Imagine That IP Law Blog

If a startup company wants to become an established, successful business, the company needs to carefully manage all of its resources, both tangible and intangible, in the same manner as an established, successful business – focusing meticulously on maximizing the return on every expenditure. If the company is founded on proprietary technology, carefully planning an intellectual property (IP) strategy as part of the business plan is critical. A well-managed and organized IP portfolio is attractive to potential investors at all stages of a business’s development and can be ... Read More ›

“This writing business. Pencils and what-not. Over-rated, if you ask me. Nothing in it. Silly stuff.” Eeyore, from A.A. Milne’s 1926 classic, Winnie-the-Pooh. Well, Eeyore, for the last 95 years millions of readers felt otherwise, at least when the writing business came to their beloved Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo and Owl. This year, however, marks a new beginning for these characters and their friend Christopher Robin, for the U.S. copyright on the original Winnie-the-Pooh book expired on the last day of 2021. That includes not only the story but the wonderful ... Read More ›

Pressure for development of more efficient battery chemistry in electric vehicle fleets is now greater than ever, prompting greater collaboration between major original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”), such as Ford, Chrysler and GM, and battery component suppliers. Collaboration within the auto industry may often provide a measure of security against competitors.

But to all OEMS and well-funded startups, take fair warning! When such collaboration takes the form of licensing arrangements to jointly invent a new concept to a commercially satisfactory stage of ... Read More ›

Astrazeneca v. Mylan (Fed. Cir. 2021) 2021-1729

AstraZeneca AB and AstracZeneca Pharmacueticals LP (AstraZeneca) sued Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Kindeva Drug Delivery L.P. (Mylan) for infringement of every claim of each of U.S. Patent Nos. 7,759,328 (the ’328 Patent); 8,143,239 (the ’239 Patent); and 8,575,137 (the ’137 Patent). These patents are listed in the U.S. FDA “Orange Book” as the patents covering AztraZeneca’s Symbicort® pMDI and Symbicort® Turbohaler, and Mylan obtained an interest in an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) seeking ... Read More ›

2021 has seen many different trends, with a large one being break ups, specifically, major companies splitting into multiple entities. Earlier this year, several fortune 500 companies, including General Electric (GE) and Toshiba announced that they would be splitting into multiple entities. But how do intellectual property (IP) rights play into these major spin offs?

Splitting companies and determining where the IP rights will go requires careful consideration of a variety of factors. While it may be clear where some IP goes, such as specific patents or trademarks, other IP may ... Read More ›

Uncertainty surrounding patent eligibility jurisprudence has been a thorn in the side of many patent applicants, patent holders, scholars, and judges for years, leading voices in the patent sector to issue repeated, though unavailing, calls for legislative action. Recent activity by lawmakers, however, suggests that rising innovation in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector may be viewed as a catalyst for change.

Central to the issue of patent eligibility is the framework set forth in Mayo Collaborative Services. v. Prometheus Labs, 132 S.Ct. 1289 (2012) and Alice v. CLS Bank ... Read More ›

Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on October 28, 2021 that Facebook changed its corporate name to Meta and its stock ticker from FB to MVRS.

This does not mean that the social media app will be changing its name to Meta. Instead it signals a shift in corporate strategy. It appears that that Meta will be the parent company under which its social media applications (Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) will become subsidiaries along with potential new business in the fields of augmented and virtual reality. In other words, Facebook’ goodwill, which it claims in its 2020 annual ... Read More ›

Companies face many hurdles when bringing a new product to market, including technical problems, regulatory requirements and changing market forces. Introducing a new drug or medical device to the market introduces additional regulatory hurdles before both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The strategies for meeting these regulatory requirements may often seem contradictory, and can be a trap for the unwary.  This ultimately doomed the Belcher Pharmaceutical patent as will be explained in detail below.

When filing a patent ... Read More ›

It takes two to tango, and if you are like many of us still working remotely, you may use a two-step identification method for accessing a secure network, such as the Duo Security two-part authentication dance to log onto your remote platform. Well, you might be dancing to something different one day now that the Federal Circuit has upheld validity of a patent owned by Duo competitor CosmoKey. In CosmoKey Solutions, GMBH & Co. KG. v. Duo Security, LLC (Fed. Cir, Oct. 3, 2021), the appeals court reversed a Delaware District Court ruling that CosmoKey’s authentication patent U.S ... Read More ›

Scam solicitations involving intellectual property notices have plagued trademark and patent owners for many years. As technology and scammer sophistication improve, these schemes are becoming more prevalent and confusing, and a growing international problem. Currently the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is tracking over 50 such scams originating in the U.S. and dozen overseas. Staying vigilant is the best protection.

Typically, these fraudulent solicitations target owners of U.S. registrations and patents. They often provide misleading deadline information ... Read More ›