In 1998, in State Street Bank & Trust v. Signature Financial Group, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision that significantly expanded the patentability of business method patents. Prior to that time, most companies relied on other strategies to protect trade secrets since the U.S. Patent Office generally refused to patent business methods Read more about What Constitutes Prior Art for a Business Method Patent?[…]
When an original work is properly registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, a copyright notice should accompany the work. Although this notice is not required on works published after March 1, 1989, the notice should still be used as a precaution. Their are two ways to designate a copyrightable work as protected, a © and Read more about How and Why to use the Copyright Notice[…]
United States Copyright law generally protects original works of authorship that are permanently fixed in a tangible medium. Such works can include musical compositions fixed, for example, in records, cassette tapes, and/or CDs. Copyright infringement generally may occur when someone interferes with a copyright owner’s exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, perform and/or display copyrighted work. Read more about Audio Sampling and Copyright Implications[…]
In September 2003, a federal district court in Washington D.C. determined that the trademark “Redskins” had been erroneously cancelled by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). According to the court, no substantial evidence supported the TTAB’s conclusion that the term was disparaging to Native Americans. Background Pro-Football, Inc. owns various “Redskins” trademarks, used primarily Read more about Disparaging Trademarks: The Washington Redskins’ Legal Battle[…]