Section Newsletters

Articles on Intellectual Property

Reflections From the Trenches of a New Law Firm By Steven L. Baron Intellectual Property, December 2020 A lawyer reflects on why and how to start a law firm after practicing law for 30 years with other law firms.
Trademark Searching and Freedom to Operate Advice – Balancing Legal and Commercial Risk By Blake Knowles Intellectual Property, December 2020 Trademark clearance searching is essential for any business looking to launch a new brand. Failure to conduct a proper clearance search can lead to adoption of a brand that infringes pre-existing rights of another trader in an identical or very similar trademark. Unfortunately, trade mark clearance searching has become increasingly complicated. This means that any professional providing trademark clearance advice needs to be able to balance commercial and legal factors in order to provide commercially practical and pragmatic advice.
When the Mandatory Initial Pilot Program Is No Longer Mandatory By Kenneth Matuszewski Intellectual Property, December 2020 From June 2017 to June 2020 the Northern District of Illinois assigned new non-patent intellectual property civil cases to the Mandatory Initial Discovery Pilot Program (MIDP). The pilot’s goal was to evaluate whether cost and delay of civil litigation would be reduced. That pilot program has now ended.
Brexit & Intellectual Property By Rachel Havard Intellectual Property, September 2020 The UK has left the EU, so what lies ahead for EU trademarks and Community designs, especially from a UK perspective?
A Helpful Guide to Ribbon Copies, Certified Patents, Patent Plaques, and More By Michael Nye & Michael Kella Intellectual Property, September 2020 A guide to the differences among the seven types of physical copies of U.S. patents, their purposes, and how to obtain them.
Intellectual Improbabilities™ By Daniel Kegan Intellectual Property, September 2020 An eclectic gathering of recent intellectual property developments.
ITC Litigation: How Discovery in the ITC Is Different From Federal Court By Jacqueline Tio, Joseph Dorris, & Thomas Fusco Intellectual Property, September 2020 ITC Section 337 investigations typically proceed quickly. In addition to the speed at which parties are expected to gather evidence, there are key differences in discovery in an ITC proceeding as opposed to district court litigation. 
Nike and Puma Battle in a ‘Footware’ Fight By Michael J. Weil Intellectual Property, September 2020 The Internet of Things has expanded from household appliances to wearables such as smart watches. Nike has a smart sneaker. Will its ‘footware’ trademark be seen as distinctive or as just a misspelled, descriptive ‘footwear,’ as opposer Puma asserts?
Intellectual Improbabilities™ By Daniel Kegan Intellectual Property, May 2020 An eclectic gathering of recent intellectual property developments.
Hollywood Versus a Film School Project By Richard Stobbe Intellectual Property, February 2020 In 1998, high school student Pourshian conceived the idea for a film in which a character’s internal organs were portrayed as personified characters. In 2000 Pourshian, a film school student in Ontario, wrote a screenplay and produced a short film, Inside Out, based on his idea. In 2015 Pixar, Disney’s animation company, released Inside Out, with characters personifying emotions. Pourshian sued. In this decision, the Canadian court found a real and substantial connection between the claims and Ontario.
Intellectual Improbabilities™ By Daniel Kegan Intellectual Property, February 2020 An eclectic gathering of recent intellectual property developments.
Joint Authorship of Copyright: UK Court of Appeal Tears Up the Script By Ben Milloy International and Immigration Law, February 2020 A look at joint authorship under UK copyright law.
Political Trade Secrets: Intellectual Property Defense to Political Hacking By Daniel Kegan Intellectual Property, February 2020 An effective Defend Trade Secrets Act litigation may not immediately reverse an election result, but it might severely weaken the conspirators.
Starlink and Mega Constellations: Finding a Viable Legal Solution By Charles Lee Mudd, Jr. Intellectual Property, February 2020 The first launch of SpaceX Starlink satellites in 2019 prompted significant outcry about the effects the Starlink mega constellation system could have on our night sky. The images of Starlink satellites streaking across the dark night certainly suggested the degradation of unfettered star gazing. Indeed, the astronomical community quickly voiced concerns that the Starlink mega constellation would degrade both optical and radio astronomy. Since then, critics of Starlink point to the Federal Communications Commission’s “failure” to conduct or require an environmental assessment that included astronomical concerns. In fact, some critics advocate litigation against the FCC or SpaceX. While there exist well-founded concerns about Starlink, litigation would be misguided, ineffectual, and possibly counter-productive at this time. Consequently, immediate focus should rather be directed toward advocacy, education, and policy change.
Intellectual Improbabilities™ By Daniel Kegan Intellectual Property, December 2019 An eclectic gathering of recent intellectual property developments.
Joint Authorship of Copyright: UK Court of Appeal Tears Up the Script By Ben Milloy Intellectual Property, December 2019 A look at joint authorship under UK copyright law.
Mission Accomplished: Supreme Court Ratifies Seventh Circuit’s ‘Rejection-as-Breach Rule’ for Trademarks in Bankruptcy By Phillip R. Van Ness Intellectual Property, December 2019 The U.S. Supreme Court recently addressed a split among the appellate courts as to the consequences when a trademark licensor files for bankruptcy.
Inside the USPTO-TM By Daniel Kegan Intellectual Property, September 2019 A summary of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office visit to Chicago on July 11, 2019.
Intellectual Improbabilities™ By Daniel Kegan Intellectual Property, September 2019 An eclectic gathering of recent intellectual property developments.
Thinking Like the Herd Intellectual Property, September 2019 Linda Holser interview Temple Grandin, one of the world’s compelling voices in science and innovation.
‘Who Owns the News? A History of Copyright’ by Will Slauter: A Review By Daniel Kegan Intellectual Property, September 2019 Modern U.S. copyright law has had a number of picky technicalities, some of which were only clarified this year.
Quick Takes for Your Practice: Intellectual property basics—patents By Kenneth Matuszewich Business Advice and Financial Planning, July 2019 Attorney Kenneth Matuszewski discusses the basics of utility and design patents, and how the two differ.
American beer giants Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors clash over Super Bowl advertisement and corn syrup usage By Steven L. Baron & TJ Kliebhan Intellectual Property, June 2019 A summary of MillerCoors, LLC  v. Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC.
Intellectual improbabilities™ By Daniel Kegan Intellectual Property, June 2019 An eclectic gathering of recent intellectual property developments.
The Music Modernization Act, the Mechanical Licensing Collective, and the Open Music Initiative: The need for collaboration By Steven L. Baron & Adam Farag Intellectual Property, June 2019 With the advent of digital service providers like Spotify and Apple Music, the laws governing mechanical licensing were in need of a significant overhaul.
Quick Takes for Your Practice: Intellectual property basics—patents By Kenneth Matuszewich Intellectual Property, June 2019 Attorney Kenneth Matuszewski discusses the basics of utility and design patents, and how the two differ.
Intellectual improbabilities™ By Daniel Kegan Intellectual Property, April 2019 An eclectic gathering of recent intellectual property developments.
Licensing arrangements for branded restaurants in luxury hotels: Considerations for hotel owners, operators, and restauranteurs By Jeffrey A. Citron, Mario Di Fiore, & David Nadler Intellectual Property, April 2019 An overview of a few of the many considerations in negotiating and implementing restaurant licensing arrangements within the context of the operations of a luxury hotel.
Privatization problems at public colleges and universities By Monica Owens Intellectual Property, April 2019 American Association of University Professors chapters need expert legal support in their work to defend faculty IP rights.
SCOTUS maintains a waiting game for copyright: Resolving a circuit split, SCOTUS requires registration of copyright before suit By Jonathan LA Phillips Intellectual Property, April 2019 In Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that registration, not application for registration, of a copyright is necessary before an infringement suit can proceed.

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