Imagine That IP Law Blog

Businesses rely upon color for a variety of purposes. For example, colors may provide ornamentation, or may serve to allow a product to blend in with its surroundings (camouflage for hunting gear) or indicate a product’s flavor (yellow for lemon). Importantly, colors can serve as trademarks, but only if they function as a source identifier.

While colors are not included within the statutory definition of trademarks, since 1985, singular colors and color combinations can be trademarked as part of a product, package or service, if, like any other trademark, they serve a source ... Read More ›

To the dismay of CBD enthusiasts everywhere, the FDA recently issued a highly anticipated report on the status its efforts to develop regulations for the sale of hemp-derived CBD products. Unfortunately for the CBD industry, the report offered little in terms of policy updates for cannabidiol products and instead described the agency’s concerns and its efforts to develop regulations to safely allow use of the ingredient.

The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp and its derivatives containing less than .3 percent THC, thus allowing the introduction of CBD products. Today, you can find ... Read More ›

Intellectual property (IP) is often the most critical asset for an early stage company.  Developing a strong, cost effective IP strategy and risk management strategy to avoid costly IP litigation can make the difference in a company’s survival.  Investors or potential acquisition entities are well-versed in the importance of a strong intellectual property portfolio and strategy, and typically value early stage companies on the strength of their IP rights.  It is essential to protect intellectual property at early stages in the company’s life cycle in order for any startup to be ... Read More ›

The popularity of craft breweries and distilleries has grown at exponential rates in the past few years.  There are now over 1,800 craft distilleries in the U.S. up from roughly 100 in 2005 and 7,400 craft distillers up from approximately 1400 in 2005.  These increases are reflected in Pennsylvania where the number of distilleries has gone from single digits in 2011 to over 80 in 2019.  Similar growth is occurring internationally and in related sectors such as craft hard cider and seltzer.

With this growth there has also been a rise in trademark filings with the United States Patent and ... Read More ›

For many of us, New Year’s resolutions typically involve various forms of self-improvement, such as dieting or getting to the gym.  Just as individuals adopt personal New Year’s resolutions, it is important for companies and business to set goals that improve their competitive fitness in the upcoming year.  One way to improve a company’s well-being is to ensure that its intellectual property assets are being protected, maintained, and properly leveraged.  Since intellectual property is not tangible, it can be overlooked particularly by companies that focus on physical and ... Read More ›

With a new decade underway, copyright holders are one step closer to having a new avenue to protect their work.  On October 22, 2019 the House of Representatives passed the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act H.R. 2426 (“CASE Act”) with an overwhelming 410-6 vote. 

The CASE Act will create a Copyright Claims Board (“Board”), which will be a body within the United State Copyright Office.  This Board will serve as a voluntary alternative to copyright holders bringing a case in court.  If both parties voluntarily agree to have the dispute heard by the Board, they ... Read More ›

Tesla CEO Elon Musk once explained that “in certain sectors like automotive, solar, and space, you don’t see new entrants.”¹ The auto industry, in particular, rebuffs new startups with a host of ominous caveats: the inability to appraise the future of the industry, the protracted history of broken manufacturers – thousands of them, in fact – and the calculated entry of the major tech companies, like Apple and Google, that seek to challenge the incumbents for market share. Building and delivering cars to the end user has always been a battle of attrition. So the emerging ... Read More ›

In Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., Arthrocare Corp., No. 2019-2140 (Fed. Cir. October 31, 2019), the Federal Circuit raised Patent Owners’ hopes that inter partes review (IPR) of patents could potentially be constitutionally defective, based on how Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) judges are appointed. But the court then dashed those hopes by curing the constitutional defect in the statute controlling Administrative Patent Judge (APJ) appointment. For those accused of patent infringement, breathe easy; IPRs survive and can be used to minimize the threat of patents.Read More ›

OSI Pharmaceuticals, LLC (OSI) discovered and patented a method of treating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). See US Patent No. 6,900,221. The method comprises administering a therapeutically effective amount of erlotinib to an NSCLC patient. Apotex Inc. (Apotex) challenged OSI’s patent by filing a petition for Inter Partes Review (IPR) at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Three references were produced during the IPR, as follows:

(1) The reference “Schnur” disclosed erlotinib along with 104 other different compounds, as potent inhibitors of a ... Read More ›

Google^® CEO Sundar Pichai demonstrated the capabilities of Google Assistant onstage at Google I/O.¹ Triggered by a voice command, the Google Assistant software seamlessly and successfully communicated with a hair salon employee, via a phone call that the software initiated, to book the appointment. Pichai explained that Google Assistant actually “understand[s] the nuances of conversation” by combining natural language understanding, deep learning and text-to-speech technology. This represents a new and less blatantly artificial development in the scope of AI ... Read More ›