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THE SUPREME COURT POINTS COURTS TO JURIES ON ISSUE OF TRADEMARK TACKING by Anna L. King On January 21, 2015, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision, affirming the ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, holding that trademark tacking is an inquiry that operates from the perspective of an ordinary…

Banner & Witcoff, Helen Hill Minsker receive top ranking in the World Trademark Review 1000 2015 Banner and Witcoff is recognized as a top firm in the 2015 edition of the World Trademark Review 1000, the premier standalone research directory that focuses exclusively on trademark practices and practitioners. Please click here for more details. Helen Hill…

SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS DE NOVO REVIEW OF PATENT CLAIM CONSTRUCTION By Shawn P. Gorman and R. Gregory Israelsen On Tuesday, in Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Sandoz, Inc., the Supreme Court reversed long-standing Federal Circuit precedent under which patent claim construction was reviewed wholly de novo. Specifically, the Court held that while part of a…

In this Law360 article, Mr. Dannenberg discusses the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Hana Financial v. Hana Bank, in which justices held that whether two trademarks may be tacked for purposes of determining priority is a question for the jury. Please click here to read, “Lawyers Weigh in on High Court Trademark Tacking Ruling.”

Katie L. Becker, Matthew P. Becker, Joseph J. Berghammer, Scott A. Burow, Marc S. Cooperman, Louis DiSanto, Katie Laatsch Fink, Shawn P. Gorman, Michael J. Harris, Kevin C. Keenan, Michael L. Krashin, Erik S. Maurer, Timothy C. Meece, Janice V. Mitrius, Jon O. Nelson, Binal J. Patel, Thomas K. Pratt, Timothy J. Rechtien, Christopher J.…

Mr. Spehlmann discusses how to effectively protect a biodiesel process or product technology in the January/February 2015 issue of Biodiesel Magazine. Please click here to read “Patenting Strategies in the Biodiesel Industry.”

Mr. Fleming discusses the importance of due diligence for companies responding to accusations in Part 3 of a three-part series in Inside Counsel. Please click here to read “’Do the Due’: Due diligence practices geared toward defensive protection.”

  YEAR-END BRINGS NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN PATENT ELIGIBILITY By Ernest V. Linek Section 101 of the Patent Act (35 U.S.C. 101) continues to be of concern for patent practitioners, patent applicants and patent owners. The language of this statute defines what constitutes patent eligible subject matter, as follows: “Whoever invents or discovers any new and…

SUPREME COURT CONSIDERS WHETHER JUDGE OR JURY SHOULD TACKLE TRADEMARK “TACKING” By Ross A. Dannenberg On December 3, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case Hana Financial, Inc. v. Hana Bank et al., on writ of certiorari from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. This is the…

SUPREME COURT HEARS ORAL ARGUMENTS IN B&B HARDWARE, INC. V. HARGIS INDUSTRIES, INC. By R. Gregory Israelsen On December 2, 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in B&B Hardware, Inc. v. Hargis Industries, Inc., the first trademark case to reach the Court in nearly ten years. William F. Jay, of…