A “collective” (such as an association, union, cooperative, fraternal organization, or other organized collective group) may own trademarks for marketing the collective’s own goods or services, like any other entity. However, there also are two types of “collective marks.” See 15 U.S.C. § 1127. Collective Trademark A collective trademark or collective service mark is a mark […]
Pending the USPTO’s petition for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Federal Circuit’s In re Elster, 26 F.4th 1328, 2022 USPQ2d 195 (Fed. Cir. 2022) decision that Section 2(c) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1052(c), is unconstitutional, the USPTO will be suspending action on pending applications involving marks subject to […]
Under the “Alice” test, a claim falls outside § 101 if (1) it is directed to a patent-ineligible concept like an abstract idea, and (2) lacks elements sufficient to transform the claim into a patent-eligible application. SAP Am., Inc. v. InvestPic, LLC, 898 F.3d 1161, 1166–67 (Fed. Cir. 2018) (granting Rule 12(c) motion finding that […]
“[A] patentee, acting in good faith on its belief as to the nature and scope of its rights, is fully permitted to press those rights ‘even though he may misconceive what those rights are.’” Mikohn Gaming Corp. v. Acres Gaming, Inc., 165 F.3d 891, 897 (Fed. Cir. 1998) (quoting Kaplan v. Helenhart Novelty Corp., 182 […]
“The purpose of a preliminary injunction is merely to preserve the relative positions of the parties until a trial on the merits can be held.” Univ. of Texas v. Camenisch, 451 U.S. 390, 395 (1981). “Crafting a preliminary injunction is an exercise of discretion and judgment, often dependent as much on the equities of a […]