As the days grow shorter, it seems that the shorter people  (we call them “kids”) start to want costumes and large bags the size of small dump trucks into which kindly neighbors intent on supporting the local dental association will deposit “treats.”  You may have noticed that some costumes (for example, independent small-business marine entrepreneurs, native American leaders, Wiccans, and the like – political correctness is very important to us attorneys) are relatively inexpensive, while other name-brand Halloween costumes such as Spider-Man®, Batman®, Superman®, any Teenage Mutant ..read more

Designers Take Note – Designs can be too ‘Obvious’ for a Design Patent There are two types of patents* – utility patents and design patents. Utility patents address what something is and how it works.  Design patents address how something looks.  An example of a utility patent is a patent for a better mousetrap with a new way of catching mice.  An example of a design patent is a patent that protects how the mousetrap looks, say, for example, if it resembled a piece of cheese. Today, our topic is design patents. To receive a design patent, a design must be (a) novel and (b ..read more

Remember NFTs (“Non-Fungible Tokens”)? As a reminder, an NFT is a type of digital asset that represents ownership or proof of authenticity of a unique item or piece of content, such as artwork, music, videos, or collectibles, using blockchain technology. Unlike cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which are fungible and can be exchanged on a one-to-one basis, NFTs are unique and cannot be exchanged on a like-for-like basis, making each NFT distinct and irreplaceable. In the early 2020s, NFTs were a hugely popular blockchain mechanism for storing digital assets and ensuring the authenticity of ..read more

Dear Doc: How can a person tell if one stuffed toy infringes the intellectual property rights in another stuffed toy?  Asking for a friend. Signed, J. Sinestvet Dear J: When the Doc was about to graduate from law school, he was interviewed for a job at a prominent Philadelphia patent law firm. The Doc has a degree in chemistry, had done graduate studies in microprocessor computer systems, and had worked in a patent law practice for two years. During the interview, the senior partner at the law firm abruptly marched the Doc out of his office and down the hall, and disappeared into a wa ..read more

A ‘design patent’ is a monopoly granted by the government to make, use and sell a product having a particular appearance.  Design patents protect how a product looks, not what it does.  A person who copies a product protected by a patent, including a product protected by a design patent, will be ordered to stop infringing by a court only if the patent owner can demonstrate that the patent owner will suffer ‘irreparable harm’ due to the infringement that cannot be compensated by money damages.  Such a court ‘injunction’ against an infringer is difficult to obtain under this stand ..read more

Maybe We’ll Actually Receive an Explanation from the USPTO of Why an Invention is ‘Obvious.’ The USPTO had a lot of patent examiners (8,568 to be exact) reviewing a lot of patent applications (462,000 new applications received last year).  Those examiners make thousands of determinations every day as to whether inventions are patentable or not.  Aside from forms, wording, fees, and whether the invention is of a type that is even can be the subject of a patent, the examiners make their decisions based on three criteria.  To paraphrase: (a) Does the invention have ‘utility ..read more

If you thought that you were immune from prosecution for infringing a U.S. registered trademark in a foreign country, be forewarned. In late 2011, Michael Norman Hallatt, a Canadian citizen and U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident, began visiting a Bellingham, Washington Trader Joe’s (“TJ’s”) store several times a week to buy large quantities of Trader Joe’s products.  This caught the eye of TJ’s employees so Hallatt was questioned about his purchases.  Hallatt admitted to taking TJ’s products to Canada for resale to Canadian customers.  TJ’s later learned that Hallatt opened a st ..read more

Dear Doc:   As I understand it, one of the disputes during the recent SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike was over the use of artificial intelligence-generated actors instead of actual humans in movies and other performances. I think that there ought to be a law against that kind of thing!   Signed, George Karlin  Dear George: You may just get your wish! A proposed bill in Congress seeks to regulate the creation and use of AI-created replicas of actual people. Because these days every bill simply must have a cutesy acronym, the draft bill is called the “Nurture Originals, Foster Art, an ..read more

This month marks a milestone in our Firm’s history, as Larry Weinberger, one of our founding partners, retires from active practice. Larry remains an advisor to the Firm, providing us with his experience and knowledge, but has closed his office in Exton. We look forward to serving his clients now and in the future. My own introduction to Larry was nearly thirty years ago when Treb Lipton invited both of us to lunch. After our meal, Larry invited me to his nearby office to continue talking. As soon as he opened the door, my eyes were drawn to a shelf of science toys! This, in itself, was not r ..read more

Those of us who work professionally in the fields of science and technology sometimes miss things that are not related to science and technology.  Here’s a remarkable essay from Dennis Crouch of the PatentlyO blog. — Robert Yarbrough The post Humanism first appeared on Adam G. Garson, Esq. | Lipton, Weinberger & Husick ..read more