Banner Witcoff

Banner & Witcoff, Ltd., a national intellectual property law firm dedicated to the procurement, enforcement and litigation of intellectual property rights throughout the world, welcomes four summer associates to the firm. The following law students will join Banner & Witcoff’s Chicago and Washington, D.C., offices this summer: Kevin Dam, Chicago, Washington University School of Law;…

OBAMA SIGNS LAW ALLOWING TRADE SECRET OWNERS TO SUE IN FEDERAL COURT By Bradley J. Van Pelt and Shambhavi Patel Yesterday, President Obama signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), enacting a federal trade secrets law. Much of the law existed under the federal Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (EEA). However, for the first time,…

Robert F. Altherr Jr., Ross A. Dannenberg, Frederic M. Meeker, Chunhsi Andy Mu, Joseph M. Potenza and Bradley C. Wright were named to the 2016 Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists for their work in intellectual property law. The Super Lawyers lists represent the top 5 percent of attorneys in each state. These…

FEDERAL CIRCUIT REJECTS OPPORTUNITY TO LIMIT PATENT SUITS IN EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS By R. Gregory Israelsen On Friday, April 29, 2016, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied¹ TC Heartland LLC’s petition for a writ of mandamus to direct the United States District Court for the District of Delaware to either dismiss…

Marc S. Cooperman, who attended the Supreme Court oral arguments in Cuozzo v. Lee, weighs in on justices’ reaction to courts and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reaching different results depending on the standard of claim construction used in World Intellectual Property Review. In the article, Mr. Cooperman says, “The justices took a keen…

U.S. SUPREME COURT WILL WEIGH IN ON STAR ATHLETICA LLC V. VARSITY BRANDS INC. By Darrell G. Mottley Today, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review an August 2015 ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati in Star Athletica LLC v. Varsity Brands Inc. as to whether Varsity’s two-dimensional graphic designs…

U.S. SUPREME COURT HEARS ARGUMENTS IN KIRTSAENG V. JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. By Rajit Kapur Yesterday, April 25, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., No. 15-375. The Court’s ruling in this case ultimately may affect the circumstances in which attorney’s fees are awarded to…

U.S. SUPREME COURT HEARS ORAL ARGUMENTS IN CUOZZO SPEED TECHNOLOGIES V. LEE By Robert H. Resis and Marc S. Cooperman Today, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Cuozzo Speed Technologies, LLC v. Lee. Two important issues are presented to the Court: 1. Whether the court of appeals erred in holding that, in IPR proceedings, the…

Robert S. Katz was mentioned in the Industrial Designers Society of America’s highlights from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s 10th Annual Design Day on April 19. He was featured as an IDSA member and as a panelist on the “Patent Prosecution Best Practices Panel: Views from Examiners and Practitioners” at the event. Please click…

Robert H. Resis provides useful strategies for petitioners in inter partes review proceedings in biotechnology and pharmaceutical patents in Part II of his two-part series in BNA’s Patent, Trademark and Copryight Journal. Please click here to read, “A Petitioner’s Guide to Handling IPRs in the Higher-Survival Patent Arena of Biotech and Pharmaceuticals.” A subscription is required. Please…