When is an Invention Obvious?
by Audrey Millemann
IP Law Blog
To be patentable, an invention must satisfy two key requirements, as determined by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). First, the invention must be novel. This means that the same invention cannot have been disclosed in a single prior art reference. The prior art is all of the publicly available information that existed before the date the patent application was filed.
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Supreme Court: Federal Government Cannot Challenge Patents in PTAB
by Audrey Millemann
IP Law Blog
The validity of a patent can be challenged in four different types of proceedings: ex parte reexamination, inter partes review, post grant review, and covered business method review. An ex parte reexamination is initiated by any person or by the PTO’s director to request that the PTO internally reexamine the claims of the patent based on prior art.
The other three proceedings were established by the America Invents Act.
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Potential Copyright Owners Beware: Make Sure Your Copyright Registrations Are Accurate!
by James Kachmar
IP Law Blog
Normally, a copyright registration certificate constitutes “prima facie evidence of the validity of a copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate.” 17 U.S.C. §410(c). But what happens if that certificate contains knowingly inaccurate information? The purported copyright owner could face not only invalidation of the copyright, but the inability to pursue copyright infringement claims or risk an award of attorney’s fees against them if they do so.
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