon alleges that the NCAA has and continues to enter into agreements that allow the use of his image without compensation paid to him, including a 2007 agreement between the NCAA and Thought Equity Motion, Inc. to offer “classic” college basketball games online. Continue Reading College Licensing Front: Former Star Student-Athletes, Recent Court Order Move NCAA Licensing Suit Forward
9th Circuit Case Has Hit TV Series “Ghost Hunters” Out Of The Haunted House And Into The Courthouse.
By: Scott Hervey with summer associate James Brannen
Recently the 9th Circuit heard an appeal involving the network and producers of the TV program “Ghost Hunters” and two individuals who claimed that the network stole their idea. Parapsychologist Larry Montz and publicist Daena Smoller maintain that in 1981 they conceived of and created written materials, including a screenplay, about a new reality television program featuring a team of investigators who use high tech equipment to study and occasionally debunk paranormal activity.Continue Reading 9th Circuit Case Has Hit TV Series “Ghost Hunters” Out Of The Haunted House And Into The Courthouse.