Patent Protection & Registration Patents grant property rights on new and useful inventions, allowing the patent holder to prevent others from using, making, or selling that invention without permission for a limited time. U.S. patents are permitted by the U.S. Constitution and are designed to promote scientific progress and invention. By allowing inventors to profit from licensing or selling their patent rights, inventors can recoup their research and development costs and benefit financially from their inventing efforts. There are three main types of patents utility, plant, and design. U ..read more

Patent Protection & Registration Patents grant property rights on new and useful inventions, allowing the patent holder to prevent others from using, making, or selling that invention without permission for a limited time. U.S. patents are permitted by the U.S. Constitution and are designed to promote scientific progress and invention. By allowing inventors to profit from licensing or selling their patent rights, inventors can recoup their research and development costs and benefit financially from their inventing efforts. There are three main types of patents utility, plant, and design. U ..read more

Patent Protection & Registration Patents grant property rights on new and useful inventions, allowing the patent holder to prevent others from using, making, or selling that invention without permission for a limited time. U.S. patents are permitted by the U.S. Constitution and are designed to promote scientific progress and invention. By allowing inventors to profit from licensing or selling their patent rights, inventors can recoup their research and development costs and benefit financially from their inventing efforts. There are three main types of patents utility, plant, and design. U ..read more

Trademark Protection & Registration Securing and enforcing trademarks can improve a business’ market share, promote brand recognition, generate licensing income, and boost goodwill. Additionally, properly registering your trademarks can substantially protect your business as well as your customers from competitors, knock-offs, counterfeiters, and other bad actors. Patterson is committed to helping our clients identify and protect their core trademarks. Whether your business is launching its first product or manages a global product portfolio with associated trademarks and service marks, ou ..read more

Patent Protection & Registration Patents grant property rights on new and useful inventions, allowing the patent holder to prevent others from using, making, or selling that invention without permission for a limited time. U.S. patents are permitted by the U.S. Constitution and are designed to promote scientific progress and invention. By allowing inventors to profit from licensing or selling their patent rights, inventors can recoup their research and development costs and benefit financially from their inventing efforts. There are three main types of patents utility, plant, and design. U ..read more

Trying to trademark a name without the owner’s permission? Think again. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) protects individuals’ identities, as reinforced by a recent Supreme Court case. Businesses must understand the legalities in using someone’s name in a trademark as well as potential consequences of not obtaining consent. On June 13, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an opinion in Vidal v. Elster, 602 U.S. 286 (2024). The Court reversed a judgement by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) holding that the trademark application for “Trump too small ..read more

In the world of branding, the concept of trade dress transcends mere aesthetics to embody the essence of a product’s origin. Recognized by courts and businesses alike for its critical role in brand recognition—such as the iconic Coca-Cola bottle—trade dress serves as a distinguishing marketing asset and source identifier for a company. Dilution can occur when the distinctive nature of claimed trade dress is weakened by use of similar trade dress by others. On May 28, 2024, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an order in Diageo North America, Inc. v. W.J. Deutsch & Sons Ltd ..read more

PATTERSON ATTORNEY SELECTED AS 2024 BEST OF THE BAR HONOREE BY NASHVILLE BUSINESS JOURNAL. Nashville, TN, Tuesday, June 4, 2024 – Ryan Levy of Patterson Intellectual Property Law was announced as a 2024 Best of the Bar honoree by Nashville Business Journal. To view the complete article, visit NBJ announces 2024 Best of the Bar honorees, lifetime achievement winner – Nashville Business Journal (bizjournals.com) The Nashville Business Journal is excited to announce the 2024 Best of the Bar honorees. To determine our winners, we first accepted nominations from the public. Nominees then participat ..read more

In a precedential decision, the Federal Circuit in LKQ Corp. v. GM Global Tech. Operations LLC, 102 F.4th 1280 (Fed. Cir. 2024) has overruled the long-standing Rosen-Durling test, significantly altering the design patent landscape. Moving forward, the Graham factors, in combination with the teachings of KSR, will be utilized to assess the obviousness of design patents. Graham v. John Deere Co. of Kansas City, 383 U.S. 1 (1966); KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007). The LKQ case involved a dispute between LKQ Corp. and GM over the validity of GM’s design patents for autom ..read more

Patent Protection & Registration Patents grant property rights on new and useful inventions, allowing the patent holder to prevent others from using, making, or selling that invention without permission for a limited time. U.S. patents are permitted by the U.S. Constitution and are designed to promote scientific progress and invention. By allowing inventors to profit from licensing or selling their patent rights, inventors can recoup their research and development costs and benefit financially from their inventing efforts. There are three main types of patents utility, plant, and design. U ..read more