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Phillip Articola examines how a patent application drafter can improve the chances that claims he or she writes pass muster under step one of the Alice two-step patent-eligibility test in Law360. Click here to read the article, “Tips For Drafting Patents That Won’t Need Alice Step 2.”

Banner & Witcoff is proud to offer the 2018 Donald W. Banner Diversity Scholarship for law students. This scholarship is part of Banner & Witcoff’s commitment to fostering the development of intellectual property lawyers from diverse backgrounds. The scholarship is open to all law students who are members of a group traditionally under-represented in the field…

Binal J. Patel will be installed as a member of the Asian American Bar Association of Greater Chicago’s Honorary Board of Directors on Sept. 14, 2017, at its 30th Annual Installation and Awards Ceremony. AABA Chicago encourages and promotes the professional growth of its members, serves the Asian American Pacific communities, and fosters the exchange of ideas…

Bradley C. Wright explains that Allergan’s transfer of patent rights to chronic dry eye medication Restasis to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe in upstate New York could be seen as “highly suspicious” by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in Bloomberg Technology. In the article, “A Native American Tribe, a Drugmaker and an Unusual Patent Plan,” Mr.…

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,…