Friday, March 13, 2015

Pi Day

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March 14th is PI day. As in π. As in the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. As in  22÷7. As in 3.14.15... In t...
Tuesday, March 3, 2015

A Valid Service Mark Requires Actual Service

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The Federal Circuit determined for the first time that the validity of a registration for a service mark requires both that the applicant pu...

Triskadekaphobia All Over Again

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Those sufferers of  triskadekaphobia will experience a double dose of Friday the 13th this month, and a triple dose this year. There is a Fr...
Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Intel Is The Top Contributor To The Linux Kernel

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The Linux Foundation reports today that Intel is now the top contributor to the Linux kernel. To place this in a bit of perspective, the fo...
Tuesday, February 17, 2015

U.S. Design Patent Protection under the Hague Agreement

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It has become a little bit easier to protect U.S. design. Plus, sometimes good things occur on Friday the Thirteenth! This past Friday, ...
Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Copyright in a War Memorial

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The Korean War continues to cost the federal government money. In 2012, my blog post addressed the copyright infringement claim brought b...
Friday, January 9, 2015

Patenting Food -- And Controlling Access To Food

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Today's new patent opinion from the Federal Circuit reminds us that: 1. Food can be patented; 2. New food plants developed with pub...
Wednesday, January 7, 2015

The Slants and Disparaging Trademarks

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The Slants are upset with the federal trademark office. The Slants  describe themselves  as “the world's first and only all-Asian Ameri...
Tuesday, January 6, 2015

What You Can Do To Protect Your Business From Negative Internet Posts

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What can a business do when it becomes the subject of a negative Internet post? My article addresses this important issue: here .
Tuesday, December 30, 2014

The Creation of the Nike Swoosh Logo

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For all of you startups out there, and for those of you who do not have time to take an MBA class in creating a fantastic business brand or ...
Thursday, December 25, 2014

Joyeux Noel

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Merry Christmas from Portland. Joyeux Noël de Portland. Feliz Navidad de Portland. Frohe Weihnachten von Portland. Feliz Natal de P...
Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Christmas Truce of 1914

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One hundred years ago today, the British and German soldiers along the Western Front in France put down their guns and sang Christmas carols...
Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Public Domain Christmas Carols

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Ah, Christmas carols, wafting through the shopping mall. Most people do not consider the copyright implications of Christmas carols.They a...
Monday, December 22, 2014

Merry Christmas Johnny Marks

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Christmas music has been dominating local radio play since Thanksgiving. For five weeks every year, many old – and some newer – seasonal st...
Thursday, December 18, 2014

Lies, Damn Lies and Trademark Lies

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Some people lie. Shocking. Some trademark applicants lie on their official government forms. Doubly shocking. Trademark owners are requi...

Trademark Office Reduces Filing Fees

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If you can wait three weeks to file that new trademark application, you can save some money. Effective Saturday, January 17, 2015, the U.S. ...
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Monday, December 1, 2014

The Copyright Act's Limit on Post-Mortem Author Rights

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A window or widower of a copyright author has certain rights available under the Copyright Act, but these rights may be cutoff depending on ...
Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Filing of a Copyright Case Requires Registration and Not a Mere Application

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Following the passage of the country's first copyright statute in 1790 , and continuing with numerous revisions to the present day, one...
Monday, November 10, 2014

The Patenting of a Design Trademark

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It appears that the U.S. Patent Office used to issue design patents for graphical trademarks. Portland patent attorney James Walters report...
Thursday, November 6, 2014

Negotiation in the U.S. for the Sale of a Patent-Infringing Product Is Not Necessarily Infringement Under U.S. Law

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Section 271(a) of the U.S. patent law permits an infringement claim against anyone who "without authority makes, uses, offers to sell,...