When unrelated parties seek to register and make simultaneous use of similar marks that face a possible finding of a likelihood of consumer confusion, an appropriate "consent agreement" between them may sometimes resolve that issue. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit) has recognized that the parties themselves are better positioned than bureaucrats or judges to know the real-life situation and to have assessed marketplace conditions. Therefore, depending on the [...]

In a post-judgment ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, the court rejected defendants' bid to escape a destruction mandate after the asserted patents expired just days after a permanent injunction issued, ordering the destruction of all infringing “RadCad caddies” in defendants' possession during the patent term. The decision affirms courts' equitable powers to remedy past infringement even post-expiration of a patent, citing Federal Circuit precedents to distinguish [...]

In the second article of our new series, we explain how trade secrets can be safeguarded to prevent misappropriation or unauthorised publication Our first article in this series: Unlocking competitive advantage: The strategic role of trade secrets in IP protection, set out the broad requirements for information to qualify as a trade secret, as well as jurisdiction specific summaries. We noted the flexibility of trade secrets, leading to their strategic importance as company assets. In [...]