Ask Dr. Copyright © About Infringement
Adam G. Garson, Esquire | Lipton, Weinberger & Husick
by Lawrence Husick
6d ago
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
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APPLE v SAMSUNG – Design Patent Law Moves Closer to Trademark Law
Adam G. Garson, Esquire | Lipton, Weinberger & Husick
by Adam Garson
1w ago
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
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When and Why are Inventions ‘Obvious’
Adam G. Garson, Esquire | Lipton, Weinberger & Husick
by Robert Yarbrough
1w ago
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
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Trader Joe’s and the Long-Arm Reach of the Lanham Act
Adam G. Garson, Esquire | Lipton, Weinberger & Husick
by Adam Garson
1M ago
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
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Ask Dr. Copyright © About AI in Movies
Adam G. Garson, Esquire | Lipton, Weinberger & Husick
by Lawrence Husick
1M ago
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
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With Sincere Admiration
Adam G. Garson, Esquire | Lipton, Weinberger & Husick
by Lawrence Husick
1M ago
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
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Humanism
Adam G. Garson, Esquire | Lipton, Weinberger & Husick
by Robert Yarbrough
1M ago
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
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Patents of the New Year (the new year of 1836, that is)
Adam G. Garson, Esquire | Lipton, Weinberger & Husick
by Robert Yarbrough
1M ago
The new year of 1836, that is. 1836 was big for the U.S. patent system. It’s the year that the USPTO switched to the current patent numbering system, the year the USPTO started actually examining patent applications, and the year the patent office burned down – in that order. A little background – the Federal government has issued patents since 1790, when George Washington signed the first one on July 13 (to Samuel Hopkins for a method of making potash).  Before that, individual states issued patent-like exclusive franchises, many of them to Oliver Evans, a Philadelphia and Delaware-bas ..read more
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Ask Dr. Copyright © About Dance
Adam G. Garson, Esquire | Lipton, Weinberger & Husick
by Lawrence Husick
2M ago
Dear Doc:  Having just watched “Dancing With the Stars,” and feeling a bit down over Barry Williams’ loss (but happy that Jason Mraz made it to the finals), I got to wondering if dances can be protected by a copyright registration so that they can’t be copied. May just anyone “moonwalk,” or did Michael Jackson register that move? Inquiring hoofers want to know! Signed, Alfonzo and Julianne (no, not them!) Dear A&J: The 1976 Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. §101) expanded protection for dance by adding “choreographic works” as eligible for copyright protection. (Before the 1976 Act, “narra ..read more
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That Patent Looks Exhausted!
Adam G. Garson, Esquire | Lipton, Weinberger & Husick
by Robert Yarbrough
2M ago
Let’s say that you sell patented printer cartridges. Nefarious actors, both inside and outside the U.S., collect your used cartridges, refill your cartridges, and sell your cartridges, now refilled, to U.S. customers.  They’re thumbing their noses at your patents.  The nerve. The patent law should protect you, right?  After all, the law says that you have the right to “exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling” your patented invention for twenty years and that persons who do so “without authority” from you are liable for patent infringement. So you set up ..read more
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