Imagine That IP Law Blog

Broadest Reasonable Interpretation (BRI), as applied during USPTO examination, is often described as a “broad” claim construction standard. That description is accurate as far as it goes, but it is incomplete in a way that routinely drives avoidable disputes in prosecution. The controlling point is the one many applicants quote back to the Office: “The broadest reasonable interpretation does not mean the broadest possible interpretation.” MPEP § 2111. The difference between “reasonable” and “possible” is where the Person Of Ordinary Skill in Art (POSITA ... Read More ›

Introduction: The Paradox of “Free” Software

Open-source software (OSS) is the paradoxical infrastructure of the modern economy. It is frequently “free” in price, yet indispensable in value. Cloud computing, container orchestration, continuous integration pipelines, and AI development environments are routinely built on OSS stacks such as Kubernetes and Docker. The economic consequence is straightforward. OSS compresses development timelines, reduces vendor lock-in, and enables companies to scale products without recreating foundational tooling. That ... Read More ›

For many U.S. companies, a global patent strategy has traditionally focused on a familiar and possible short list of jurisdictions, including, for example, the United States, Europe, China, Japan, and South Korea. As a jurisdiction for seeking patent protection, India sometimes fell into the “nice to have” category, where companies would file if the budget allowed, or revisit it later if the business grew. As outlined below, companies need to start rethinking this strategy, as an Indian patent can be a viable and necessary part of the intellectual property (IP) portfolio.Read More ›

The U.S. Copyright Office has implemented a significant procedural change that will benefit visual artists of all kinds.  Effective as of February 17, 2026, the Office now offers a new Group Registration for Two-Dimensional Artwork (GR2D) filing option, allowing multiple published two-dimensional artworks to be registered with a single application and filing fee.

Under the new rule, applicants may register up to 20 published two-dimensional works in a single group application. Each work covered by a GR2D application is treated as a separate work of authorship, even though the ... Read More ›