Banner Witcoff

Darrell G. Mottley comments on opening law school admissions to GRE test takers in DC Bar News. In the article,  “Law School Admissions: Is It Time to Drop the LSAT?” Mr. Mottley says the move “would create a pool of students that is more reflective of the diverse society, from low-income students to those who switch…

Improvement or Selection Inventions: Cannot Assume Obviousness Elements By Sarah A. Kagan Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated a rejection for obviousness and remanded an application for a formulation of the herbicide glyphosate to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). In re Stepan Company (No. 2016-1811, decided August…

Banner & Witcoff successfully defended firm client C&F Enterprises’ free speech rights in a trademark litigation against OBA Canvas Co. regarding OBA’s mark A MERMAID SLEEPS HERE in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. OBA asserted that C&F Enterprises’ use of the phrase “Mermaid Sleeps Here” on the face of a…

Benjamin Koopferstock analyzes the Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Ultratec Inc. v. CaptionCall LLC, and how it may impact the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision involving inter partes review in Oil States Energy Services LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC, in Law360. Click here to read the article.

Technological Improvements, Illustrative Solutions, and Computer Code Appendix Shields Against a Motion to Dismiss on Alice Grounds By Aseet Patel and Brian J. Emfinger In Visual Memory LLC v. NVIDIA Corp., Appeal No. 2016-2254, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held claims of the patent-in-dispute to be eligible subject matter under 35 USC §…

On August 21, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a judgment of no infringement entered by the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada in a patent infringement suit filed by Rembrandt Gaming Technologies, LP against Banner & Witcoff, Ltd.’s clients WMS Gaming, Inc.; Aria Resort & Casino Holdings,…

Joseph J. Berghammer, V. Bryan Medlock Jr., Jon O. Nelson, Binal J. Patel, Joseph M. Potenza, Christopher J. Renk, Charles W. Shifley and Bradley C. Wright are listed as leaders in intellectual property law in the 2018 edition of Best Lawyers in America. Inclusion in Best Lawyers® is based entirely on peer review. The methodology is designed…

Inter Partes Reviews – Who Can Get the Big Job Done By Charles W. Shifley Inter partes review (IPR) statistics are fascinating. As of June 30, 2017, and in the 4 years and 10 months since they became available, 6,577 IPR petitions have been filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In fiscal…

Richard S. Stockton, the former national chair of the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition, comments on the importance of the annual competition for law students in a new International Trademark Association video. According to INTA, the competition introduces law students to important issues arising in U.S. trademark and unfair competition law. Approximately 80 teams of law…

Joseph M. Skerpon was featured as a “Legal Lion” for his successful representation of Honeywell International Inc., in, “Law360’s Weekly Verdict: Legal Lions & Lambs.” On August 1, the Federal Circuit vacated a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision that found Honeywell’s patent for an air conditioner refrigerant invalid. Mr. Skerpon assisted Gregg F. LoCascio, William H. Burgess and Noah Samuel…