Banner Witcoff

Brad Van Pelt and Darrell Mottley In light of the Federal Circuit’s en banc decision in LKQ Corporation v. GM Global Technology Operations LLC, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has issued updated guidance and examination instructions in a Memorandum (“Memo”) dated May 22, 2024 and signed by Director Vidal to design examiners and…

Darrell G. Mottley and Robert S. Katz The Federal Circuit has ruled that design patent obviousness consideration should be more aligned with Supreme Court utility patent law precedent. This new en banc opinion overturns previous U.S. Federal Circuit design patent obviousness jurisprudence held to be “too rigid” in devising a new framework having a flexible,…

Managing IP ranks Banner Witcoff’s trademark practice in its 2024 edition of “IP Stars,” a guide to the world’s top intellectual property firms. IP Stars “highly recommended” the firm’s trademark practice in Illinois, the guide’s highest recognition. Banner Witcoff is one of only seven “highly recommended” firms and is at the top of the list. The rankings are based on information Managing IP analysts obtain from thousands of law…

Banner Witcoff, a national intellectual property law firm that procures, enforces, and litigates intellectual property rights throughout the world, welcomes Abraham J. Varon and Qi Yu as associate attorneys to its Chicago office.  Abraham J. Varon brings a diversified practice within patent litigation. Before joining Banner Witcoff, AJ worked as an associate at a Chicago-based intellectual property boutique.  There,…

By Shawn Buchanan and John Peloquin So, what’s new at the PTAB? Disqualifying prior art for being inventor’s own work, public accessibility of software, interpretation of claimed ranges, and more! In Differences, Find Similarity. Bluebird bio,Inc. v. Sloan Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, IPR2023-00070, Paper 49 (April 22, 2024) (Snedden, joined by Worth and Hardman)…