Simple Mistake On Copyright Registration Could Cost $1 Million

After fabric designer Unicolors Inc. (Unicolors) won a nearly $1 million verdict against H&M in a 2016 copyright infringement case, H&M appealed, arguing that Unicolor’s copyright application contained mistakes rendering it invalid. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the verdict, stating that Unicolors was aware of the inaccuracies in its copyright application, and therefore the copyright application should be rendered void.

If the copyright application is declared void, the entire verdict would be thrown […]

By | June 14th, 2021 ||

Federal Circuit Affirms Contractors’ Ownership Rights In Technical Data And Trade Secrets

When trade secrets and other intellectual property disputes arise involving federal government contractors, defendants often assert that the alleged trade secret or intellectual property belongs to the government as part of their defense. Indeed, much can be made in civil litigation about the legal impact of the contractor’s creation of an alleged trade secret for and its delivery of the alleged trade secret to the government. The Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and the Defense […]

By | June 10th, 2021 ||

USPTO Proposes Rulemaking To Implement Provisions Of The Trademark Modernization Act

On 18 May 2021, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a notice of proposed rulemaking concerning the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (TMA). The USPTO proposed to amend the rules to implement certain provisions of the TMA, as detailed below. The proposed new and amended rules:

establish procedures and fees for ex parte expungement and reexamination proceedings
provide nonuse grounds for cancellation before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB)
establish flexible […]

By | June 2nd, 2021 ||