International exchange: Promoting the inclusion of women in intellectual property; United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), November 16, 2021 4 PM - 6 PM ET

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); International exchange: Promoting the inclusion of women in intellectual property

"Studies of patent data conducted by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and others have shown that women inventors are significantly underrepresented in the patent system worldwide. Despite an increased number of women entering the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields in recent years, there is still a large gap between the number of women entering these fields and men. This has led to fewer women participating in the intellectual property (IP) system overall.

Register today to hear presentations by representatives of IP offices from around the world, who will discuss these trends and explain how some countries have succeeded in increasing the participation rate of women in their IP systems. Topics will include:

• Strategies for increasing the participation of women in the IP system
• How to recruit, retain, and promote women in IP fields

You will hear from leading officials from the USPTO, IP Australia, the Canadian IP Office, the IP Office of the Philippines, the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property, the IP Office of New Zealand, the Industrial Property Protection Directorate of Jordan, and other national offices."

IP is the G20 Issue; Forbes, November 29, 2018

Lorenzo Montanari, Forbes; IP is the G20 Issue

"The official priorities at the G20 Summit in Argentina include worrying about soil erosion, mainstreaming public-private partnerships, and voicing anxiety over whether government run schools can equip kids with employable skills.While those certainly are complex issues, they miss the urgency of a real global crises that President Trump has brought to the table.

The new agenda is intellectual property, intellectual property, and intellectual property.

President Trump has not shied away from the complex issue that Obama and other world leaders preferred to ignore. At the summit the United States, Mexico, and Canada are expected to sign the new USMCA trade agreement- an agreement that has the strongest IP protections than any other trade agreement in history."

Marvel Comics' Stan Lee Passes Away at 95; November 12, 2018

Kip Currier; Marvel Comics' Stan Lee Dies at 95

Marvel Comics' legend Stan Lee passed away today at the age of 95 in Los Angeles. In the 1960's, Lee collaborated with the late iconic artist Jack Kirby (and later, others as well) in co-creating many of Marvel's most famous superhero characters--the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, the Avengers, the X-Men, the Black Panther, and many more. Lee and Kirby's creations now rank among the most lucrative Intellectual Property in the "616 universe".

It's interesting to note the headlines that have been appearing today--some citing Lee as "creator", while others use "co-creator":

Stan Lee, creator of legendary Marvel comic book superheroes, dies at 95; NBC News

Comic Book Genius Stan Lee, Spider-Man Creator, Dies at 95; NBC San Diego 7

Stan Lee: Spider-Man, X-Men and Avengers creator dies aged 9; The Guardian

Marvel Comics co-creator Stan Lee dead at 95; ABC 13

Stan Lee, Marvel Comics writer, co-creator of the Avengers, X-Men and Spider-Man, dies aged 95; ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Marvel Comics Co-Creator Stan Lee Dead at 95; TMZ

Marvel Comics co-creator Stan Lee dead at 95; WGN 9

Statement on Steps to Protect Domestic Technology and Intellectual Property from China’s Discriminatory and Burdensome Trade Practices; Press Release, The White House, May 29, 2018

Press Release, The White House; 

Statement on Steps to Protect Domestic Technology and Intellectual Property from China’s Discriminatory and Burdensome Trade Practices

"On March 22, 2018, the President signed a memorandum announcing that the United States would take multiple steps to protect domestic technology and intellectual property from certain discriminatory and burdensome trade practices by China.  These actions were announced following a report of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative regarding China’s practices with respect to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation.  In accordance with the March 22 memorandum, the President has been updated on the progress of the announced actions as follows:

1. To protect our national security, the United States will implement specific investment restrictions and enhanced export controls for Chinese persons and entities related to the acquisition of industrially significant technology.  The proposed investment restrictions and enhanced export controls will be announced by June 30, 2018, and they will be implemented shortly thereafter.
2. The United States will continue to pursue litigation at the World Trade Organization for violations of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights based on China’s discriminatory practices for licensing intellectual property.  The United States filed the case regarding these violations on March 23, 2018.
3. Under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the United States will impose a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China containing industrially significant technology, including those related to the “Made in China 2025” program.  The final list of covered imports will be announced by June 15, 2018, and tariffs will be imposed on those imports shortly thereafter.

In addition, the United States will continue efforts to protect domestic technology and intellectual property, stop noneconomic transfers of industrially significant technology and intellectual property to China, and enhance access to the Chinese market.  Likewise, the United States will request that China remove all of its many trade barriers, including non-monetary trade barriers, which make it both difficult and unfair to do business there.  The United States will request that tariffs and taxes between the two countries be reciprocal in nature and value.  Discussions with China will continue on these topics, and the United States looks forward to resolving long-standing structural issues and expanding our exports by eliminating China’s severe import restrictions."

‘Westworld’ Season 2: Seven Big Things We Still Don’t Know at Midseason; The New York Times, May 21, 2018

Scott Tobias, The New York Times; ‘Westworld’ Season 2: Seven Big Things We Still Don’t Know at Midseason

[SPOILERS BELOW]





"Delos cares about its intellectual property. The theme parks are merely a means to an end — that much was clear from the first season, even clearer from the second, in which recovering Dolores’s father, Peter Abernathy (Louis Herthum), has been a top priority.”

33rd Annual ABA Intellectual Property Law Conference, April 18-20, 2018

33rd Annual ABA Intellectual Property Law Conference, Arlington, Virginia

[Kip Currier: The April 19th Conference sessions I attended were outstanding. Particularly thought-provoking was the "Ethical Issues in Emerging Technology" session, with panelists discussing legal, ethical, and policy implications of Wearable Technologies (e.g. FitBits), 3D Printers, and Autonomous Vehicles.

I'll be posting some highlights and photos from the sessions in the next few days.]

Friday, April 20

6:30 am – 7:45 am	LGBT Diversity Run/Walk
7:30 am – 5:00 pm	Registration • Print Café • Sponsors
8:30 am – 10:00 am	Patent: Standards Essential Patent & the Internet of Things
8:30 am – 10:00 am	Trademark/Ethics: Ethical Issues in Trademark Practice
8:30 am – 10:00 am	Copyright: International Copyright Transactions
10:15 am – 11:45 am	Patent: State of Subject Matter Eligibility Law: Its Impact on the Incentive to Innovate
10:15 am – 11:45 am	Trademark: The Dark Side of Knockoffs
10:15 am – 11:45 am	Copyright: Fair Use or Not Fair Use, that is the Question
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm	Women in IP Law Luncheon
1:45 pm – 3:15 pm	Specialty: Canada: More than Just Justin Trudeau
1:45 pm – 3:15 pm	Trademark: Current State of the Dilution Doctrine - TamImpact
1:45 pm – 3:15 pm	Copyright: Music Licensing 101: Understanding the Basics
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm	Patent/Ethics: Current Trends and Ethical Implications in IP Monetization and Litigation Financing
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm	Specialty: DarkNet: Enter at Your Own Risk
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm	Specialty: Preserving Attorney Client Privilege When Your Clients Go Global

33rd Annual ABA Intellectual Property Law Conference, April 18-20, 2018

33rd Annual ABA Intellectual Property Law Conference, Arlington, Virginia

[Kip Currier: 1st full day of this year's American Bar Association Intellectual Property Law Conference. Lots of intriguing sessions to choose from...case in point, the 10:15 AM slot has two concurrent ones I want to attend--Trademark/Ethics: Ethical Issues in Emerging Technology and Copyright: Copyright Law and Policy Developments.

I'm also attending the Mark T. Banner luncheon today, featuring Simon Tam of the band The Slants and his legal team, who last year won a major federal trademark law case, Matal v. Tam (previously Lee v. Tam), involving so-called disparaging trademarks. The case presented potentially significant implications for free speech and economic interests. Tam and his band spoke as part of a very thought-provoking panel at Duquesne University last April, before the U.S. Supreme Court had announced its decision in June 2017. The Slants prevailed, in a unanimous decision.

I talked with Tam after the April 2017 panel about the case and he insisted on having his bandmates sign the band's poster I'd purchased.

It will be interesting to hear thoughts from the various parties a year later, regarding post-Matal v. Tam implications...]


Thursday, April 19

7:00 am – 5:00 pm	Registration • Print Café • Sponsors
7:15 am – 8:30 am	Conference Connections New Members • First-Time Attendees • Young Lawyers
8:30 am – 10:00 am	Patent: Impact of Heartland on District Court Litigation
8:30 am – 10:00 am	Trademark: From the Practitioners' Perspectives: Managing Discovery in Trademark Cases: TTAB vs. Federal Court
8:30 am – 10:00 am	Copyright/Social Media: #Ad Disclosures
10:15 am – 11:45 am	Patent: Ask the Office: Hot Topics with the USPTO Commissioner for Patents
10:15 am – 11:45 am	Trademark/Ethics: Ethical Issues in Emerging Technology
10:15 am – 11:45 am	Copyright: Copyright Law and Policy Developments
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm	Mark T. Banner Award Luncheon Honoring Simon Tam and his legal team during a special presentation.
1:45 pm – 3:15 pm	Patent: Coming Together: Worlds Apart
1:45 pm – 3:15 pm	Trademark: Proving a Negative: Best Practices for Prosecuting and Defending Non-Use Abandonment Proceedings in the US & Abroad
1:45 pm – 3:15 pm	Copyright: The Right of Publicity
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm	Specialty: Growing Your Start-Up IP Practice
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm	Trademark/Copyright: Fictional Characters in 3D
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm	Specialty/Ethics: Multijurisdictional Practice and the Modern Ethical IP Attorney

China And Intellectual Property; NPR, Weekend Edition Saturday, April 7, 2018

NPR, Weekend Edition Saturday; China And Intellectual Property

"NPR's Scott Detrow speaks about intellectual property theft and tariffs with Dan Eberhart, CEO of Canary, an oilfield services company. It manufactures precision valves in the U.S. and China."

Intellectual Property 101: What Your Business needs to know about Trade Secret Law; Forbes, July 31, 2017

Art Neill, Forbes; Intellectual Property 101: What Your Business needs to know about Trade Secret Law

"Co-author Teri Karobonik contributed to this post*

There are some things you don’t want your competitors to know about your business: customer lists, sales data, secret formulas for your products. As you now know by reading our guides, copyright protection doesn’t extend to lists/data, and although trademark law may prevent others from labeling their competing products in certain ways, it does little to prevent your competitors from misappropriating your formulas to create knock off products.

Enter trade secrets: the fourth major area of intellectual property which protects the public disclosure of your closely-guarded non-public information. Trade secret’s closest cousin in the IP world is patent law. In fact, since getting trade secret protection doesn’t require the expensive and time-consuming formal registration of patent law, some companies/inventors choose to forgo patent registration entirely and protect their products exclusively through trade secret before going to market.  

That said, even though patents and trade secrets can potentially protect similar information, trade secrets are distinct from patents for a huge variety of reasons. The most significant reason, of course, is that patented processes are granted protection  only after the inventor publicly discloses the invention whereas trade secrets are only protected until the information is made public.

Ensuring that your trade secrets are protected may be the only way to secure your competitive advantage in the marketplace. Conversely, ensuring that you don’t mistakenly disclose other’s trade secrets will keep you away from legal liability if you are a consultant, sales person, or just an employee entrusted with sensitive, confidential  information.

In this fourth and final part of this series (see part 1 on Copyright, part 2 about Trademark law, and part 3 on Patents), we’ll break down the last of the 4 major areas of intellectual property protection (trade secrets) and explain:

• what trade secrets protect;
• how trade secret protection is granted;
• whether registration is required, and if you’ll need help from an attorney to protect your trade secrets;
• how long trade secret protection lasts;
• what rights you are granted if you do qualify for trade secret protection."

Intellectual Property 101: What Your Business Needs To Know About Patent Law; Forbes, July 13, 2017

Art Neill, Forbes; Intellectual Property 101: What Your Business Needs To Know About Patent Law

Co-author Teri Karobonik contributed to this post*

"Patents often seem more mysterious than copyrights and trademarks. Everyone has read a book that has copyright notices attached to it, and you encounter trademark protected consumer products every day. You may even have your own brand as a business owner.

But patents, because they involve the type of nonobvious inventions inside the computers we use to read our books and inside the factories where those consumer products are made, may seem harder to conceptualize.

Because patent protection always requires formal registration (in the United States), and because patent applications generally require experienced lawyers to create them (and lots of money to file them), there are good reasons why some inventors and entrepreneurs decide to forgo patent protection altogether. That said, it’s important to understand how patents can affect your startup or your new product.

Existing patents may hinder your ability to create certain products without a license, while filing your own patents could create another revenue stream to capitalize on your new invention.

In this third part of this four part series (see part 1 on Copyright and part 2 about Trademark law), we’ll break down another of the 4 main types of intellectual property (Patent) and explain:

• what patents protect;
• how patent protection is granted;
• whether registration is required,
• when you should apply for a patent, and if you’ll need help from an attorney to it;
• how long patent protection lasts;
• what rights you are granted if you do qualify for patent protection."

Protecting Your Business: When To Consult An Intellectual Property Lawyer; CBS Los Angeles, July 6, 2017

Christopher Millard, CBS Los Angeles; Protecting Your Business: When To Consult An Intellectual Property Lawyer

"To many a small business owner, legalese can inspire fear in the heart. Intellectual property law is no exception, but this critical legal concept is tantamount to the health and well-being of your business. As Darren Dahl of the New York Times points out, “They see images of expensive lawyers and use that as an excuse to ignore the topic, reasoning that it is a problem for big companies to worry about.” He goes on to point out that through the rise of the internet, protecting your intellectual property has become a necessity. Small businesses are threatened more so, due to the lack of personnel to police intellectual property infringement.

So, let’s decode exactly what intellectual property means, and when you need to call in a lawyer to help your organization...

This article was written by Christopher Millard for CBS Small Business Pulse"

Intellectual Property 101: What Your Business Needs To Know About Trademark Law; Forbes, June 26, 2017

Art Neill, Forbes; Intellectual Property 101: What Your Business Needs To Know About Trademark Law

"Co-author Teri Karobonik contributed to this post*

When you think of a “trademark” you may think of a logo (Apple’s apple logo) or a product or service name (Forbes). You may even assume that trademarks are only a concern for internationally famous brands like fashion companies (Prada) and fast food (Pizza Hut).

In reality, trademark protection extends further than logos and can cover everything from sounds (the 20th Century Fox Fanfare before the opening movie credits), to colors (the “green” on a John Deere tractor), to the design of a taco shop.

Although many of the common examples you hear about are large corporate brands, understanding trademark protection is just as important for startups, independent creators, and small business. So what do trademarks do? They protect consumers from confusion regarding the source of products or services. As your business grows, trademarks become a significant asset because they are the way consumers identify and relate with your company.  You also need to know how and when your business can use the trademarks of other companies.

In this second part of this four part series (see Part 1 on Copyright here), we’ll break down one of the 4 main types of intellectual property (Trademark)  and explain..."